Ruth Matos: Part 4 of following the Ravensbourne 3

Ruth Matos

Author: Ruth Matos

Published 1st February 2013


Balancing studying and working….
I have always been very dedicated to any projects and ambitions in life. When I started my studies at university I was fully focused on achieving the best grades possible and my coursework was my main priority in life. This was the frame of mind I had during my first and second years at university until an opportunity to work in a feature film production came along. I am now on my third year of a BA Production at Ravensbourne College in London, and the desire to finish my course and start working increases everyday.
In October (2012), I was invited to film a casting session for a feature film for one day. The film was called D-Effects, a psycho thriller feature film directed by Marc Gil, a Spanish director based in London. The film tells the story of a group of friends in London who awaken from a drug and alcohol sodden party to discover that one of them had been killed.
During the casting day, the production manager approached me and asked if I would be interested in filming the “Behind the Scenes” of this film that would be taking place in November.
I wasn’t sure whether to accept it because of my university commitments; however, I took the risk and accepted it.
The production of the film was also looking for a sound recordist. I was really interested in taking this role as this was my area of specialisation in my second year at university. I showed my interest to the production manager and they were happy for me to take the position.
Working as a sound recordist for D-Effects was a great professional experience. I was able to practise what I had learnt about sound recording and also I learnt about other roles within the production of a film. I used my free time between the shots to get closer and help other departments. I also learnt some settings for Red Epic camera and tried focus pulling. At the moment, the film is in post-production and it will be released in 2014 in UK and France.
In the meantime my work at university was accumulating and the pressure of the deadlines was increasing everyday.
I had assignments to write and a short film to produce, but the unit that took more of my time that term wasEnterprise & Entrepreneurship. We were introduced to business ideas and encouraged to understand the business side of creative projects.
One of the projects of this unit was to create a business idea and carry out an enterprise and present it at the event Penrose Market at North Greenwich. I worked with a group and we planned to develop a social enterprise project. The idea was to create an affordable hairdressing salon with the aim to donate the cut hair to cancer charities and give opportunity for new professionals to build a portfolio.
Although this business idea wasn’t directly related to any media studies, it was a good way to learn, practise and develop business ideas and help people.
My attendance at classes wasn’t very good, but I tried to catch up with it as much as I could and managed to submit all the work on time.
During the Christmas holidays I worked on a documentary with my partner about the Rohingya community in Burma. We worked alongside a network of international filmmakers. This investigative documentary looks at the life of this minority group who has experienced tremendous hardship for decades. The aim of this documentary is to raise awareness of their plight and explore their possible future. The team hopes to circulate this documentary in major international film festivals this year. In this project I worked as the cameraperson for the interviews that took place in the UK. We interviewed a number of prominent figures, including the MP Ivan Lewis (Shadow Secretary of State for International Development). It was a great opportunity to improve my camera and lighting skills for interviews, as we had very short time to set up the equipment and to be creative with it.
For now working alongside my studies is very important as it allows me to make contacts in industry and also gain first hand knowledge and experience with professionals.

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