First Day (of Inductions)

Monday morning I had my first induction for Art and Design Media, this took place in the Sports Hall where every art and design student was lectured by the Dean of Newport, Derek Lawther, along with many other staff. After this, Dale approached one of the admin staff about changing rooms (he has no hot water, nightmare flatmates and someone tried to break in through his window the previous night) and Alex asked about upgrading his course to BA Hons Film & Video. Both outcomes were hopeful!

Next, I had an induction for animation after lunch given by Matthew Gravelle (I keep thinking it's Broderick though, Lol!). We met the other animation leaders too, but I really liked Matt, he was really friendly and didn't talk down to us. He also studied at Newport on the course we are on and he's going to show us his work soon. It was very inspiring and I met lots of interesting people. There are 30 students in my year that are split into two groups (A & B) and it is very balanced between male and female, which surprised me. There was also a girl named Zara who was in the year above me at Yale College, she had taken a gap year before coming to Newport, so it was great to meet a fellow college graduate on my course! (Every other Yale student ended up doing Film & Video).

I have also befriended three other girls: Claire, Bryony and Jess. Who all have very similar interests and are great to talk to! (They loved the badges on my bag!). Inductions took us quite late into the afternoon, so I then met with Alex and Dale for dinner (omelet, yum!) and found that our college friends, Andy and Lara, were on the guest list of a gig in Cardiff that night and we were invited to go! We were also joined by Anwar's flatmate, Glen and a friend of his. It was much easier (and cheaper) than I expected! We got the last free shuttle into Newport, got a group booking for the train (£2.70 each return) spent £6 on the entry fee to Barfly and shared a taxi from the train station to the campus (£3 each). The gig itself featured Don Broco and Fei Comodo, hardcore rock-type bands. The first two supporting acts weren't great, but I really enjoyed the headliners. So overall, good night!

We did run into one hitch on the way back however. The gig ended at about 11pm and the next train was at 11.20pm. By the time we had walked back to the station the train had been and gone and we were getting a bit worried. We were told at Newport that the last train was 12.30am, but we couldn't see it on any boards! Eventually we found someone who told us that this was still true so we waited around for an hour at the station before we could get back! It was almost 2am when I got back to my flat! But it was an adventure. :)

This morning I had yet another induction, but today it was with James Manning. He was like-able and interesting to listen to, but I've heard from my classmates that he was very harsh during the interviews and he admits it himself, so his standards are VERY high and it sounds like he pushes you a lot (usually out of your comfort zone). I think he's not too bad, but I will probably be incredibly nervous when I show my work to him next week!

Speaking of which, the project task! This Fresher's week my course have to fill an A4 sketchbook each with images and visuals and bits 'n pieces of everything that defines us. I can think of plenty of things to put in it, but James wants it finished within a week and he doesn't want us to use just one source (i.e. Internet) so that will make it difficult. I also think he wants us to do abstract drawings of ourselves or things about us and look into it psychologically as well! I find this interesting but very daunting for myself, as it reveals a lot about you and I'm worried about being criticised! I'll have to think long and hard about this one...

I now have the first few hours to myself in a while (it's been so hectic!) so I'm just relaxing in my room to some good tunes. I have my enrollment tonight at 6 till 7pm (an odd time) but until then I've got some paperwork to read through. Until next time, take care!

Love Gemma xxx