Portfolio and Interview Guide - International -...

Portfolio and Interview Guide

Completing your Postgraduateapplication for the

Faculty of Creative Industries

www.southwales.ac.uk

©Kathrin Heller 2014

Postgraduate Portfolio and Interview Guide

University of South Wales2

Introduction

If you are reading this brochure, you haveprobably already chosen a creative course thatyou would like to study at the University of SouthWales, but may have some queries about theentry criteria for your preferred programme.

Applicants to the majority of our courses are required to takepart in an interview, or present a portfolio, and this brochureis designed to help you with this stage of your application.We do not necessarily require you to visit us in person foryour interview – instead we can interview you via Skype ortelephone. However, if you would like to complete theinterview process in person, you are more than welcome tovisit us and we would be very happy to help arrange this.

The interview process is different depending on the coursefor which you have applied. Some courses require you to take part in auditions, prepare a portfolio or complete a short test.

www.southwales.ac.uk | 03455 76 77 78 | +44 (0)1443 654 450 3

Completing and Submitting your Portfolio

As this guide demonstrates, you are required tosubmit a portfolio to support your application formany of our creative courses. This is because suchcourses often require students to have strong artisticor design abilities.

Your portfolio can be submitted electronically by uploading it to afile sharing website such as Dropbox. Alternatively, you can provideus with a link to our own website if you have one. If you choose toupload your work to a secure website, please remember to provideus with any passwords we may need to access your work.

The portfolio should be tailored towards the course for which youhave chosen to apply and should be a carefully constructedselection of your work, preferably produced during your mostrecent course of study or gained through additional courses or workexperience.

This guide will assist you by explaining how to tailor and adapt yourportfolio to suit your chosen academic course, and highlight thetypes of relevant examples that we will expect from you.

What will the tutor be expecting at interview?

Our tutors use the interview process to decide if youare suitable to take part in your chosen course.

Our tutors look for genuine interest and enthusiasm in their subjectat interview, but their exact requirements can be very differentdepending on which subject you have chosen to study. This is whythis brochure is divided into different subject areas that explainexactly what tutors from each course will expect from you atinterview.

While it may seem a daunting process, the interview is a goodopportunity for you to present yourself in the best possible way. It isnot always possible to say everything you want to in a paperapplication, particularly for practical creative courses.

Taking part in an interview and preparing a portfolio can provideyou with an opportunity to shine. The interview also gives you achance to ask extra questions and to make sure that your chosencourse is right for you. And please don’t worry; we are here everystep of the way to help you.

School of Art and Design

MA Advertising

You will be required to submit a portfolio in order to demonstrateyour strong artistic and design abilities. The course leader is lookingfor evidence for your passion for the subject, as well as evidence ofyour experience in using a range of design techniques, appropriateuse of CAD, and a range of different images/projects displayed.

We are not prescriptive about the exact content of the portfolio,however, as this is likely to vary in accordance with the academicsubject you studied at Undergraduate level, though we would liketo see evidence such as a number of drawing and illustrationtechniques, and see the original ideas that you can demonstrate.

After you have submitted your portfolio, we will contact you toarrange an interview to discuss its content and explore yourinterests further. This can take place over Skype or telephone, if youare unable to attend our campus in person.

You should be prepared to discuss your work and the designers whohave influenced you during the interview, as well as having a strongunderstanding of the advertising and industries, and the role andimportance of the designer within its context.

The interview will last for approximately 30 minutes.



MA Arts Practice (Fine Art)MA Arts Practice (Arts Health and Well Being)

Applicants should submit a portfolio in addition to completing theapplication form, which will form part of the discussion and shouldfeature:

• Well-documented and presented examples of your personal creative output demonstrating the breadth of your practice;

• Visual Journals showing evidence of creative conceptual thoughtprocesses and your ability to work from observation.

You will also be asked to take part in an interview before we canfully consider your application or make you an offer. This can takeplace by Skype or telephone if you are unable to visit our campus.

The interview will last for between 20 and 30 minutes.


MA Documentary Photography

You will be asked to submit a portfolio of your photographic workbefore we can fully consider your application or make you an offer.Your portfolio can be reviewed online if you have a website or viaFlickr. You will also be asked to take part in an interview that cantake place by Skype or telephone if you live overseas, or are unableto visit our campus. You should prepare some thoughts about whatinterests you about documentary photography and about yourexperiences in photography, both practical and academic.

You should also prepare some thoughts as to what you feel that the MA in Documentary Photography can do for you in your futureprofessional career.

For example, do you want to develop further as an artist?

Do you want to pursue an academic career?


MFA Contemporary Photographic Practice

You will be asked to submit a portfolio of your photographic workbefore we can fully consider your application or make you an offer.Your portfolio can be reviewed online if you have a website or Flickr.You will also be asked to take part in an interview that can takeplace by Skype or telephone if you live overseas, or are unable tovisit our campus.

You should prepare some thoughts about what interests you aboutcontemporary photographic practice and about your experiences inphotography, both practical and academic.

You should also prepare some thoughts as to what you feel that theMFA in Contemporary Photographic Practice can do for you in yourfuture professional career.

You should also consider the implications of undertaking study inboth the UK and Italy.




School of Art and Design

MA Fashion Retail

Applicants should submit a portfolio, in addition to completing theapplication form and personal statement, which will form part ofthe interview discussion. Based on your previous experience, theportfolio should feature any of the following:

• An overall career strategy, explaining what you have done so far and how the course will help you to where you wish to go next;

• A selection of recent work (no older than 3 years) relevant to thecourse, this could be examples of campaigns, merchandising, written work, business/brand reports. These examples can be visual or written in nature;

• The work should demonstrate your interest and knowledge of thefashion retail industry. If you are new to the fashion industry or arecoming from a background outside of fashion retail, research intocurrent market trends, issues and ideas for where the industry isgoing are welcomed;

• Examples of projects that display a problem solving, creative approach to a given brief;

• Analytical and contextual research skills applied to project work and live briefs showing the application of research to real-world problem solving;

• Sketchbooks, research books (or other visual means) showing evidence of conceptual thinking and processes;

• Personal/professional/freelance project examples.

You will also be asked to take part in an interview before we canfully consider your application or make you an offer. This can takeplace by Skype or telephone if you are unable to visit our campus.


MA Graphic Communication

You will be asked to take part in an interview before we can fullyconsider your application or make you an offer. This can take placeby Skype or telephone if you are unable to visit our campus. Theinterview will last for between 20 and 30 minutes.

Applicants should submit a portfolio in addition to completing theapplication form, which will form part of the discussion and shouldfeature:

• A selection of work highlighting your ability to draw and idea generate to a level where design concepts can be developed to a finished state;

• A range of typography based projects showing a keen understanding of type and its importance in the design arena;

• Examples of projects that display a problem solving, creative approach to a given brief;

• Examples of photography and image creation/manipulation;• Evidence of an understanding of basic web/screen based

applications using computer software as a tool;• Analytical and contextual research skills applied to project work

and live briefs showing the integration of research into practice-based solutions;

• Sketchbooks/scrapbooks showing evidence of creative conceptual thought processes;

• Personal/professional/freelance design project examples.


School of Media

MA Animation

We request that students provide us with a show reel of recent workas a portfolio, in order to support their application for thisprogramme. Portfolios may be submitted by sending us a link to afile sharing website such as Dropbox, or your own website.

When preparing your portfolio it is important to demonstrate aselection of current specialisms from previous studies or from yourprofessional experience. This could include short films, animatedsequences, visual effects shots or motion graphics. These shouldideally demonstrate not only the finished product but, also, a seriesof breakdowns or test footage, highlighting the developmentprocess of the finished product.

Portfolios should include examples of sketchbook/scrapbooksshowing evidence of creative conceptual thought processes,analytical and conceptual research skills applied to project work andalso live briefs showing the integration of research into practicebased solutions.

An understanding of the animation industry, both geographicallyand hierarchically is also desirable, and will help successfulapplicants to fully emerge themselves in industry practicethroughout their studies.

You may also be required to attend a further interview, which canbe conducted over Skype if preferred, and your portfolio will beused as the starting point for the interview discussion.

MA Computer Animation

The portfolio requirements for the MA Computer Animation arebroadly similar to those for the MA Animation programme, soplease see above for the show reel requirements, to support yourapplication.

However, in addition, it is desirable for students to demonstrate anunderstanding of the computer generated animation and visualeffects industries, both geographically and hierarchically.

You may also be required to attend a further interview for thisprogramme, which can be conducted over Skype if preferred, andyour portfolio will be used as the starting point for the interviewdiscussion.

MA Film MA Documentary Film and Television

In order to complete your application for the above courses, we willfirst ask you to submit examples of your work for us to assess (viayoutube, vimeo, flickr or any other means). This may include filmsthat you have already made, or participated in, or any other relevantmaterial, for example, scripts, photos, artwork. Where the films havebeen made as part of a larger group, please indicate your own role.

You may then be asked to take part in an interview before we canfully consider your application or make you an offer. This can takeplace by Skype or telephone if you are unable to visit our campus.During your interview you will be asked to talk about your portfoliowork, your reasons for wishing to join the course and your careeraspirations.

The interview may last for approximately 30 minutes.

MA Film Production

Due to the specialist nature of this course, you will be required toprovide evidence from a film that you have already produced eitherfor personal interest or through working in the industry, in order todemonstrate a working knowledge of the production process fromscript to screen.

You will also be asked to take part in an interview before we canfully consider your application or make you an offer. This can takeplace by Skype or telephone if you are resident overseas or unableto visit our campus.

Applicants should have a real enthusiasm for the cinema. You mustbe interested in telling stories and have a willingness to collaboratewith others to realise those stories in the form of feature films.Evidence of this should be included in your application. It isimportant that you are hard-working; able to meet deadlines andcan communicate well with others. Leadership and organisationalqualities are also important.

The interview will last between 20 and 30 minutes.

School of Media

MA Visual Effects

We request that students provide us with a show reel of recent workas a portfolio, in order to support their application for thisprogramme.

When preparing your portfolio for application it is important todemonstrate a selection of current specialisms from previousstudies or from your professional experience. This could includeshort films, animated sequences, visual effects shots or motiongraphics. These should ideally demonstrate not only the finishedproduct but, also, a series of breakdowns or test footage,highlighting the development process of the finished product.

As an aspiring visual effects artist, you should be mindful of the factthat we are trying to convince the viewer of the realism of yourwork, and to blur the boundaries between reality and visual effects,leaving the audience questioning how we managed to achievedthis. At portfolio stage we are interested in this quizzical response,so it is of utmost importance that you collate your work with this inmind.

Portfolios should include examples of sketchbook/scrapbooksshowing evidence of creative conceptual thought processes,analytical and conceptual research skills applied to project work andalso live briefs showing the integration of research into practicebased solutions.

An understanding of the visual effects industry, both geographicallyand hierarchically is also desirable, and will help successfulapplicants to fully immerse themselves in industry practicethroughout their studies.

You may also be required to attend a further interview for thisprogramme, which can be conducted over Skype if preferred, andyour portfolio will be used as the starting point for the interviewdiscussion.



MA Media Production

In order to complete your application for the above courses, theCourse Leader would like to see examples of the creative work thatyou have produced. This could take the form of a number ofdifferent examples, across different media fields, for instance:

• One film or tv pilot episode• One animation piece or one example of VFX• One example of web design• A number of photographs from your own portfolio.

In addition to one or a selection of the above examples, we wouldalso like to see one piece of creative writing.

You may then be asked to take part in an interview before we canfully consider your application or make you an offer. This can takeplace by Skype or telephone if you are unable to visit our campus.During your interview you will be asked to talk about your portfoliowork, your reasons for wishing to join the course and your careeraspirations.

The interview may last for approximately 30 minutes.

MA Games Enterprise

We request that you provide a portfolio to support your applicationfor this programme.

Applicants should have a real enthusiasm for the production ofgames, its history, its cultures and a knowledge of working practiceswithin the industry.

You will be asked to provide evidence of having worked on gamesprojects and present a portfolio of work that exemplifies your roleand the calibre of your contribution. This can include:

• design documentation• finished artefacts or prototypes• evidence of level design• 3D modelling or 2D asset work and conceptualisation

We are particularly interested in work that shows a contribution toworking within a team.

You will also be asked to take part in an interview before we canfully consider your application or make you an offer. This can takeplace by Skype or telephone if you are resident overseas or unableto visit our campus.

The interview will last between 20 and 30 minutes.


MA Music Engineering

Applicants must provide supporting materials before applicationscan be fully considered, or any offers made.

These materials could include any recordings, performances,compositions, radio, TV, film, etc. which demonstrate yourproduction abilities and can be submitted by either including a linkto a file sharing website such as Dropbox or providing a URL for ahost website.

Whilst there are no interviews as standard for this course, we mayoccasionally conduct a telephone or Skype discussion shouldfurther clarification around elements of an application be required.

School of Drama and Music

MA Drama

You will be asked to take part in an interview before we can fullyconsider your application or make you an offer. This can take placeby Skype or telephone if you live overseas, or are unable to visit ourcampus.

You should prepare some thoughts about what interests you aboutyour chosen course and about your experiences in drama, bothpractical and academic.

You should also prepare some thoughts as to what you feel that theMA in Drama can do for you in your future career. For example, doyou want to develop further as an artist? Do you want to pursue anacademic career etc.?




MA Scriptwriting

Applicants are asked to provide two examples of their own writing,to be submitted at the same time as the course application, theseshould be an example of both creative writing and also criticalwriting.

The creative writing should typically be a short script or an extractof a longer piece (either for film, TV, radio or theatre) that you havecreated, while the critical writing should be in the format of an essayor review.

The next stage of the process will consist of an interview, which caneither take place face-to-face, or via telephone or Skype if you liveoverseas or are unable to attend.

Interviews last approximately 20 minutes and will take the form of aguided discussion by the course leader.

MA Songwriting and Production

Establishing a career as a songwriter or creative producer will meanthat you will need to have a very clear idea about the kind of musicthat you want to make, be aware of a range of creative referencesfor your work, be flexible and adaptable in terms of your ability torespond to briefs and opportunities and have the necessary skills toallow you to put your ideas into practice.

As such, although the interview process for the MA in Songwritingand Production is informal, we expect candidates to submit aselected portfolio of works that demonstrates your ideas as well asstylistic and, where appropriate, technical accomplishments.

In addition, you will need to put together a brief 800-1000 wordproject proposal that provides an outline of what you hope to makewhilst on the course (for example a set of EPs, an album etc), makingreference to key artists / genres that are aligned with your work(both contemporary and historical) as well as some brief research interms of audience and market awareness, that demonstrates thatyou have considered professional development for your practice asa songwriter / creative producer.

The proposal can be emailed to us before your interview, along withyour portfolio, which can be sent via an online sharing site such asWeTransfer or Dropbox, or send us a link to a Soundcloud playlist.

If you are unable to attend in person, we are happy to carry out theinterview via Skype or telephone


Enquiries and AdmissionsCall: 03455 76 77 78 (UK)Call: +44 (0)1443 654 450 (Overseas)Visit: www.southwales.ac.uk

The University of South Wales works with educational agents all overthe world, appointing local advisers near you, who can provideadditional advice. For a full list of these agents, please visit ourInternational Office’s website, and choose your country of origin: www.southwales.ac.uk/international/visits

If you have any questions, I would be delighted to help you. Pleasecontact Rhian Curtis, International Recruitment and DevelopmentManager on: [email protected]

Design: USW Print & Design 01443 482 677

The University of South Wales is a registered charity. Registration No. 1140312.

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