Personal Statement:Television Production 1

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

After looking through many different courses I realised that Media Production is essentially what I love to do most and I am sure it is something I would enjoy doing immensely.

I would enjoy learning more about media production, as I find media language very interesting. I would also like to build on my existing experiences in producing media in order to take it to a higher level, and become capable of creating something of much higher quality. I also hope that in doing this type of course it will increase my chances of getting a career I really enjoy.

Media has always fascinated me. You have so much power and responsibility over so many people. You can change the way they think and feel, like a good story or work of art. Tiny things such as lighting and camera angle can make all the difference. I have many different interests, from writing stories to taking photos, but I think that my favourite will always be film-making.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

As well as Media Studies, I have studied English Language and ICT, both of which need a degree of creativity similar to that of Media. They also incorporate aspects of media, for example in ICT we have had to make websites and multimedia programs, and English Language often requires writing for a specific audience, such as for newspapers or magazines, which allowed me to branch out into other aspects of media production as well as giving me experience in using specialist software such as Macromedia Dreamweaver and Opus Headstart Publisher.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

In my spare time I like to film and edit short videos, either scripted or just finding video clips I have to match up to a song. One large project I have been working on is a homemade television show which started as a parody of Torchwood, but ended up developing into a more serious spinoff targeted at a teenage audience, as we felt that there weren’t enough programmes on television for this target group. I work together with my friends, acting as one of the characters, as well as creating plotlines, directing the filming of scenes and helping edit the clips together.

More than once I have been given an important task at short notice where it was vital to complete it in time. For the Rolls-Royce Innovation Awards 2006, our team made a last-minute decision to change the topic of the website we created, and so I made the necessary adjustments to the colour scheme and layout. I was also appointed as speaker for our group as I was the most confident of my team. This involved talking to the various judges that came around to each display and telling them about our project.

Other events where I have had an important role include our recent 6th Form business event where I talked to professionals from different industries about A-Level Textiles and Media Studies. In year 11 I was on the team of guides that had to show around parents and prospective students, telling them about my own opinions of the school and directing people to different areas. I feel that these experiences have given me important public speaking and leadership skills that would be valuable in media, as communicating ideas and working with other people is something that is likely to happen on an everyday basis.

I practiced taekwondo for 4 years and managed to achieve green belt level, which takes a lot of hard work, memorising patterns and working on making your moves as exact as possible, as well as teaching you important life skills such as courtesy, integrity, perseverance and self-control. Unfortunately I had to make a decision between the sport and my studies and ultimately felt it would be better to stop attending so that I could focus on my work, as I was studying 5 subjects at the time.

I am also very interested in learning music, as I find it to be a very rewarding challenge that also gives you a skill you can share with others. At the moment I am learning bass guitar, and also intend to learn how to play acoustic guitar and the ukulele.

How personal statements have changed?

The current personal statement format, with three 'scaffolding' questions, was introduced by Ucas in September 2025. This personal statement was submitted before then, using the old essay-style format. It has been carefully edited into the three-question format, with all of the original wording kept.

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