There was a number of different elements that made up Unit X. At the beginning of the unit we had lectures twice a week, within these lectures we would have guest speakers such as Noel Mellor. The lectures were very useful because they gave me tips for how to make my blog stand out and write posts that are interesting and unique. I also enjoyed the lecture about superheroes which we had just before the film Batman vs Superman, as I was not a huge superhero fan this lecture helped me get an insight into the comic world and allowed me to have a better understanding before I went to watch the film.
My favourite part of the unit was definitely the two visits a week to the cinema, this allowed me to explore new films that I would never normally go to watch. I also enjoyed setting up a blog and sharing my experience of the films and my thoughts of the media I engaged in. The group work projects were also a useful task and I enjoyed meeting up with my group weekly to make eye catching infographics. It was also very useful to attend to talks about InDesign and I feel I can use the skills I acquired from the talks in the future. I did find the seminars tended to drag slightly, I feel this may have just been because people were not willing to show each other their work so there was not much to discuss and reflect on in them.
I found the Facebook group very useful and I thought it was very clever using ‘likes’ to vote on what films we wanted to watch. I found it interesting to see other people’s comments on how they felt about the films and it was also a great way to keep up to date with the timetable. I thought keeping a media diary was very interesting as it made me become aware of my media intake. It was also good having the reflection blogs as I could express what I had learnt about myself through the process.
I feel I did commit to all aspects of the unit, I found myself putting a lot of effort into my blogs and I think my hard work was worthwhile as I found myself really enjoying the course. I could have possibly brought more material to the seminars to allow me to have more of a discussion with my peers and I could have researched more blogs for inspiration.
I found myself discussing a variety of media within my blogs, I began with reviewing the films of that week however I started to realise that would not make my blog very unique. I went on to use the weekly films as a catalyst for my blog posts, ‘moral messages in children’s films’ was inspired by going to see Zootopia. I also blogged about the media I found myself engaging in like reality television and social media. I think there was certain areas where I left my comfort zone, I went to watch a horror film which I didn’t enjoy but it allowed me to be able to create a blog post about why I didn’t like them.
I mainly communicated my ideas through my blog posts and the group infrographics. When we showed the infographics in the seminars it allowed us to show the group our views and opinions. Although many people were vocal on the Facebook page, I did not tend to comment. I would like people’s comments but I found that I didn’t have enough confidence to post my own views on the page, as I didn’t want people to disagree or argue with my view. If I was to do the unit again I would try to build the confidence to comment on the Facebook page and have a useful discussion with my peers.
The unit has taught me a lot of different skills, I have learnt how to use a blog and also how to create infrographics. I think the unit has improved my writing skills and has allowed me to develop more of an opinion within my writing. I think it has also opened my eyes to a lot more online resources based on media. I never thought I would be one to write about films, however this unit has changed my opinion and it could be a possibly be a future job for me.