Evaluation.....The Year
Theatre - Pauline Hudson
Part of my course in VTCT was Theatrical makeup so i wasnt that interested in starting to study it as i had done it last year. Throughout the two terms i gained new experiences in the Theatrical make up industry with applying ageing effects, making and applying bald caps, false hair and prosthetic pieces. I learnt the way to apply make up for theatre, creating strong and bolder effects. This was because i had learnt about stage lighting and distance from the audience.
From the beginning of the year up until now i can see how my work has changed and developed. My techniques have improved massively and im starting to gain confidence in my self with application of the make up too. Practice makes perfect and i will continue practicing what i have learnt. Practicing ageing for example is important as it holds all the key important shading and lighting techniques needed in all principles of make up artistry. Perfecting this means i can work towards perfecting all make up techniques.
The only criticism i have is the sheer amount of written work we had to complete. I felt like i was back in secondary school. I understand that research is in important but in the end we were cutting and sticking stuff in like we were back in school again. I understand this is a progression course which is almost Degree level so i dont understand the amount of theory we had to cover in order to do ONE assessment at the end. I believe we could of cut some of the theory lessons out from the course and add in more practical lessons and more assessments. From the theater part of the course i only have two assessments.
Current Trends - Holly Davies
Current trends i found very interesting and important as it was what was going on right now in the fashion industry. We were able to recreate different looks created by world renowned make up artists such as Pat McGrath. Creative make up looks are something i enjoy most so this was really something i am interested in. I enjoyed the final 'Cover Girl' project because it allowed us to start networking within the industry. Independently we had to source a current model and photographer in the industry. Which helped with our final image.
As everyone will say the beginning of the year was very stressful as we kept changing our teacher. However in hind sight it was rewarding as we got to learn and adapt different make up techniques which we would of had to do in industry anyways. So really worked well in favor for us, well for me anyways.
Production Management - Tanya Noor
Production management was a module i enjoyed the least. Eventhough we learnt useful things from the film and Tv industry it wasnt my favorite part of the course. However, we were able to gain an insight into the production team roles and the backgrounds of the industry. We learnt how to work independently and also in a team which was quite rewarding. However as always some people dont pull there weight in a team which makes the other people work harder.
SFX - Tanya Noor
SFX is one i enjoy most and caught my attention early on. I have always wanted to create a whole look in a theme using SFX. I love using different materials and textures, prosthetic making is something i enjoy and could possibly see myself progressing into
I hve no critism in this module as i enjoyed every single second of it. The final photoshoot was amazing as were able to chose exactly where we wanted to shoot the images.
Body Painting - Suki Miles
This module was very challenging in the sense we had to challenge our own creativity. Each weeek we had a different plan to follow, with a different theme each lesson. We learnt different techniques in this field which was rewarding week after week. We didnt really have much to follow on we had a short 5 min demo then thrown into the deep end with most of my earlier work being terrible. The final body painting assessment was good. But i dont think i was able to strive to my full potential as am so bad at planning and changed my idea last minute. Overall was enjoyable
Evaluation Of The Entire Year
The past year i have grown within myself and my love for make up. This is the second consecutive year i have spent at West Thames college and i have loved every minute. The course has given me a small insight into what it will be like once i have built myself into the make up industry. Throughout the course there has been ups and downs from happiness to tears. As a whole the course has brought me that one step closer to reaching my goal of becoming a successful make up artist. From studying last year i thought this course was going to be a top up of what ive already learnt; how wrong i was.
The lecturers have stretched me to my limits and beyond, pushed the boundaries where i didn't think was possible and given me the confidence to achieve much more than i once thought i was capable of. i have been taught the importance of money, time management, teamwork and stronger confidence in myself. at the beginning of the course i was very doubtful and always put myself down. Once i realized that my work was continuing to get higher grades each assessment i found that i could achieve higher than i expected. Throughout i have built my product knowledge and strengthened my technique, skills and independence. I was then in a position where i could work comfortably and gain invaluable experience working independently on my own projects.
The course did have some problems which was witnessed by each of us throughout. The course structure was left very open ended. Each week there was something wrong, it didnt run as smoothly as first thought. There was occasions where i wanted to leave the course as the organisation was terrible. On numerous occasions we were expected to reach the college at for a 9am lesson start only to be told the lecturer is not in and our lesson is cancelled. I found this incredibly stressful as i have to leave my house at 6.30am in the morning to travel to the college. The communication between student and teacher became unbearable. The beginning of the course we were given a teacher who taught us for two weeks and then we had another make up artist teaching us. A week after that the same happened again until we got a permanent teacher. This was my only criticism for the course being organisation and communication.
Topping off the whole year the final show was literally the best thing i have ever done. I am so proud of myself for being able to produce something from scratch and display it to an audience. Ive never felt a prouder moment in my whole life to the point i got really emotional when my model got applauded. Shows that hard work really does pay off in the end. To finish i thought the course was one of the best decisions of my education. I will happily come back next year for the HND course as i want to progress higher within make up.