Work Shadowing

Pre-Work Shadowing Reflections

1st Work Shadowing (2023): Vocare Studios

Vocare Studios is a media company that specialises in various forms of media such as animation, photography, filmography and graphic design.

Reflection

I feel very nervous about this opportunity as I do not know what to expect. From my research, Vocare has a small team of about 6 to 7 people working on various projects that mostly involve video editing.

Things I hope to gain from this opportunity:

Questions I have:

Hence, I believe that going into this opportunity will be an eye-opening experience that can help me better weigh my potential career paths and provide me with information on the various skills that are required to work in this industry.

During Work Shadowing

1st week (27 Nov - 1 Dec)

Day 1:

My peers (Shri and Melody) and I met up at Tai Seng MRT to navigate our way towards the office so that we wouldn't get lost. (We still ended up getting lost)

We met some of the other staff working there who showed us the things we would have to do around here. We were taught how to use Premiere Pro as it was their main editing software in Vocare. The staff were very nice and welcoming to us and we had fun getting to know them through some icebreakers during lunch! 

When our boss (Jamie) came to the office in the late afternoon, she briefed us on the roles that we would take up during our time here which included helping with editing, storyboarding and many other things. 

As we ended the first day, our last task was to decorate the office for Christmas. 😗

Day 2:

Shri and I were tasked with storyboarding for a video project. Through this, we learned how the storyboarding of videos is done whilst keeping to the client's wants stated in a creative brief and how the sourcing of footage is done. 

It was an interesting process as I managed to learn not only storyboarding but also the essentials of video production.

Day 4: 

Our boss asked us if we would be interested in meeting with her friend who works at Lucasfilm on 6 December. (Of course, we all said yes as we were very excited) 

Day 5: 

I was given a task by my boss to help out with an untouched project for a client which included designing a card. 

I was then sent on my first errand to get materials to craft the card.

2nd week (4 Dec - 8 Dec)

Day 6: 

I was very excited about this day as my boss had tasked me to deliver a special item to a big client in MBFC (Marina Bay Financial Centre). It felt like a breath of fresh air to be out of the office for a while and a little intimidating being in the office district. 

The errand went smoothly as I handed it to the client and it was an eye-opening experience to take a lift without numbered buttons in it. 

When I got back, I helped with the subtitling of a video as the client had pointed out a lot of things that they wanted to change.

Day 8: (An EXTREMELY eventful day)

The main project given to us was the end-of-year video for Vocare. We got the chance to manage the project all on our own from storyboarding to filming to editing and designing the video. I learned a cool transition to do on Canva that day. 😍

It was a very fun experience to film with the staff as we opted for a more 'The Office' vibe and I remember it being very lively as there was a lot of laughter and smiles throughout the whole office.

Meeting with Sarah (from Lucasfilm)

After work, our boss booked a grab for us to meet with Sarah, a senior productions coordinator at Lucasfilm, to talk with her about the film industry in Singapore. 

Sarah talked about her work and her role in the media industry as well as how she got there and offered her advice to us on the various career paths that we want to pursue based on what she had gone through in the media industry. 

We had a delicious dinner together and gained many new insights into the production aspect of media in Singapore along with having a great time talking to her about the workforce.

Day 9 to 10:

Started the editing and designing for the EOY video and learning more features that were present on Canva that I did not know before.

Last week (11 Dec - 15 Dec) 🥲

Day 11: 

My boss was happy with my design for the EOY video and approved it.

Day 12: 

I was tasked with designing a second slide for the invitation card for the Christmas party and was surprised to even know half of the food here exists.

Day 13: 

For the EOY video, I downloaded some audio and edited it in BandLab to ensure that it fits well with the video. I have not touched audio editing in a very long time so I figured this was a great chance to get back into it.

Day 14: 

Designed cards for my mentors to thank them for all the care and support they have given us throughout this whole experience. I was tearing up a little while writing the cards as it was going to be my last day soon.

Final Day, Day 15:

I started the day by helping to collect a Turkey Wellington which was near my house for the party. I discovered a new bakery that I can visit 😋.

My boss had ordered a lot of food for this party and invited her friends who were bosses of the partner companies of Vocare, Silver Bullet Communications and Vocare's design sister company. 

I recall being very interested in the sharing about events planning (which is what Silver Bullet does) and inquired more about the types of events they did ranging from mild to crazy. I was told that the craziest event planned so far was the 2003 campaign; Singapore Roars again, after SARS to relaunch Singapore to the world and attract tourists to visit Singapore. We were shown a video of the opening ceremony and how impressive their ideas managed to play out. 

I remember talking to the guy about how he had gotten into events planning and he shared his life story starting from being a DJ at parties to earn money and the transition from the business industry to an events planning company as he was contacted by his friends to start one with them and his thinking process throughout. Whilst listening, I discovered more about the difference between following passion and pursuing stability and was offered a valuable piece of advice that will stick with me for a very long time. 

It was something along the lines of, "Choose something that will earn you a stable life. Once you have that stability, then you can pursue your hobbies and passion in the future."

After the food, we went on with the present exchange which was quite fun and interesting and I got a cute bag from it! We also played the EOY video that we created for the staff to see for the very first time and was met with a lot of praise.

When the event was over, we cleaned up the space and played some games. We also presented our cards and plaque to Jamie as a token of appreciation for this opportunity.

As the day drew to a close, we said our final goodbyes to the staff at Vocare. It was a bittersweet moment as we had spent the past 3 weeks there and had gotten close to everyone. We took our final picture and left together.

Reflections:

Overall, it was a very fun and enlightening 3 weeks spent. From ideating to storyboarding to editing to designing and communicating with clients, I picked up a great number of both technical and soft skills from this experience. It has been an amazing time to be working there mainly because of the friendly team as well as the numerous opportunities we got from talking to people beyond video productions in the media industry. Throughout this time, I always looked forward to going to work as it was fun and there was a nice community. 

Things I have gained from this opportunity:

I feel that Vocare was the best place for me to be since I learned a great deal about what goes on in media productions and gained multiple good advice for my future; not only about career options but also about life in general. It was a place where I could develop myself in terms of skills and knowledge and has guided me slightly more in my decisions regarding my future.