Fred Burma's Blog

It’s not that easy being ‘a student who values his social life’-een

fredburma — Sat, 01 May 2010 22:55:03 +0000

More CV stuff – when will it end! So much more work than I ever thought it could be! Getting these references right is like that crazy Harvard referencing stuff – difficult and punishingly unmerciful. We soldier on .

Be straight with me doc, how good is it?

fredburma — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:12:32 +0000

Okay, so I asked for feedback for my CV and, you know what, it wasn’t that bad at all: they basically said that I had to tighten up the ‘skills’ bit and make sure all my grades and qualifications were properly organised, which seems doable. Happily, it seems like these few changes will be enough and then I can leave the bloody thing alone until I need a job.

What’s that coming over the hill? Is it a blog post?

fredburma — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:31:42 +0000

Yes, yes it is. And what a post it is: CV re-formatted, references gathered, just got to make the first bit less w**kerish, which is no mean feat when you realise I wrote it when I thought I was the world .

Karma karma karma karma karma karma-melon

fredburma — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:10:39 +0000

Oh when will my karma bank pay out? I’ve been working so hard and I don’t seem to have gotten anything out of it yet ( ). Still, I suppose I’ve got lots of time yet to go; plenty of time for those karma bankers to realise I’m overdue . In other news I’ve been formatting my CV to make it look all nice and neat and professional, and so far the results are positive.

Also I had my first rejection letters back, and guess what? I’m not fussed at all: I know that my CV isn’t up to scratch at the moment plus I’ve noticed some mistakes in my covering letters (not spelling or grammar, simply where I could have written it better) that I am on my way to fixing before the next batch get sent out. Opportunities are everywhere, after all; you just need to know where to find them.

Bibling away

fredburma — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 20:13:31 +0000

Our TV series bibles are well underway now, and ours is already looking like it’s going to be very good. Haven’t decided which episode to write yet but it’ll probably be one about a character I’ve made. On another note my CV is half-way through being hacked to pieces and is currently unusable, so I won’t be getting any work soon . Still, apparently once it’s finished I’ll have so many job offers I won’t be able to shift under all their weight (here’s hoping).

New Year, New Fear

fredburma — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:47:12 +0000

The title doesn’t really have anything to do with the contents of this post, but it rhymes so…yeah, first post of this university year and it’s about the year ahead. Looking forward to writing the 1-hour and got the PDP stuff to do again. Going over my CV as per my instructions from the lady in the…CV office? Anyway, realised it really isn’t up to standard so I’m adultising it.

Caspar the unfriendly ratings system

fredburma — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:44:01 +0000

So, Caspar…it works in theory (make anonymous comments that people can take constructive criticism from) but it very soon descends into a pit in which all your, very obvious, complaints are thrown and mangled beyond recognition by feelings of personal rejection. It happened to us and, no doubt, it will happen again to next years groups. It would be better if the comments were not visible to the ‘targets’.

IMPs, TVs and Me(s)

fredburma — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:49:35 +0000

So the Summer Project is well and truly underway (I am currently working on the script) but what’s most interesting is how the other media courses go about their tasks; I’m looking forward to going on the shoot for the campaign video to see exactly how a shoot should go (hopefully) and am intrigued, to put it lightly, as to how the IMPs do what they do; I like to listen in to their shared conversations and whenever I can I look over their shoulders at the vast array of HTML on their screens, which boggles the mind at best; to think that all those letters come together to make pictures, colours and shapes!

Summer Project Projections

fredburma — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:59:28 +0000

I’m not sure that I’m looking forward to the Summer Project particularly; I’ve been told by various people that, as a scriptwriter, my work will only be valued as a ‘stepping-off point’ and I will be expected to make hideous rewrites and changes against my own will, and by the end of it either let my name be attached to something I’ve basically just typed up for someone else or let it go and lose any credit (money) I would have otherwise garnered from it. On the other hand, if that is what is to be expected from this career choice then I should probably get on with it and enjoy working with new people (I definately hope to make some friends out of this experience from other courses). Whatever the outcome, it will come, so I’m gonna’ grit my teeth for the tough times and enjoy the good bits with all the smiles they deserve.

Articulating an Answer

fredburma — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:21:12 +0000

One of the points of my PDP that I have been focused on quite significantly is the first category (‘Interpersonal/Communication Skills’); after the first essay it was brought to my attention that the answers I give are without focus and seem to take on a wide range of topics and theories, much more than is needed, which results in an unclear argument. However, it was also commented that when I verbally iterate my thoughts they are very well formed and intuitive, raising questions for myself on how I could use this to improve my essays. The answer is to record myself talking about the set question and then listen back to it, making various notes and links between topics. I can then use this to research theories and theorists, etc. thus improving the articulation of my answers.