Final Reflection

Upon completion of my thesis project, and as the senior showcase has finally come to an end, I reflect back on this journey and where it all began in the Fall of 2018. Going into the “Research and Innovation” portion of the thesis course in the September, I felt it important to at least develop a general notion of what I wished my project to be. After a few embarrassing ideas (of which I will not share), I came to the general conclusion that I wanted my work to focus on what I enjoyed: lifting weights and music. One piece of advice I can provide to upcoming seniors is not wait until the start of the semester to brainstorm ideas. Coming in with a general grasp or topic in mind is only going to allot more time to being able to work on said piece. I recognized, as should all individuals reaching the culmination of their IMM careers, that this was my time to finally work on a project that I was passionate about. One’s project can literally be about anything that they are interested in learning or developing but maybe were not given the chance to do during an individual class assignment. A tip for finding inspiration when one feels lost is to ask oneself, “What am I good at, and what do I love to do?” Watch inspiring videos on projects that interest you. Listen to music that puts you in the head-space to dream and ponder. Take your time and feel excited about your choice!

I knew right off the bat that I would focus at least a portion of my project on audio engineering, as it was where my skill-set lied. I felt that taking potentially half of a semester to learn something that I thought may have been “cool,” but I was unfamiliar with or unskilled at would not be wise. It would only result in a mediocre project. This was my time to take my specialties and run with them. I offer that tidbit of advice to all new seniors as well. Take something you are already proficient at, and nurture it over the course of the year. Do not spend too much time trying to learn an advanced skill that takes years to master in the span of 15 weeks!

With all of the pre-planning out of the way, I entered class with a decent idea of what I wanted to do. This, however, evolved slightly during the brainstorming and research periods. I came upon videos by artist, Andrew Huang, which served as a massive source of inspiration to me. Huang had a series of videos where he would take household objects and other seemingly “unmusical” items and create amazing instrumentals by recording and engineering them! I knew right away that I wanted to incorporate that into my work. However, there were periods of time where peers and family members would listen to my idea and not quite “get it.” They would tell me how it would not “work” and how I should maybe try a different approach. Now, generally feedback from others during a brainstorming period can be incredibly helpful. However, in this particular case I recognized due to my engineering skills that this was more than possible and a great idea nonetheless. The issue was in my not being able to properly explain my idea! I had to work long and hard to come up with the perfect five-sentence elevator pitch before it began to make sense to others. The lesson here is that if your gut tells you to pursue something, pursue it! One is not going to want to spend 8 months developing and pouring their heart and soul into something that somebody else told them “may be a better idea than what they really wanted to do.” Everyone’s experience may vary, but this is what helped me.

All of the sudden, the pieces started to come together, and I set out on my quest to create an instrumental and video amalgam which would highlight my audio engineering skills while tying in my passion for training at the gym. I also felt that this video would be an interesting way to market myself for my future online training business that I planned to develop. I must note here to upcoming seniors a valuable lesson that I learned while working out my project idea. At first, and up until a few short weeks before the final, I had a “genius” idea to try and add a third component to my piece. I originally thought that it would be even more creative to try and mix the symptoms of my Tourette’s Syndrome (which manifested themselves when I exercised) into the music. I wanted to parallel in an artistic way how something that gave me overall relief (exercise) sometimes initially sparked symptoms of the very thing I sought to deal with! This sounded nice in theory, but it was an entire project in and of itself, and not something I could do justice to secondarily. The moral of that story was not to try and pile too many extra components onto one’s idea for the sake of complexity. Simple and good (and finished) is better than complicated and convoluted!

Now, I must take a second here to mention to future seniors that, while their projects will undoubtedly benefit from consisting of skills they already possess to some degree, one must not discard an idea they are interested in solely because they are unfamiliar with the means necessary to create it. If there is a skill one seeks to learn, or a “mystery component” of a project that they need to learn how to solve (and fancy solving for that matter), then they should go after it! In my particular case, I did not realize how much of my work consisted of spending time editing video as opposed to mixing. Because I was skilled at audio engineering and sound design, that portion of the work went by quicker and easier. Meanwhile, 65–70% of my time was spent learning how to film, edit video, add special effects, etc. The end result, however, was that I learned a new skill, and the viewers commented on how well done the piece was visually. I now possess the skills necessary to create all means of content completely on my own!

In terms of good work habits and being able to remain productive week in and week out, planning is key. I developed a “blueprint” for the entire Spring semester where I listed each necessary task to complete, along with how long each task should take me and which tasks needed to be completed in order to move on to the next one. I then followed this like a “treasure map!” Every week, I would condense those lists into smaller, more manageable chunks and attack them every day. In my situation, I actually had two projects in one (which was a lot more work than I thought it would be). I first had to gather, compose, mix and master a fully developed audio piece. Then, I had to film and entire video to go with it. THEN, I had to go through and combine the two projects in a meaningful way, and in such a manner that they appeared as one. Without strict planning as to which days would be “audio days” or which would be “video days,” I would not have been able to finish. Having a job which was flexible with hours was a saving grace for me, and I recommend trying to find one for all newcomers to thesis… you're going to need it!

When seeking out the tools necessary to complete my project, in terms of tutorials, Lynda.com and YouTube sufficed. I had enough know-how in the audio realm to determine what was required, and the IMM department providing us with the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite allowed me everything I needed for the video portion. Lynda is replete with quality tutorials, and in the age of information it is almost impossible to not find out how to get something done! The only thing I can reiterate is to keep things as simple as they need to be to accomplish. If one needs to do a generic 3D model, learning autoCAD inside and out would be a waste of time. You are also not going to become an expert in, say, Java or php in 15 weeks or so! Become familiar with the tools necessary to accomplish a given task. This goes back to my personal preference of developing a project based on ones skills.

It is also important to point out that if one is seeking to use their thesis project to land a job in that area, employers do not want to see a “beginner version” of a project that you learned how to do in less than a year. They would prefer to see a “realization of the entire scope of skills that you have spent cultivating over the last four years in IMM.” Keep that in mind. In my particular case, I knew that I was not interested in pursuing a career in audio engineering. I prefer to keep it as a passion and hobby of mine instead. For that reason, my entire project was developed to further my own freelance journey, which I intend to continue on the side while I pursue a higher-paying corporate job (I know, I know). Thesis is as much about creating one’s dream project as it is about considering their future. You have 8 months to get a better idea of what you want to do for your career. Take advantage of that. Do not wait until the summer to send out resumes!

Additionally, think about your marketability, and learn to frame what you're doing in a way which appears desirable to employers. Here’s a tip: When I was working delivering furniture in the summer, on my resume I did not write, “delivered furniture to customers at the Jersey Shore.” Instead, I wrote, “worked in warehouse logistics. Specialized in allocation of client products, retention and account management.” If you are developing a video, or a game or an app, seriously think about not just the end goal, but about what marketable traits you have developed over the course of its creation. I am sure that many of you at the end of the Spring semester will have newly acquired skills in time management, product design, testing and feedback, facilitation, written and verbal communication, etc. These traits are important and marketable! Think outside the box!

In summation, I am beyond pleased with the way my project turned out. I have received nothing but great and positive feedback, and I am proud of my work. I am studying SEO and YouTube tag reliability in order to garner more views when I place this on my newly created YouTube channel. This piece will serve as the first of many in a long line of content that I wish to create. Ultimately, I seek to develop a podcast, weightlifting training advice, general life advice for millennials, funny parody videos and more! I cannot stress how important it is to try everything out! For those entering thesis in the Fall, listen to podcasts, watch interesting films and scour the web for what interests you! Determine what you want you life to be like and pursue it. Take an internship, learn how to boost your resume and linked.in page and get a good headshot! The sky is truly the limit to what you can accomplish, but you have to want it.