On the 15th October I met my supervisor for the first time. A group of 4, including me, met Gloria over zoom for a chat about our ideas and to get some initial feedback from her ahead of our Pitch next week. Gloria has worked in community radio for a long time and been an MMP supervisor at Bournemouth for several years so I felt confident she would be able to help me meet my highest potential.
After hearing the original concept for my idea she encouraged me to listen to the Beyond Finances podcast for some inspiration on the topic.
She also encouraged me to have a back up plan for the interviews I had already secured as it is always important to be prepared for the worst. In regards to the pitch, she told me to include some images of my interviewees as a visual element is a good way to keep a presentation interesting.
Gloria also gave general advice to everyone at the end of the Zoom call after we had all shared our ideas. She reminded us to:
1) Be precise
2) Show everything you know
3) Highlight the relevancy of the topic today
On Tuesday 20th October I pitched the initial idea for my MMP to my academic supervisor and a secondary marker. Due to the pandemic it was done remotely over Zoom which felt strange as it was different to how I have pitched in the past (face to face).
I spent time ahead of the presentation preparing notes of what I wanted to include and what the marking criteria would want me to include.
I also created a handout of additional information that didn't fit in the three minute time constraints but that I still felt would help my supervisor gain a better understanding of my topic.
And I included some images of the interviews I hoped to get, after the initial feedback from Gloria the week before.
At the end of the pitch Gloria and the secondary marker both said they felt I was covering a very interesting and relevant topic. They asked me questions regarding the geographical scope of my debate and said thinking about this would help me make my documentary more concise with a clearer angle.
Overall I was happy with the pitch I presented; I feel it went well and I explained everything clearly and precisely.
On the 13th of November I received the feedback and grade for my pitch presentation. This makes up for 30% of my final grade and is the first marked assessment of final year so I was nervous to receive the results.
I was awarded 70% which just tips me into the bracket of a First. I am over the moon with this as it sets me nicely for the rest of year.
The feedback Gloria gave me went as such
"It was a good presentation with a scope for improvement. There is an ambition and originality in your project idea of the class ceiling in fashion. You presented the pitch confidently, however, there was a lack of clarity in terms of the focus of the project. While the topic is original, the further development and angles of the story need refinement. You were confident that there is a class ceiling in fashion, and to support that, you explained that you are going to include relevant case studies, including of a model. However, the pitch indicated a personal bias towards the subject – this could be avoided by considering adding a professional/research expert to support your stance of the class ceiling in fashion. You had thought about the scope (including geographical) of the project, but it was not clear until asked after the presentation. The pitch showed a good understanding of your target audience as well as the chosen platform of the Foundation FM’s Catch up show. Overall, it was a good pitch presentation, with a lot of potential and also a scope for further improvements to make it a stronger one."