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1. UNIT 2 LAD: NETWORKING
Networking is a very important aspect when it comes to working in the media industry
because it is a way to showcase your work that you have done effectively and will raise your
profile in the industry. To present myself; i have uploaded my work onto a showreel I
created, I have attend web seminars and talks and also created a media specific CV about
my work experience.
Websites
The first online profile I created was on Blogger, I first created a blogger at the start of my
college career to showcase my work, and over the course of 2 years I have been adding to it
and keeping it up to date with all my work. Blogger, structurally, is a good way of keeping
my work organised and I have recognised that it is important to keep my work labelled.
First year blogger: https://bwalmsleymedia.blogspot.com
Second year blogger: https://benwalmsleymediay2.blogspot.com
I also have uploaded my showreel to Blogger, because I was already familiar with the
website, it was a good place to start and upload all of my important and practical work to it.
I made sure to upload my best work because I wanted to show my employer or anyone that
is going to see it, that it includes a diverse range of work. Before starting my showreel
however I needed to research how to format one, and that there were rules to creating a
good showreel and I found that it has to be short and accessible, it has to grab a viewers
interest and to do so I concluded that I needed it to be eye catching and interesting but also
organised and easily accessed, while being short so I had went through all my work and
selected the best and most diverse. I had also added my business card and CV to my
showreel on top of that to also appeal to employers as it would have everything important
all in one space.
Showreel: https://benwalmsleyshowreel.blogspot.com
In skills development, we were also tasked to create a social media/account to help and
develop our networking abilities, I decided to make a LinkedIn account because it purely
focuses on job aspects and it a great way to connect to people in the same field as you.
Despite the fact I am still working on my LinkedIn account so it is not fully complete there
are still some parts of it you can view. When it is fully complete, it will show my skills and
present my work similar to my Blogger. Which will then allow anyone but preferably people
from the same career and employers to see my work and the skills I have developed, as I
continue to develop I will keep updating it.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-walmsley-680b65192/

2. Work Experience
In my first year of college, me and a classmate were given the opportunity to do work
experience at Media Hub, which is the host of different media outlets, such as; Spark FM
which is a radio broadcast station, SR news a local news website, fashion north which is a
fashion and beauty news outlet, Northern Lights which is a Art and Culture website, and
Sportsbyte Sunderland which is a local sports website. Over the course of 3 days we were
given different opportunities to work at different outlets.
For our first task we chose fashion north in which we were tasked to write an article about
fashion and beauty, it was a really interesting opportunity because we were guided on the
research methods on writing an article and were given insight on what its like to research as
a writer/journalist for a news outlet and to create content for that outlet.
Then on our off time we shadowed a radio host from Spark FM, who showed us the
technical side to what its like to host a radio station. He showed us how a radio set list is
planned out on the computer and showed us the technicality’s and rules when it comes to
playing music on the radio and how to access sound bites and peace them together on the
radio software.
Online Webinars and Talks
For web seminars, my class had been invited to an online event hosted by the University of
Sunderland and the Northern Film and Media, the event was titled ‘The Films of Ridley Scott’
in which we watched Lord David Puttnam interview Ridley Scott about his career in film.
I learnt valuable knowledge about being persistent in film, and how to implement your
background can affect your film, and also how you can tie in other knowledge from
education into film.
We also had the opportunity of attending a BBC online talk, where we learnt about the
different career opportunities in the media sector, we also were given advice on how to be a
standout applicant and creating a CV that is going to increase my employability by
presenting my work professionally so employers are able to view my skill set and my work.
They also spoke about how to apply for a career at the BBC, and they mentioned that
applying through their Website is better than applying through a local website.
We also attended a seminar with, Dominic Buchanan, the producer of End of the F******
World. Who lectured us on his role as a producer and what it is like working in the industry.
He also told us about how he got his role as a producer and gave us useful insight into how
we could get there, and how other skills can translate into film and TV, he also spoke about
how to create a successfully pitch a TV to producers.