Before UPOU
When I was in senior high school, I wanted to take multimedia. My main goal was to be able to make VFX and pursue it as a career. I was convinced to take animation since VFX makes heavy use of it.
During grade 12, we were taught the basics of industry standard softwares for 2d and 3d animation. It was easier to make things I can hold and I found 3d modeling to be the digital version of what I love doing.
Two years later, I can say it really wasn’t for me. I enjoyed watching animated shows but I struggle when it comes to animating them myself. I can copy illustrations and make my own but I still use lots of reference materials. Compared to the rest of the class, I really couldn’t keep up in illustration.
Admission
The UPCAT was the only the only college admission test I took. It was pretty much UP or nothing.
It was on the day of our final thesis presentation that I found out I passed UPCAT. I was happy I got accepted in to University of the Philippines Open University and that I would be studying multimedia.
Online Class
My expectations for the curriculum was fulfilled when I read “04. Other multimedia studies programs” of Module 2 in our MMS 100 course materials. I expected that the focus will be on theories and concepts for multimedia rather than learning specific software. The industry standard software can and will eventually change, I believe mastering software should be the least of your priorities if you want to be good at multimedia. The tools are important but it’s how you use them that matters.
I found it a bit difficult that there are no classmates you can tap on the shoulder or chat with face to face when you have questions. Sure we can contact each other online but it mostly ends up “seenzoned” and some would send new messages in the group chat as if you didn’t send anything. Technically it should be easier to talk to classmates, but it’s easier to ignore each other too.
MMS 100
The course material for MMS 100 are easily accessible. Unlike other subjects, we don’t have to wait for them to be posted in “myportal” since it’s in an external site. The quizzes aren’t that hard because there’s no time limit and you can save your answers as a draft and come back later. You can even check the quiz questions first and then read the course material for your first or second attempt.
I enjoy reading the course materials because it’s almost as if I’m just searching tutorials and definitions for multimedia online. I do self study for photography and sewing, the course doesn’t feel too different except for the quizzes and assignments.
The first assignment, the eportfolio and blog was fun and challenging. When I first opened up google sites, I wanted to switch to Wix. But when I was done, I noticed how easy it is to change and rearrange elements in your website. In Wix, when you pick a theme, you’re stuck with what is in the layout of the template. Images can’t be rescaled, cropping is impossible, and you can’t even align your text. I’m not sure if there’s an option to make a site completely from scratch, but I sure couldn’t find it because the tools and the layout were unintuitive.
Overall, MMS 100 is fun. Read the course material, take the quizzes, and pass the requirements. The eportfolio pushed me to look through my old works that I thought I lost and revive my social media accounts. I also renamed all my social media account links to be uniformed. This was something I planned on doing but have always put off.
UPOU Blog 