I have loved media creation from a very young age. My family still has a thumb drive full of videos my younger sister and I recorded on our mom’s webcam.
When I got a little older and discovered YouTube, I developed an even greater passion for creating. Being a child still, I never reached a wide audience, but I remember having so much fun sharing the silly ideas in my brain.
Throughout middle and high school, my interests drifted elsewhere. I did not even start at Ferris with media creation as my goal. It took quite a while and a lot of convincing myself, but I realized I should do something I have always loved.
So, I switched majors to television and digital media production. I was unsure exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to keep creating things for people. The content I had consumed for years influenced me to want to do the same for others.
I am very fortunate to have fallen into Ferris’ program. I have learned many new skill sets and have been given a lot of hands-on experience. I could take what I have gained here and do almost anything with it.
This is my last semester in this program, and I have the opportunity to create so much content. I love the amount of creative freedom we have as well. I hope that getting to tell stories not only from Ferris but also around the world will be so fulfilling.
I have really found myself drawn toward camera operating and editing. Despite my general lack of interest in sports, I have loved getting to film football, hockey and basketball games.
Creating something that can be enjoyed in the moment has been another newfound love. Live production is a very different process compared to filming and editing videos. The stakes are higher and feedback is more immediate.
I am very excited to see what work I do this semester and how I perform when applying for internships. However, that brings me to a more worrisome part of this career.
It can be difficult to find work in this industry.
Many people opt for freelance work because it allows the most freedom in who they work with. Others prefer a more steady-paying job. The competition in either market is tough.
We are being forced to innovate, as most ideas have been recycled over and over again. Unfortunately, some do not have the patience for human innovation.
Artificial intelligence is being used increasingly in this field of work. So much so that there were months-long strikes from actors and writers back in 2023.
Many AI systems are trained on human work and creativity, often forming strange amalgamations of our world. It steals our hard work and bastardizes it.
Do not get me wrong, AI can be helpful, but not in the way that is currently trending. Despite what benefits come from Generative AI, however, it also plays a large role in harming the planet. According to MIT News, “The computational power required to train generative AI models that often have billions of parameters, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4, can demand a staggering amount of electricity, which leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions and pressures on the electric grid.”
In this moment, human touch is the most important aspect in a piece of work to me. I not only worry that AI itself could take a job opportunity from me in the future, but my refusal to embrace it as well.
I love what I get to do on a day-to-day basis, and I would be torn if that was ripped from under me by a system of code.