Expectations and ambitions

So far the start of my DPS year has been quite different to how I imagined it would be before COVID hit. I found lockdown quite a hard time to stay focused and as a result the majority of my attention was away from DPS and on just trying to pass second year. Before the term ended I feel I had not yet put enough work into finishing my portfolio or CV for internship applications, however now with more time over summer I have been able to develop them and create something more presentable that I’m a bit more confident with. My plans haven’t changed that much since first writing my proposal, I still would like to get an internship for a few months in London and then hopefully one abroad later in the year. Before term ended I had planned to get some work over the summer, although I have found looking for somewhere in London fairly hard as the majority of places I would have applied for had not gone back to their offices or properly started regular work again. The pandemic has in someways made looking for internships slightly disheartening, however having finished my portfolio for now I have been sending application emails to different people and companies and will continue sending as much as I can over the next month. Over summer I have been able to keep busy by working on music and creating music videos for my friends.

Screenshot from music video I recently shot

One of my initial goals for the year was to create and release a zine as a self initiated project. Last year I created a zine as the outcome for my first year 1 project, I really enjoyed working in this format and think there’s potential to create some of my best still image work if I were to make another one, so I plan to start working on this soon once I have secured an internship. As far as places or people I would like to work with, I have made a long list of magazines, mostly based in London but some abroad as well, whose work I like and collected contact details as well as emails for the editor for some fo them. Last week I emailed out my portfolio, CV and references with a cover letter to a few and by the end of this week I plan to create a list for fashion designers and video directors and send applications to them as well the rest of the magazines. I have also applied for an internship at Show Studio. I am basically looking for anywhere I could apply skills like photography, film making or the research process and production for visual / conceptual work within fashion, art and design, so this would be a really good place to gain experience.

Dylan Johnstone

Live stream on show studio website