We love working with students for work experience placements, sharing our knowledge (and learning a thing or two from them too.)
Afsaneh Bladt-Cohen, a (soon to be) final year Media Culture and Production student at Southampton Solent University joined us last week to learn about the printing side of Genesis. After a full week here, we caught up with her to learn about her time getting to grips with everything from Retouching right through to Direct to Media UV Printing…
Tell us about your week here at Genesis…
This week I’ve learnt an array of technical skills and practical lessons – from how to load each printer with the appropriate media, through to how to calibrate monitors and printers for production. I think that the most valuable lesson I’ve learnt is the job of each printer and the way that the media used to print on can change the way it is perceived – I’ll bear this firmly in mind when I produce my future work. Seeing work printed on aluminium (ChromaLuxe), steel and wood (Direct to Media) has really broadened my knowledge of what is possible.
What has been your highlight of your time here?
Shadowing each member of the team has been great; each staff member has their own specialisms and it’s fascinating to watch them work, assist where possible, and find out how they got into the business and where they started out.
What about what you’ve enjoyed least?
Without a doubt, the darkroom (used to load paper on the Lambda) was the least enjoyable experience during my time at Genesis – it’s too quiet and too dark. I didn’t enjoy that.
How would you describe Genesis in three words?
Committed, dedicated and (full of) banter.
What do you enjoy most about your course at university?
The variety of things that I’ve had the opportunity to learn during my time at university has been brilliant – my course is very varied – we learn everything from the laws behind the media and what is permissible, through to practical skills in video, audio, photography, web design and all of the different software programs required for each task.
What would you say is the most valuable lesson that you’ve learnt during your time at university?
That c, but that things are more manageable when broken down into small tasks and a lot easier to achieve. Also, not to procrastinate – no matter how enticing everything else may seem at the time – it’s not worth getting distracted.
Lastly, what’s next for you?
After I complete my studies, I intend to move away from Southampton and continue to freelance as a web designer to support my photography – hopefully one day my photography will be to a standard where I can display and sell it, we’ll see!