FMP – Evaluation

I have throughly enjoyed working with Angela Clements and Citysave to create my FMP piece. Aside from all the of the production aspect of my FMP, I have genuinely enjoyed learning about credit unions and the good work that they do. I feel as though I have learned a large amount from the project that I can take forward with me.

The project was not without its difficulties, and in retrospect I could have dealt with some of these issues better. Probably the biggest problem that I faced in creating my FMP project is the way in which I communicated with my client. The main way that we communicated was via email. This is generally the preferred and standard method to communicate with your client. However, I felt that at times my relationship with Angela would have benefitted greatly from a face to face conversation or at the very least a Skype conversation. At times,   Angela would forget something that we had arranged or had discussed, which I feel would not have happened as often had we had a oral conversation. I know that this would have been difficult to organise as my client was an extremely busy person, however it would have been worth it in the long run.
Something that I could have improved on was note taking after meeting up with Ms Clements. Again, there would occasionally be a mix up in communication with Angela and she would not be able to recall if we had discussed a certain idea or topic. A number of times Angela would forget that I was supposed to be filming or when I would film, she would not be able to remember what resources she had promised. However, as I wouldn’t have any notes, I could not be certain what I had discussed with her. In the future, when meeting with a client I will ensure that I take notes and send them to the client so that we will always be on the same page.
Another mistake that I found that I did was not setting clear boundaries about what I can and cannot deliver. I feel that part of the problem with this is that I met Angela through Mr Dodzo. At the time, I had just presumed that my client was up to speed on what could be delivered. We should have held a formal meeting as to what I would be delivering as opposed to discussing it over email, which was a poor decision. Towards the end, it also became clear that what I would be delivering had become lost along the way as my client began adding to what the original plan was.
I have also learned from this that in future I need to outsource my editing. I spent far too long editing my product; when I did finally finish my first edit it was rushed and extremely poor, although I’d had months to edit. I ended up relying on Mr Dodzo to assist me with my editing. In the future I will employ someone to edit for me.
Overall I have enjoyed this small taste of the world of work and have learned a large amount from it.