Thesis Words of Wisdom
After 9 long months, I’m finally done with my Senior Thesis in the IMM department. Along the way, there have been so many changes, struggles, triumphs, and failures. Despite my initial fears with my project, I made it out alive and prosperous. For those of you who may be in a similar boat, whether you will be focusing on Thesis next semester or are trying to make a project of your own, you may be wondering what the journey has been like from September to May. So with this post, I hope to give you some insight on my process with creating A Rainbow of Music and how it made my project a success!
Finding inspiration:
Most importantly, you have to find the right idea. If you don’t start out with a good idea, then the whole project will suffer as a result. However, finding the right idea isn’t always easy. In fact, your idea will change drastically from when you first start thinking of the Thesis project. I was in Chris Ault’s section, so he had us think of 3 different ideas based on our skills and interests. Of the two I was really interested in, I had a visual novel that I had been writing the story for and my visual music project (which is what I went with).
But how did we come up with these ideas in the first place?
Well, it has to come from a good place in your heart. It needs to be something that you are passionate about. You should be waking up almost every day saying, “I can’t wait to work on my Thesis project!” Rather than saying, “Ugh, I have to work on Thesis today.” If you’re completely unsure of where to start, do a little soul searching! Find out which activities and interests motivate, excite, and energize you. And even if you think you’re absolutely sure of your idea, reflect and think about whether this is something you will want to spend hours refining every day.
And most importantly, if you find yourself stuck, don’t be afraid to take a step away and breathe for a while. Once you come back, you’ll feel more refreshed to start working!
Feedback:
Feedback is something that many IMM students dread. Whether they are self-conscious of their work or are afraid of what people might say, many people dread the word and avoid it. However, with Thesis, it is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL that you get feedback as much as possible. For me, it was best to get feedback on major changes I did, along with minor fixes along the way. Once a week when I would go to school, I’d show my friends and professors what I worked on and asked for their honest opinion.
However, be sure to keep an open mind about who you get feedback from. If you show your project to like-minded people, then they’ll tell you what you want to hear and there would be nothing to change. Instead, try to surround yourself with outsiders, or people who don’t know anything about your project. That way, you can be sure if your idea resonates with people outside of IMM. That being said, you should still aim to get feedback from your peers because they might have tips and tricks for you to implement into the final design. All in all, get a good variety of people to test your project and give feedback.
In terms of implementing feedback, have an open mind but take it with a grain of salt. As IMM majors, we need to be okay with receiving criticism and making the most of it. However, some critiques may not be within the scope of the Thesis class. Over the course of 9 months, I received a lot of critique from professors, peers, family members, etc. But some feedback just wasn’t within my range of knowledge or would take too long to implement. At the end of the day, keep the feedback in the back of your mind and do your best to implement it. If you can’t implement everything within 9 months, it isn’t the end of the world.
Existing knowledge and developing new skills:
Ideally, the Thesis project should reflect your existing knowledge while still challenging you to develop new skills. For my project, 1/3 of it involved skills that I had been refining for over 8 years (Music composition and sound design), whereas 2/3rds of it involved skills that I had little knowledge/no experience with (coding and animation). Personally, I feel as though it was the perfect mix! I still spent a lot of time messing with the audio, but it was definitely a learning experience to problem solve with programs and concepts that were foreign to me. If you are an expert in an area, maybe try adding other elements to it that are foreign to you.
“But I don’t know how to (insert skill here)!”
Believe me, I was there. We were all there before. I didn’t know anything about animation or keyframes before Fall 2018. And the only coding experience I had was an intro level course to Javascript! But by May, I had enough knowledge to make a demo and prototype that many people enjoyed! Don’t be afraid of the things you don’t know how to do. We have Google, Lynda, and other resources for a reason. Utilize them to the best of your ability and challenge yourself!
Resources:
One of the biggest successes of my project progression was the amount of resources I had. If it’s any advice I can give to future Seniors, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESOURCES YOU HAVE. Like I said before, Google and Lynda are your best friends throughout this process. Along with that, always ask your professors for help (that’s kind of what they’re there for). One of my saving graces was that I was able to meet with Dr. Nakra every week at 9 AM. Her expertise was in music, but she still helped me week by week with the issues I was having and gave great feedback on my progress.
Do NOT try and tackle this alone. Ask for help when you need it and share your problems and concerns with the professors and other students. Not to mention, there are many alumni who can help you. Dr. Nakra put me into contact with Eric O’Hare and he also gave me some helpful tips on how to tackle my project.
The bottom line is: your resources range from Google, to tutorials, to professors, to peers, to alumni, etc. UTILIZE THEM.
Work Habits:
“I’ll work on it later.”
As you’ll probably hear your professors say that you need to be systematic in your approach next year. It’s not good enough to just say “I’ll work on it today and tomorrow for a few hours.” Be VERY specific with yourself and do not give any excuses. “I am going to work on my project from 11AM-2PM with no interruptions.” It also helps to set yourself into a ritual every time you work. For example, I can never work unless my bed is made and my room is clean. So every morning, when I’m ready to work, I make my bed and clean up everything on my floor and dressers. Then, I sit at my desk and get cracking on that laptop. My routine may not work for everyone, but it certainly helps me to stay organized.
Speaking of organized, keep your project as organized and clean as possible. Make a plan for yourself with to-do lists of things you want to get done week by week. It helps to know what you’re doing before you dive head first into the project. You should also acquire any necessary research on the subject matter and programs you will be using so you can back up your idea and execution with facts. I highly advise against pulling all-nighters. Some people work best at night, which is fine, but you should not be losing sleep over this project. If you are systematic and make sufficient progress every week, you won’t need to work to the point of exhaustion. Take care of yourselves please! (more on that down below)
Student to Professional:
Now that Thesis is over, what do we do now? Job hunting. Be sure to adjust your resume as you complete your undergraduate studies and include any other skills you developed. My next move is making a portfolio website. If you have one already, that’s great and be sure to advertise it to the best of your ability. A portfolio website is a great way to showcase your skills, rather than just talking about them in a cover letter. My initial plan for my Senior year was to have an internship, but it didn’t work out. And that’s okay! You just have to keep searching. Don’t get too heartbroken if a job doesn’t get back to you or if they don’t offer you the position. Just keep moving along and eventually, something great will come your way.
With the interview process, it is a little nerve-wracking. However, practice makes perfect. The more you do it, the better you become. Try doing some mock interviews to prep you for upcoming/future interviews.
In terms of, “What jobs should I apply to?” the answer is anything and everything. With IMM, you can cater this major to practically anything you want it to be. If you’re unsure of what you want to do, apply to as many places as possible. Just recently, I made a second copy of my resume. One copy is for Music Tech related positions and the other is for more general interpersonal positions. With IMM, the sky is the limit.
Mental Health
Lastly, I would like to talk about something that many people don’t focus on: Mental Health. For those that already suffer from mental illness, you may already know how hard it can be to motivate yourself or present in front of many people. With Thesis, it’s very easy to spiral and lose track of what’s important. This is why it is absolutely most important to practice self-care this year, more so than you have done in the past. Make sure you get enough sleep, eat properly, exercise, take mental breaks when you work for too long, etc. A lot of these things sound really simple, but you’d be surprised how little people take care of themselves under stress. Senior year may be the most stressful year of college, but if you take care of yourself, it will ease your stress and help you be more productive. Arguably, self-care was the most important part of Thesis.
I wish all the future Seniors the best of luck with Thesis, along with anyone who aspires to create and innovate. Work hard, do your best, and stay colorful!
