#mt_futures

[mycityandme]

What Do I Think About Online Challenges? By Amanda Skipper

We have all been around social media long enough to know about the different challenges/hashtags that trend. Anyone remember the Harlem Shake? I recall that trend going around at my school before I had an Instagram account; or rather, I wasn’t really invested with social media at the time. Even so, the Harlem Shake challenge was something I knew of and did with my friends at their Birthday parties. It amazes me how one small idea can get popular and spread around so quickly. Most mainly, participate in these challenges, because of the fact it is popular so they themselves can be too on their posts. Others do it just for the fun of it.

For me personally I have a bit of mixed opinions. On one hand, they can be entertaining to watch, take Tiktok for example. Anytime someone comes up with a new dance, it’s the latest trend and ends up becoming a popular hashtag. I myself had tried but failed at the dances, unbelievably they aren’t as easy as they look. Mind you, I’m not really a dancer, still as the saying goes practise makes perfect. Then there are also the filter effects on Tiktok that go viral. Although that’s mainly due to the fact they’re more interactive. Like the 6-Second Challenge where you have to blink at exactly 6 seconds and I am proud to say I have completed this after many attempts. 

However, there is a dark side to these social media challenges. Some can be quite painful and even put someone’s life at risk. I remember watching YouTube video about the Choking/Fainting/Pass-Out Challenge. I never heard of it, so I clicked to see what it was about. I had an idea based off the name but thought it was absolutely ridiculous of why there would be a challenge for people to purposely make themselves faint or wanting to pass out. I didn’t see the ‘fun’ in it despite being a minor myself at the time. Needless to say I was shocked when I found out how many kids and teenagers had passed away from the said challenge. Apparently you could get a brief sense of euphoria or ‘rush of feeling high’ from it. Whilst it may seem obvious how dangerous it is, to a young audience they won’t know any better. Even if they are aware of the consequences, if their friend did it, then why couldn’t they? It’s a dangerous and horrible mindset in this situation. But I did learn something, not every trending hashtag is all that it’s cracked up to be.

So, my overall opinion of online challenges? Honestly, I find most can be quite fun, just think first before going for the challenge. Don’t just follow the trend because it’s popular. If it’s safe, then sure have a go. But don’t do it if it’s dangerous. Is it worth risking? There are a lot of creative challenges out there and there’s always a new one being discovered so there’s plenty of choices to choose from. Some challenges even get brought back and trend again. So be safe and have fun!

[creativityworks-s2]

#TheGoodInWhereILive - Mujamel Khan

This awesome piece of Street Art can be seen just under the train Bridge that passes Penge. I caught a glimpse of this whilst on my daily walks. it stood  out amongst the normal landscape of houses and shops even thought it can be difficult to find at first. Plus Penge has several of these bits of street art around the village. 

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"Random beauty in the midst of the hustle and bustle " by Matidra Erinle Taken near White City's Westfield, sometimes you can find beauty even in the most mundane places. Taken with Nokia 6

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@Snapchat creating lenses

Using lens studio how great is this #creativityworks

@MT_Futures @Media_Trust @jasminedotiwala @BerkeleyGroupUK @mayorsfund #snapchat #london #snapchatlens #creativity

[cw-s12]

KAS' WEEKLY WRAP UP #4

I was really looking forward to TV & Film Production Week! It's the area I'm most interested in and even though I came in knowing absolutely ZILCH about how it all works, I finished the week having learnt soooo much. I couldn't be more grateful, this was exactly what I was looking for before trying to get my foot in the door. I'm feeling so much more pumped and excited to start applying for schemes/apprenticeships/jobs!!!

Day 1 - BBC

I learned about how to pitch a potential news investigation on this day and how the process looks like. You have to fill out the BBC News Commissioning Form, which I'd never even heard about.

I pitched an idea about investigating the often awful conditions of council flats, which was inspired by personal experiences, the recent ITV investigation into a mould-infested Croydon council flat and of course, Grenfell. The presenters gave me advice on how I would be better prepared to pitch this idea by gathering my own evidence of photos/videos and testimonies from residents. I hope that through a news story given by the BBC, a trusted media source, more awareness will be brought to this issue by giving residents a platform to voice their concerns. Those that live in council housing can be disregarded for being poor or BAME, so I hope more will be done in the future to avoid housing conditions becoming urgent or disastrous again.

One phrase I especially like that was said was: "Just because you can’t tell EVERYONE’S story, don’t stop it from telling SOMEONE’S story".

We also heard from Vinnie Shergill, a producer from Strictly Come Dancing! It's crazy to get to learn from someone that worked on a show I LOVEEEEEEEEED when I was younger. The outfits, the dances, the judges, Bruce Forsyth (rip <3)! An amazing opportunity to listen to someone that had to work from the bottom all the way to where she is now - mega inspiring. Some of the advice she gave that I'll try to take on board were to be tenacious and hardworking, to ask lots of questions and to have a good work ethic. Overall, great day - it's a 10 from me!

Day 2 - Warner Media

I really liked getting to see the sets of The Repair Shop. It was really refreshing to learn about the production from a more practical standpoint. My favourite part from this section was learning about the cameras and the different shots used - the presenter was very informative and interesting.

I also liked the Food Unwrapped sessions, especially having to come up with a food you've always wondered how was made. As a team, we came up with Scorpions and Snakes in Your Alcohol? Found out some CRAAAAZZZY facts about how they gut the snake so it will stay coiled in the bottle to show that it was fierce in spirit. Sickening... also I don't know about y'all but I'm not too keen on the idea of another pandemic so please, ppl, stop eating things that shouldn't be eaten.

I found the presentation given by the Production Coordinators especially useful as that's something I've been interested in and it was great to learn how you're involved right from the beginning to the end - meaning longer contracts andddd getting to know all the gossip :P

Day 3 - Docs with Matty Groves

Great, great, GREAT session delivered by Matty Groves. He was SO informative and I feel like this was such a great opportunity I would never have had access to before, so I'm really grateful to MediaTrust.

I loved watching the example docs, they were sooo good. They were able to deliver such powerful or heartwarming messages in a short amount of time. My favourite probably has to be Pockets, Oor Selfie and Treasure. I loved the idea behind Pockets, the wholesomeness of the elderly couple in Oor Selfie and the brilliant editing and filming style of Treasure, it looked like a really professional doc!

It was so lovely to hear everyone's story behind their treasure item and I have to admit I got a bit emotional. It really was such a unique and special session to have after the past few weeks, so of course, Day 3 was my highlight of the week.

Day 4 - UKTV

I was amazed at the amount of research that goes on behind the TV industry. It just never crossed my mind that Science would be used in an industry like this, but I learnt how important it is to learn about the viewing behaviours of the country to shape content.

They use neuroscience to learn what kind of content is best to keep a viewer engaged. For example, watching someone going away from the camera triggers conceptual closure, which makes your brain lose interest because it thinks it's the end. Therefore, it's better to keep such clips until the end to maintain interest - amazing.

Day 5 - Channel 4

I lovedddddd the session from Channel 4. Although it's been a while since I've watched Channel 4 on a TV, I definitely remember it being one of my top channels to turn to when there was nothing else to watch. So I could really appreciate the fact that they are built on TAKING RISKS. The video montage given on this was really, really powerful.

I also never knew they don't produce their own shows, it's all commissioned. I'm definitely going to be applying for the Production Training scheme - it's paid and is open to those who have basic experience.

After learning more about Channel 4 as a company, I definitely feel like they stood out to me more than the other companies. I was impressed with how much they've invested in their diversity (The TV Collective which gives opportunities to ten BAME-led production companies). I also rate all the schemes/apprenticeships/work experience they have on offer to help newbies into the industry.

I also LOVED the "Complaints Welcome" video, such a good laugh. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

~ Kas

[cw-s12]

- Aaliyah

Cultural Tribes 😆

[cw-s12]

KAS' WEEKLY WRAP UP #1

What a week it has been!

It was so nerve-wracking and intimidating to be in a cohort of such talented and interesting people but once we broke the ice, I realised how lovely everyone was and that we're all in it together (can't believe my very first post starts off with a HSM ref but we move).

Day 1 - Rules & Tips / Agencies

We went through some ground rules to help us get the most out of the course, but I think the most important one and the one I struggle with, is to just ENJOY it! My perfectionism and constant need to take notes of every sentence said is the bane of my existence but I will continue to work on it so hopefullyyyyy, I'll be able to let loose and have fun with everyone else.

We learned about the different agencies, which was all very new to me, so it was interesting to learn about what goes on behind the adverts we see everywhere.

Day 2 - Mindfulness / Mental Health / Confidence

Day 2 was pretty overwhelming for me as we covered so much but it was such an important session to have - our mental health is a hidden battle each one of us fights every day so I'm so grateful to Simone and Tangina for bringing in awesome people to help us through it.

I enjoyed Holly's mindfulness exercise because it taught me the importance of being present so I'm going to do my best to meditate more.

We were blessed with the presence of Ore Ogungbayi and she imparted to us so much wisdom. Her honesty and strength inspired the group to open up and I know I'll be going back to her teachings to get me through tough times.

Chris Forrester kindly came in to help us build confidence and it was really interesting to learn the concept of your thoughts being in the past/present/future. I learnt that a lot of my anxiety comes from not living in the moment - my head is worried about something in the future that 99% of the time, is probably not going to happen.

Day 3 - Cultural Tribes

This day was the highlight of my week because I couldn't stop smiling at everyone's cultural tribes, they were so funny! I was sooo nervous to say my one since I knew it'd be controversial (but I stand by my statement: Nando's is still overrated). Once it was over tho it wasn't so bad. I ended up connecting with the group through our mutual love for dogs and anything Korean!

Day 4 - Personal Bios & Vision Letters

I completely flopped on my vision letter because, for some reason, I couldn't wrap my head around having to write a letter... to myself... that I will open a year later... and reading about things that have happened... yeah, I still don't get it :')

BUT I love the idea, and I'm going to try again because you can never predict life and it'll be really amusing to read back next year :)

~ Kas

[cw-s12]

Weekly Wrap Up!🎉 (Part IV)

You already know what time it is, another weekly wrap up🤙🏾 I actually wanted to make a reel to summarise last week since it was social media week (you see what I mean?) but it wasn’t working. Do not fear! Here’s a reel to celebrate the actual blast that was week 4!

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My Vlog for the vlogstar challenge HW 🤙🏾❤️✨

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The Weekly Wash with Bianca | Week 2: Digital Media

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KAS - My Cultural Tribes! <3

I couldn't get it to export so had to take a video of it - will edit this post with the proper version once I have it. You might need to turn the volume up!

~ Kas

[cw-s12]

Week 2 Roundup!🎉

Here’s my weekly roundup for Week 2! I forgot to add that on Wednesday afternoon, we had our second session on Confidence with Chris Forrester. Here‘s my favourite takeaway: preparation + practice + positive narrative/ celebrate others + acceptance = strong belief system. Each part of this equation missing can have a different effect (you had to be there to get all the gems!)

[cw-s12]

A Mask From The Past...

...or are they here to stay? Although lockdown has been lifted, we're still in the midst of vaccinating our country. Once you've had your vaccine, it's recommended to continue social distancing and to use a mask. So the question is, will we decide to ditch our blue companions and vow to never wear one again once the pandemic is under control or will we morph into a society similar to that of Asia, where masks were a cultural norm long before COVID-19 arrived? One thing we can be certain of is that we have all been given a lesson on how impactful it can be to collectively have better hygiene practices. So if it isn't the small and mighty mask that makes it into next year, here's hoping we continue to give each other that much appreciated 2m of personal space on the tube.

~ Kas

[cw-s12]

Bianca's Cultural Tribes!