Multimedia?

KatieHennessy

Hi, I was thinking about doing Multimedia in CIT and it sounds interesting but I don't think I fully understand what it's about.

I have looked at the course page and the brochure but I was wondering is there anybody that has done or is doing the course right now who might be able to give me a brief summary of what ye do?

I really like the sound of motion graphics and love video editing. Do you do much of either of them and if so, would you be qualified to do either as a career?

Thanks!

Lia_lia

I did this course a few years ago! It's a great course if you have an interest in what you are doing. There is a bit of coding, which some people found difficult. Especially as most of the students in the class seem to be creative types. I enjoyed the coding part though! It really is what you make of it yourself.

You can see the modules for every year here: Modules.

When I did the course (it could have changed now) you usually chose between a video/film module and a design module of some sort every semester. I didn't have much interest in video so I only did one module in it when I was in 2nd year. However, for those that had an interest in film it's great! There are a few people working in the video/film industry that were in my class. For example: an researcher and producer for a small media company , a video specialist for a very large company, a virtual effects guy that works for movies... There are also a few working in motion graphics. A lot of graduates are working in web design/development. And design in general.

We also did some type of business module almost every semester. Such as project management, marketing, media law etc... We all though these modules were a loada sh*te in college but they do actually help in the workplace!

I thought there would be a lot of photography but I think we only had 1 module. I also thought there would be a lot more graphic design, but that was more "learn it yourself". We did a few animation modules also. There is a lot of independant learning such as watching online video tutorials

Let me know if you've any questions!

KatieHennessy

Hi Lia_lia, thanks so much for all the information! Really appreciated! It sounds really really good, liking it a lot so far! Just another quick question, would you have done much motion graphics or video editing? And do you think the lecturers were helpful when you did it?

Thanks again!

Lia_lia

No problem!

I didn't do much video editing, but that's because I didn't choose the video editing electives. There are video editing electives and the guys that did choose them did some great work!

I did do a bit of motion graphics and really enjoyed it. We used After Effects mainly for motion graphics. And for video Final Cut Pro was used. We also did some 3D animation. And we used Flash, but I'm assuming that isn't used anymore because it's quite outdated. Photoshop was used a lot for most of our modules. Might be worth looking up examples of tutorials for this software on Youtube!

The lecturers are great! But as I said, a lot of the learning will be done outside of lectures. Such as online video tutorials. It's impossible to cover everything in lectures/labs. Also, pretty much everything is assessment/project based. So very time consuming! We didn't do many exams.

KatieHennessy

Lia_lia wrote: »

No problem!

I didn't do much video editing, but that's because I didn't choose the video editing electives. There are video editing electives and the guys that did choose them did some great work!

I did do a bit of motion graphics and really enjoyed it. We used After Effects mainly for motion graphics. And for video Final Cut Pro was used. We also did some 3D animation. And we used Flash, but I'm assuming that isn't used anymore because it's quite outdated. Photoshop was used a lot for most of our modules. Might be worth looking up examples of tutorials for this software on Youtube!

The lecturers are great! But as I said, a lot of the learning will be done outside of lectures. Such as online video tutorials. It's impossible to cover everything in lectures/labs. Also, pretty much everything is assessment/project based. So very time consuming! We didn't do many exams.

Not having many exams sounds lovely! You'd get fairly sick of the same routine in secondary Also, Would it be possible to vary between video and design or is it more the case of focusing on either one? And I know you focused on the design electives but do you possibly know if you would be qualified as a video editor (freelance or in a company) after graduation? Sorry about all the questions haha! I never really got the chance to ask someone who did it before!

Lia_lia

To be honest after I while I kinda wished we had more exams! The project workload can get very very heavy. Quite time consuming. Just make sure you don't leave them until the last minute like I did

Yes, you can chop and change between electives. Few people do though. It can get difficult if everyone in the class is used to doing that area of work, and you are new to it.

Yes, you can be qualified as a video editor. It's also recommend to enter film competitions in your own time. Please be aware that there are very few video editing jobs in this country. There is loads of competition. So you really need to be good at it, and be prepared to do lots of unpaid/very low paid jobs at the start. Of course this isn't the case for everyone, but from what I've seen it's very common.

We also did sound modules in the Cork School of Music which has excellent facilities!

I would also advise having a look at basic HTML/CSS/Javascript. There is a web development module in every semester, and a very large proportion of the class failed these modules. The first couple of coding modules are basic enough, but at after first year they can be tough if you don't understand what's going on!

KatieHennessy

Lia_lia wrote: »

To be honest after I while I kinda wished we had more exams! The project workload can get very very heavy. Quite time consuming. Just make sure you don't leave them until the last minute like I did

Yes, you can chop and change between electives. Few people do though. It can get difficult if everyone in the class is used to doing that area of work, and you are new to it.

Yes, you can be qualified as a video editor. It's also recommend to enter film competitions in your own time. Please be aware that there are very few video editing jobs in this country. There is loads of competition. So you really need to be good at it, and be prepared to do lots of unpaid/very low paid jobs at the start. Of course this isn't the case for everyone, but from what I've seen it's very common.

We also did sound modules in the Cork School of Music which has excellent facilities!

I would also advise having a look at basic HTML/CSS/Javascript. There is a web development module in every semester, and a very large proportion of the class failed these modules. The first couple of coding modules are basic enough, but at after first year they can be tough if you don't understand what's going on!

Haha I'll try to work on my procrastination habit so!

That's great nice to know the option is there anyway in case! And thanks for the heads up on editing, I'd probably be focusing on something else mainly but again, great to know the career path is available anyway

Okay, I'll look more into them! And thanks so much for all your information! It was extremely helpful I would never have known have the stuff otherwise!

stillalive88

I would do that course if I was not so old...
Try and ask some teacher if you can attend a few lesson, just to get a taste of how it is, I would recommend that.
So you can check with your own eyes the environment, the attitude of teachers, everything...

KatieHennessy

stillalive88 wrote: »

I would do that course if I was not so old...
Try and ask some teacher if you can attend a few lesson, just to get a taste of how it is, I would recommend that.
So you can check with your own eyes the environment, the attitude of teachers, everything...

Yeah that's a nice idea, I might just ask my career guidance teacher can she recommend any lecturers there. Thank you!

KatieHennessy

Also, do you have to be good at drawing or is it more just computer work?