My first week as a student at Solent Uni!

'Write a reflective overview of your first week of study'

A summery of what was done, seen, heard etc. Write about 3 events.

New learning:

What did you learn that was new to you?

I was amazed what I learnt in an hour lecture with Spob O'brien and Helen Roche about Illamasqua. They were really helpful, friendly and totally amazing at what they do. It was really interesting to hear about the industry from their point of view, how technology is changing the industry continuously and where we can start to get the best of our careers in the future. Already, they've given me something to aim for by suggesting students go into theatre before TV and film, simply to gain experience and be amazing at what you do so you can wow the industry.

Not only was the lecture interesting, I thoroughly enjoyed their make up demonstration on two of the girls in our class. The looks were bright, messy and wonderful. The ladies were both so helpful by chatting to us about certain techniques, which products they prefer, and we even learnt about their brand new product!!

What insights did this new knowledge give you?

From the advice Spob gave us about working on theatre prior to TV and film, I immediately researched myself and noticed that my local playhouse theatre are always looking for volunteer make up artists. Perfect work experience!

I also took a few notes about the make up demonstration and wrote down the tips the ladies gave us so I can try them out myself. They used particular techniques for contouring and adding light to the eyes that I was interested in and can't wait to try.

How do you think this might be useful? (In your work practise, in your studies, in your life?)

The tips from the lecture were helpful for future researching; finding out what I can do to make my career the best it can be and where to start! The lecture from Spob was also really useful because it made us all aware of the benefits of publishing our progress/work on social media are. She also recommended we start up a professional email account specifically for work experience, job opportunties etc.

The make up demonstrations were useful for our future work practice because the make up artists gave us advice for the simplest tasks and gave us good starting points. For example, both emphasised the importance of cleansing the skin before applying any make up product. As well as this, they gave tips about using brushes and particular techniques that as students we'll no doubt use for a long time.



Action to be taken:

How do you feel about what was done this week? Did it effects you emotionally and if so, how?

I feel very positive about this week! I was appreciative of the effort that had gone towards helping all of our groups bond by doing fun activities such as the B&W photo project and the 'Head in a Bag' project. These fun activities were really relaxed and made a relaxed environment for us all to get to know each other in. I've already made some great friends.

Not only this, but I was really excited to be told about our timetables, lectures and practical lessons. I also felt like the way the staff introduced something new that we'd be doing every day was really exciting. I felt emotional because I've started my degree and I love it already!!

What did you like or enjoy and why?

I liked being introduced to all the other aspects of the course such as the library, IT suites and also setting up our blog accounts. These were enjoyable and interesting for me because I've always enjoyed the academic side of college as well as the practical.

I enjoyed the studio inductions with our lecturer Lottie. I always knew you'd have to be hygienic in the working area but the details were really interesting and it made me really excited to crack on with the course and start learning.

Overall my favourite activities were the practical demonstrations from both Illamasqua and Charles Fox. They were really enjoyable because the make up artists were so friendly and chatty and answered all of our questions in depth, whilst giving us advice at the same time.

What did you dislike and why?

On Tuesday I struggled with the idea that I had two hours free!!!! As it was the first week there wasn't any work for us to do and the time seemed to pass quite slowly - however I know I'll be using this time wisely in the coming weeks for extra research and practice time!

What did you find easy to do or understand and why?

Because I enjoyed all of the tasks given I found them easy to do and understand. I particularly enjoyed mingling with new people and then grew in confidence and was able to ask questions to the make up artists doing demos, and start new conversations with different girls in my group :)

What did you find difficult or challenging to do or understand and why?

I found finding my way around the university difficult! Although I got better at finding things as the week went on, I'm still finding the whole thing a bit daunting. Unless I have friends with me I seem to get lost on every level! I have been trying to combat this by taking in my surroundings when we go round in groups - and I now know which building JM is in as well as HC! Phew.