March 2012
Where did you Study?
University of Portsmouth.
What did you Study?
English Literature and Film Studies.
What year did you Graduate?
2008
So we can feel more intimate, three words to describe your physical appearance.
Tall, Gangly, Handsome?
What did you do when you left Uni? Be brutally honest! If you cried into a bowl of cereal every morning & treated your local pub like your favourite Uni nightclub, say so.
I went straight back into a temporary job I had the previous summer. I had no idea what the future held for me so I continued to drink entirely too much and demand my girlfriend at the time drove me around, while working 5 days a week at a camping shop. Serendipitously, my dad’s friend came to visit, and told me he had heard of a production company (500 miles away) that regularly took on interns. I arranged a placement, and nearly 4 years later am still working there.
What are you doing now and how long do you see yourself doing it for? Are you in your dream job? If not yet, what is this?
I am an editor at a production company specialising in corporate video. Apart from a distinct lack of sex scenes and car chases, I am very close to being in my (realistically speaking) ideal job. I have worked my way up from being a runner, and am very proud of what I have achieved. I intend to continue in my current position until I believe myself to be as good as I possibly can be. In the future, I would possibly consider a stint as a freelancer, or a move into directing.
Do you think Uni has helped you to be where you are now?
In terms of gaining knowledge for my current career path, no. I blame myself for choosing a very theoretical degree course, but as I left Uni I was totally unprepared for a career in the media. Additionally, the video equipment at my Uni was a million miles away from industry-standard (I know they have since upgraded drastically). However, in terms of giving me a willingness and fearlessness to pack my bags and move 500 miles away from home on the promise of two months work experience, university was invaluable.
Any advice for graduates who aren’t yet in their dream jobs or still battling against this rubbish economy for just an interview?
Be willing to make the teas for at least six months, possibly longer. Do your homework – while I was a runner I put in crazy hours at home in the evenings learning to edit, so I could move ahead when the opportunity eventually arose. Do your own stuff – if it’s your dream job, it should be your hobby as well, right?
Finally, if you would be so kind, tell us briefly about your day ahead – just in case we might want to change our career path.
This morning I came into the office, brewed some coffee and switched on all the computers, logged some memory cards from a shoot we had on Friday night, then set about colour grading and sound balancing a short video about teenage bulimia. Then I sat in on a meeting with some freelance graphic designers. After lunch, I am to be editing a longer DVD resource about flooding, which is still some way off completion.
That’s it. Alex Insch, you have been wonderful.
After Uni 