My first year on L3 concluded with a distinction, which I was not expecting at all. I had thought and was happy with the idea that I had more than likely averaged at a merit. My experience overall was very positive. Over the course of the academic year, I had pushed myself and gained confidence socially and each project contributed greatly to my knowledge on performance and production.
My feedback from last year highlights many areas in which I can improve.
To progress and continue to achieve a high grade for context, I must relate what I’ve covered to my work and think of many different paths in which I can provide context in, so I can display thorough understanding in my research. I can do this by spending more time thinking about other relevant topics and ensuring I explain why they are relevant.
In research, I should aim to do the same thing with the aim of broadening the topics I cover while keeping things relevant to display how I can think outside the box and bring different ideas into one project.
My feedback on my practical skills focuses mostly on my mixing, so it would be ideal for me to work on this by working with tutors on side projects, learning online from home or getting in contact with a family friend who is a producer who works with Ableton. I need to focus on how I mix drums and dynamics in general.
My evaluation and reflection feedback notes that I focus on the negatives of my work moreso than the positives, so I should take some time to appreciate the good parts of my work and document that in detail before I start criticising myself. I should stop worrying about coming across as self-centered if I note positive aspects of my work to allow myself to work effectively. This feedback was repeated multiple times by different markers.
My aims for this year are to improve my skills on instruments I’m interested in, mostly bass and guitar but also drums. Additionally, event production is something that interests me greatly so I would love to give my all to this first project. I really want my work to have a visible difference on this showcase, particularly in audience numbers, social media interaction and branding.