My 12-Month Plan

Throughout the next 12 months, I aim to develop my skills, learn new things and expand my horizons to enable me to gain a position in an industry role doing what I am most passionate about- creating. As a devoted content creator, I have many jobs and vastly enjoy this range of tasks. Each element of this career is creative in its own way and allows me to undertake a variety of challenges that push me to do more and expand my skills.

One of my creative goals is to eventually work for a media company within Liverpool. I like the idea of having a stable income while doing the work I love and this option can provide that. Although, I am still considering the option of becoming a freelance content creator myself- which would allow me to work on what I Iove, as well as being my own boss but this comes with negatives too such as an unreliable income. This is definitely something to consider and look into more for me to fully decide what path to take.

Academically, I aim to complete my 3rd year of uni and gain an honours degree in moving image production. At the end of this course, I do also need to make a decision of whether or not I’d like to go on to a masters degree. I am quite drawn to this idea as I do enjoy the learning process and environment but I’m also eager to get out into the industry world and start working. I believe I am leaning more towards doing a masters degree but I think it may be best to make that decision nearer the time.

I intend to expand my skills within the creative industry and develop existing ones to a higher standard. I can see where there is room for improvement and know that I need more practice in certain areas. To better myself, I aim to try out new equipment such as tripods/Steadicams/gimbals etc, advance my editing skills in different softwares, network and practice scriptwriting in my spare time. Through my work in collaborations, I expect to gain a bigger portfolio with recognisable names that I hope will aid me in producing more work and opportunities. I hope to also spend time working with clients on photography and video work such as promos or weddings etc. I think after the success forms my last project, We Are Women, I would like to create a new project about hidden disabilities and how society sees people with disabilities. My intention with these photography and video projects is to exhibit them and raise awareness of the content- as well as promoting my work. I’d also like to take the next 12 months to improve and practice my public speaking skills for presentations and talks that may become a possible encounter in the future. I think I’ve already improved in a lot of ways over the past few years but still have a way to go to get to where I want to be.

12-month plan breakdown:

• APRIL- Lockdown- practice skills/ experiment/complete uni work/ try/learn new things/research/ plan things/ create youtube videos/ blog posts etc
• MAY- Lockdown- practice skills/ experiment/complete uni work/ try/learn new things/research/ plan things/ create youtube videos/ blog posts etc

I intend to use this time in lockdown to be productive, while still doing acts of self-care. I am attempting to learn Spanish on Duolingo, practising skills, creating new content such as gaming videos/cooking videos/ planning short films/talking to camera pieces, blogging and planning potential collabs for the future.

• JUNE- Plan and arrange collabs/ look for clients/ create video photography tutorials
• JULY- update portfolio/ client meetings/weddings/reach out to local industry professionals for work experience/ collabs/ create a new short film/attend networking events
• AUG- work experience/ clients/plan new photography and video projects/ exhibit previous projects/ enter previous work in to competitions/ festivals/collabs/attend networking events
• SEPT- work experience/clients/collabs/ go on to 3rd year uni/ attend networking events

I assume by this time, we will all be back to business as usual with uni and have started my 3rd-year top-up honours.

• OCT-work experience/clients/continue with uni work/ attend networking events
• NOV- clients/continue with uni work/ plan new projects/ networking
• DEC-continue with uni work/Christmas collabs/networking
• JAN-continue with uni work/networking/ practice skills/ create youtube videos
• FEB-continue with uni work/networking/ clients/ collabs
• MAR-continue with uni work/networking/ preparing to go on to masters or starting to think about applying for industry jobs after uni/ updating CV & portfolio

Obviously, I know not all of this can be planned but this is a general guide of what I’d like to achieve in the next 12 months. I believe these steps will help better my work and myself personally while taking me in the right direction.