Misconceptions of students from Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM)
With the world evolving into a higher technology state, we hear people mention the word “Multimedia” more frequently than before. Creative multimedia is the combination of text, graphics, audio, videos and interactivity in an appealing and innovative way. Although this field is known for turning imagination into reality and generating new ideas that can potentially shape the future, it still has a negative perception from the older generation. More often than not, their misconceptions of the creative multimedia field have interfered with our young generation’s future. We, as FCM students feel that we should bust the myths set upon us and hope to give some encouragement to those young students who aspire to enter our fun and challenging field.
Secondary school students are always faced with the problem of deciding their tertiary education. It is a paramount decision as they are deciding their whole future ahead. Whatever they study in their university will be the field their career is based on. So, their decision is a small piece that leads to a big picture. However, students who dream to study creative multimedia are often forced by their parents to give up for a more “stable choice”. We find that this phenomenon is very disturbing. Not only are those people having the wrong perception but they are also misguiding those students from a future they deserve based on misconceptions.
One of the misconceptions that people have towards students of FCM is that they have a poor academic background and they have no choice but to enter the creative multimedia field. They claim that it doesn’t require a lot of understanding and intelligence to do our line of work. We cannot stress how wrong this misconception is as being an FCM student does not mean that we are a faculty of shallow and unknowledgeable people. To be an outstanding creative multimedia designer, one must be high in divergent thinking, good observation to detail, broad knowledge background with good aesthetic judgement; and also not forgetting technical competency. It is just as hard if not, harder than being merely book smart. We are also trained to use an array of professional softwares that can create from a range of vectors to 3D modeling. Surely this would require a level of intelligence beyond what people think of FCM students. We blend creativity and hard work together to produce quality work.
There is also word of mouth that what FCM students will end up with either an unprofessional career with low pay or with limited job opportunities. On the contrary, in every profession, there is always an element of creative multimedia in it. For example, business people have started relying on graphical Power Point slides during business presentations and proposals. Interactive media is also becoming a rising trend among educators to impart lessons effectively. There are also engineering industries, mathematical and scientific researches that require 3D modelling for computer and graphic simulations. We may not contribute to society in a glamorous and noble way like doctors and lawyers, but what we do are the little wheels in the clockwork of society.
It is also due to the expanding world of media, the demand of creative multimedia people is consequently on the rise. From the aforementioned, we can see that rich media is available in all types of fields therefore there is ample potential in multimedia career. Also not forgetting game designing and creative & commercial arts are one of the most sought after occupations on the market now. Have you noticed that a hit movie is always followed by a game version of it? The market for creative multimedia will never die out. Graduates from creative multimedia can easily be a graphics designer, visual artist, supervisor, digital film animator, senior animator, web designer, photographer or freelancer. The field of creative multimedia truly opens doors to opportunities.
Creative people are often said to be eccentric and antisocial. Well, there is some truth to it actually. To Marshall Maung, creative people may have a slightly more eccentric and attention-worthy personalities but they are not weirdos. She added that, without creative people, the world will be normal and boring. We have an alternative view of life because we are inquisitive people and strive to stand out from the crowd. In 2008, B. Clark mentioned that creative people are indeed more spontaneous, expressive and have many more special characteristics; however, she never mentioned that creative people are antisocial. FCM students cannot afford to be antisocial or weirdos as a creative multimedia designer constantly does presentations, meetings and negotiating with different types of clients. Furthermore, designers often have to work in a team with other people. Clearly the myth of “weirdo & antisocial designers” is disproved. We are just as normal as others.
People also think that we are slaves to our work. In reality, people who are in creative multimedia actually enjoy their work, which is the reason they entered the field in the first place anyway. We strive to excel and produce quality work that is original and inspiring. B. Clark did mention that creative people have preferences for complexity and good attention to detail which may make our life look packed and miserable. We do lead an enjoyable life, making our passion a career. When we reach the stage of earning a living for ourselves, any profession would have a lot of workload.
As a conclusion, creative multimedia gives you an opportunity as bright as other courses give you. Students from the field can still excel in their careers and earn a decent living. We are firm believers that if a dream is pursued with perseverance, success will surely come no matter what they want to do. Therefore, we hope that the older generation will change their minds about creative multimedia and support their child’s best interest to dive into our fun and challenging field. The prospects are endless.
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