Sometimes I feel that wherever I go or whatever I do, life purposely brings obstacles in my way. But there are some other times that I feel very lucky in my life. Mediazone is one of these cases, that makes me feel very lucky. Mediazone has been a great school for me. By thinking of myself, a year and a half ago, I could say that I am a different person now; the only things that are the same, in comparison to the past, are my memories and my ethics. My mentality has changed in a way that I couldn’t have even imagined. Now, I have a purpose in my life and many goals. This is very important for me, because I have dreams; In fact, “Think Big” is the moto of our university and it has been memorable to be. Even when I am sleeping, I see a big label having the Unic motto; and when I wake up I am not sure if I am dreaming or not. I can talk more about this dream of mine about that motto, a different time. Continue reading
How Mediazone Reshapes You
In my opinion, Mediazone (MZ) is not only the audio-visual hub of the University of Nicosia (UNIC) but also, it is my second home. Not only because I spend the majority of my time at Mediazone, but also because it is the place where I have been growing as a person and as a professional. Now, I am on my third academic year in UNIC and on my second year in Mediazone, as a student assistant. Therefore, I can say with confidence that I am more than glad that I decided to join the crew.
I am studying Digital Communications and Mass Media, concentration Film and Creative Media Production (BA). I find the theoretical and the practical courses of the university interesting, helpful and important. However, I personally believe that they are not enough. Practice and experience are also essential. Mediazone offers this opportunity: to practically use on a daily basis the knowledge that we get from our university courses. In fact, during the semester, we participate in multiple events where we are important members of the production with positions such as Director, Scriptwriter, Camera Operator, Director of Photography, Production Assistant, Gaffer, Editor etc.
TEDx University of Nicosia 2019: my first big event as a member of Mediazone team
Hello! I am Eleni Themistocleous and I am a Psychology student at University of Nicosia. I’ve been a student assistant for 6 to 7 months now, and also serving as a Production Manager here at Mediazone.
Mediazone gave me the big opportunity to participate at a big event, TEDx University of Nicosia 2019, which was the first big event I was participating in as a member of Mediazone.
Although, for me it was more than that. The reason is that TEDx talks came my way a long time before I became a part of Mediazone’s team. I discovered them on YouTube and since then they have given me so much inspiration and motivation but also they changed my way of thinking in many fields. So when I learned that Mediazone is covering this event, I was very excited and I couldn’t wait for it.
The time passed quickly, the organization for the event started and finally, the day of the event came. At this event, my position was, Script Supervisor of the event. The main task of being a script supervisor is to create a detailed script, which would indicate and confirm everything that is happening at any point of the event like for example, the time people needed to be on stage, light, video and audio cues and of course the flow of the entire event. Furthermore, I had to be in constant communication to support the Stage Manager.
Through this whole experience and especially during the day of the event, I learned many important things: I developed and improved my ability to multitask, to maintain attention to detail, to be patient, to solve problems by suggesting solutions and to work under pressure calmly and efficiently. I also understood in a more practical way that in order to be successful you need to be dedicated and to work hard. In addition, I experienced what means to be professional at your job position.
What is it actually like covering big events like TEDx University of Nicosia 2019?
What is it actually like covering big events like TEDx University of Nicosia 2019?
Is the media sphere the right one for you?
Going to the cinema in order to watch a movie is the way that a lot of people hang out with their friends. I personally enjoy watching movies so I thought that if watching movies is so fun then it should also be fun to make them as well! So I chose a course at the University of Nicosia, where I am studying, and I have been learning the process of making a movie from a theoretical point of view. However, apart from the theoretical perspective of the subject, I wanted to gain some practical experience. Thus, I joined Mediazone to get first-hand experience and check if my thoughts were true.
Indeed, I had the chance at the TEDx University of Nicosia 2019 event. That was the perfect opportunity to learn a lot about video recording. But, let’s see exactly what happened at the event…
First of all, preparation starts: lab assistants need to understand where to place equipment, something that is done long before the event, at rehearsal. Then, on the spot, the production team has to place equipment in the correct positions, setup up lighting and adjust camera settings. A lot of final adjustments happen at this point.
Helping Around in TEDx University of Nicosia 2019
I am a first year student at the University of Nicosia and I am studying Digital Communication and Mass Media. This gave the opportunity to become a volunteer at Mediazone which is such an amazing experience that I knew I would only have once in my life.
Until now, several things, that I thought they would be hard to accomplish, showed up. Although, they actually gave me the opportunity to work even harder and learn through those. Even though I am a volunteer, I still want to do as much as I can and to work on different things. Thus, when the time for TEDX University of Nicosia 2019 came, I couldn’t believe it. But at the same time, I asked myself “How can I do this?”.
At this event, I was handling graphics which was a fairly easy task: you press a button and lower thirds appear on the bottom and on left side of the screen. However, I came prepared for anything. When event time came, I needed to wake up early and to work all day but it was definitely worth it.
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION OR SCHOOL OF LIFE?
When I started studying Digital Communication at the University of Nicosia I thought that the courses were going to be mainly practical and we were going to be taught technical aspects of filmmaking… But how naive was I!
I mean, we are definitely getting used to all of the fancy equipment available at Mediazone but it is much more than that. It is more than pressing the record button and following the action.
To begin with, professionals in the field are like FBI agents and marketing professionals combined together that could conquer the world if they only wanted to. These people definitely know what you’re thinking about if you, yourself, have no idea what is going on inside your head. The reason behind this is that if you chose to study Digital Communications you will have to interact with a lot of people and directly with a majority of them in order to accomplish your production goals -and body language plays a big part in that. You are always transmitting messages to people around you whether you like it or not and to make your life easier you may want to familiarize yourself with the meaning behind it.
Something Memorable
The most memorable event so far happened while I was volunteering at Mediazone for the Summer Graduation of 2019 – for the event, I played a hand in the social media role, Live Graphics Operator (less fancy than it sounds), as well as to direct the backstage graduation video.
Generally, I’d been itching for a proper project considering that I’d been volunteering there for a full semester. The chance to mess up at directing was one I (generally hoped to avoid) but welcomed. It also ensured that it kept me busy throughout the time; as I was also assisting in the posts that went to the Mediazone Instagram and University Facebook.
Side Note: I don’t mean to brag, but those posts with the puns? Yeah, that was me.
My ‘UNIC September’ Experience
I developed a somewhat unexpected interest of hiking while spending some holidays at a mountain in south of Peloponnese a few years ago. But, never would I have thought that the next time I would find myself down a trail would be along the ‘UNIC September’ program. ‘UNIC September’ is the orientation program of the University of Nicosia, designed to introduce new students to the UNIC environment and enjoy the experience of being a UNIC student. Apart from learning and social activities one of the ‘UNIC September’ events is a day trip to the Troodos Mountain! And surely enough, I was assigned to this event by Mediazone.
Student assistants in Mediazone are given opportunities to attend and work on various events and projects around Cyprus (and sometimes abroad -yep!) throughout the semesters. Meaning wherever the University goes we follow. Some projects are much more challenging than others but at the end of the day we always feel rewarded as we could have not gained any of the professional experience, precious moments nor develop our selves so early on, during our college years. And all of that is possible only because of Mediazone…
The day of the event came quickly. The bus ride to Troodos Mountain was pretty fun and all freshmen were anticipating the hike. Once we were up the mountain, we noticed the temperature falling – which was a nice escape from the September heat of Nicosia. Soon enough, we were at the beginning of our trail; the Caledonia Waterfalls…
Jenga: A Mediazone Retrospective
New Mediazone Blog starts here and now!
So, buckle up for new faces, new posts, and most importantly, complex analogies.
Before getting into the meat of this post, let us cover the background that facilitates the operations of Mediazone.
Training is a very meticulous but rewarding process. It was my very first training experience and, in many ways, it was comparable to boot-camp. The challenges of training combined with my inexperience felt overwhelming. But this was quickly changed by icebreaker activities. The icebreakers included a variety of intriguing team building exercises. One of those exercises happened to be very personally memorable as it pushed me to write about this experience, i.e. the Giant Jenga!
Safeguarding Cyprus tradition – one video at a time!
The UNESCO Chair here at the University of Nicosia has consistently been involved with highlighting, preserving and emphasizing the importance of Cyprus culture and heritage.
The Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO, with the support of the UNESCO Chair, University of Nicosia and Mediazone, collaborated on a project documenting elements of intangible heritage, spanning two years that began by bringing to the forefront the important art of Lefkaritiko Embroidery Lace making, in the village of Lefkara. That was just the beginning of an incredible relationship.
In the first project, 20 Cypriot artists received the opportunity to work with the teachers of the craft, to learn and live alongside them and ultimately create their own works of art, culminating in a gallery opening and an exhibition in Strasbourg France.
