Taking Online Content Production has been a great asset to me, as I feel like it's really helped me improve throughout the course of the semester. Before this class, I had always said I wanted to do creative work, but it always sounded better in my head, with no real application. I had little experience in Photoshop, even less in Lightroom, and none in Premiere. I had never shot video, and hadn't taken photos in years. I think that since then, my skill level in all of these areas has risen, and that's due to the constant effort that we put toward making content.
One of my biggest flaws when it comes to creating is judging things before ever working on them and putting them out, and this class has really helped to relieve that. When you need to submit something for class and by a certain date, it takes that level of indecisiveness out of the picture. It also helps to focus on the concept that something is better than nothing.
While it would be nice to say that I love all of the work that I created in this class, that's simply not the case. I'm always my harshest critic, and I'm well aware that I am still very much a beginner with all of these programs and concepts. However, I do think that my natural inclination is toward Photoshop and graphic design, even if I'm not fully satisfied with my work there so far. While I do plan on continuing to increase that skill level, I also very much want to incorporate more video and Premiere editing into my skillset, as I feel like that's a creative area that I would like to be good at, but haven't had nearly enough experience with. Nonetheless, this class has helped me to get my feet wet with it.
I enjoyed the supportive group that we had in this class. While I made some friends in class, our priority was always to focus on the work and to help eachother, which is both inspiring and uplifting. That's one of my favorite parts of the New Media program, and this class more specifically - with everyone being interested in technology and creative pursuits, it always feels like our goals are to help each other. I think that's the main beauty of it all.
While I feel like my Photoshop skillset is the biggest improvement area for the semester, I still acknowledge that a lot of the time, I'm unsure of where to start when it comes to translating ideas into the program. Because of that, I really want to continue working in it over the summer, in hopes that next semester my content creation will take the next step. With individual work as well as coming into next semester's class, I'm really looking forward to what I'll improve at and what will be learned. Thank you for a great semester, and thanks for the many teachings you've helped us with, Professor Applegate!