This project is a challenge as my clients are the third years and as they have now finished there work they justifiably are busy or have gone home to relax. This has been tough as I am relying on them to give me feedback and help me realize the space. However I am using the oppertunity to take over and be the creative force behind the exhibition. This will give me the chance to fulfill my desire to design and gain experience in creating a live project. In the future I will remember that I had a tricky time communicating with some people during the live project and have the confidence to take control of the situation. I am beginning to realize that you can not rely on anyone in this industry and things are changing so rapidly that you have to stay on your toes and be prepared for the worst! I feel a lot more relaxed about things changing now during SDP that I am making sure I have thought of all the possibilities before I make any concrete decisions this process of thorough investigation is sure to help me in the future.

The new proposal for my SDP is to curate the exhibition space for the third year designers, this is not something that I would have originally chosen as I wanted to have more of a design role. However what SDP has taught me so far is to go with the flow and be flexible so I am going to put all my energy into creating a professional look for the exhibition.

The project has been interesting as I had to make sure that all the departemnt from costume, acting to marketing were happy with the final poster. This meant I had to listen and change things at the drop of a hat, this was good for me as I realise that to be a designer you are not always doing your own thing you have to collaborate with others to reach the final look. It was an exciting challenge to meet these requiernemtn and i had to show all the departments a series of final ina,ge inorder for them to shoae the best that would suit the poster. I did not feel rejected if they didnt like some of the images as I had learnt by now that my feeling were not important it is. I have learnt not to feel rejected if someone doesnt like one of my ideas and they way i overcame this was to have many option for the departments to chose from this meant that there was a chance they would at least approve of one. this is a big development for me as in the past I have been too sensitive about my work, the poster helped me to be expereimental but not emotionally involved. I saw the poster design as a professional job rather than a "project" as it was essentially the collaboration of the all the departmets that allowed me to create the final poster. I found that having all the opinion of the departments pushed me to creative a better piece of work, it made me confident nowing I had been given the chance to take on the poster and I will use this to push myself futher in future projects.

I was under pressure to get the poster done to the deadline set by the university, to begin with i was terrified and thought i would not be able to complete it in time. However the pressure only helped me to work more efficiently. The experience showed me how it feels to have people relying on you to produce a creative piece of work for a live performance, this is beneficial for my future as a designer and will give me the confidence in my ability. I had to communicate with the marketing department and this was an interesting experience as they were not seeing the project from a creative point of view they were seeing from marketing eyes. This is not a negative it just made me aware that there are were other departments that I was working for and I had to be flexible to work to everyones demands. This has given me the confidence to to work alongside other professionals as I was dealing with members of staff and they were relying on me which gave me a sense of purpose. I had to be flexible with my time inorder to organise meetings with the relevent members of the marketing staff. It was a daunting experice having to talk to anyone other than my tutors about my own work. It was very different, i couldnt make excuses for my work as I was trying to sell my idea, this will help in the furutre as I have learnt how to positively talk about my work without being negative which is what i do when i am trying to protect myself. I have learnt the importance of being confident infront of the people I am working for as this will enevitably make them believe in my abilities and I will create better work if I belive in myself.

The challenge for the shoot was the timing, I had to organize the setting up of the studio with the photographer, overseeing the hair and makeup for the model and the dressing of the model. The costume is very delicate and large so it took a team of us to dress the model and get the dress to set. In the future I will use these time management skills that I have learnt in all my work. The success of the shoot was down to the preparation and communication between myself the model and photographer, I also had a dresser that had made the costume, this was helpful as she understood the restrictions of the costume. I was under pressure to direct both the model and photographer and I quickly learnt that I could not control every element of the shoot. The spontaneity of the shoot on the day made it so successful and in the future I will be relaxed and prepared to adapt myself to any situation. The project has taught me how to collaborate with other creative people and has given me the confindence to drive a project myself. I have gained experience as a designer in this shoot and as a stylist, I felt that the active, creative role that i played suited my outgoing personality and this is a positive strength that I will continue to develop to become a good designer.

I have gained a lot from the styling of the photoshoot, I had to liase with the photographer and professionally comunicate my ideas in order for us to work together to create the desired look. This skill will be beneficial in my furture as a designer as I have learnt how to talk and express my ideas, I also took on the advice of the photographer, the collaboration between the two of us was the key in producing the final photo. In the future I will use these collaborative skills and apply them to all live projects that i take on.

I am just coming to terms with the fact that I am not designing for my SDP, I chose to design the set so that I could develop my skills and realise a project from the initial stages of design to the final show. I am pleased that I began the design process as I gained confidence in my ability to discuss my ideas to other members of the production team. What I am going to take from this experience is a belief that I can adapt to the many changes and complications of designing. I will continue to develop my design skills and in the future take on another live project that will hopefully be more successful. Even though this has been a failure I am statrting to see it as a real positive for my development as a designer, I will always give 100% but make sure that I am prepared for rejection and changes.

The Lucullus room that I was designing the set for has been cut from the show leaving my project abandoned. This has been difficult because I was already very involved with the designing process and now I have to start my SDP from scratch. I am very disappointed but I realise that these sorts of things happen alot in the industry and it has taught me to not get too emotionally involved in all my projects. I need to think of my work on a business level, this will help me to overcome let downs and rejection in my future career. The process of attending the production meetings has been a true insight into the real runnings of a show. I grew with confidence having to perform in meetings and communicate my ideas with the acting tutors. I have learnt alot from the whole experience and am hoping to continue my new SDP project with the same amount of flare and excitment.