Media & Performance

The media and performance course at Salford University seemed perfect for me. I was able to cover all the areas I wanted in performance (acting, music, singing) and media (music videos and short films).

Firstly, I need to say that I was TOTALLY mis-sold the course, because I found out after they'd enrolled me and taken my money, that none of the things that I actually wanted to do were feasible. I had to do as I was told and there was no option to try and do things differently or creatively. Which leads me onto my next point, Salford University took ALL the creativity out of these subjects and made them dull and overly academic.

A senior tutor even took me to one side when I submitted a short film. The entire year group had been given the same script with direction notes on it. So basically when everyone handed in their completed films apart from the actors and the physical locations EVERY film looked the same.So I made some very slight alterations, as filming and editing is one of my specialities, to spice things up a bit. This wasn't allowed, they wanted us all to produce practically the exact same piece. Also, a woman called Rebecca ran the IPS (intergrated production studies) lessons. She owned a local filing/editing business and supposedly knew her stuff. Wrong. Out of the 16 lessons she was meant to teach, she probably turned up4 or 5 times, meaning that some people had commuted from miles away for absolutley nothing. She was also a nightmare to get hold if you had any issues and to be honest, she seemed to know very little about anything apart from the iphone she constantly played with, whilst we waited for her to give us some sort of instruction. I know for a fact, year upon year, nearly everybody complains about this woman and yet the University continue to employ her. Why?

As a fresher, you are given absolutley NO guidance of how things work and there is no real help available to you if you have any problems. Fresh from college, a lot of people struggled.

This course also does very badly at taking peoples competency levels into account, matching up 4 or 5 who knew their stuff and clearly were going to produce an excellent piece of work whist 6 or 7 others who were utterly clueless as to where to even start were just left, with the tutors clearly having their favourites (which were the big boobed females and the gay males, anyone who wasn't either of these things were just ignored).

The general intelligence levels of people on the course were hideously low. I think the University will practically take ANYONE on as long as they're willing to pay through the nose.

The facilities were absolutley DIRE meaning most lessons were taught out in corridors or in completely different buildings to our own (which we never found out until the last minute having to take at least a 20 minute walk to the other side of campus).

Also, the tutors/lecturers had far to much control over general happenings. I saw people get docked 10% off a mark/grade because they did something the tutor didn't like. The tutors, in the majority, throw their weight around. Bullies is another way to put it.

The only positive thing I have to say is that a couple of the course leaders are very helpful (I think they're aware that the course is shocking, and are trying to make up for it). If all staff took some of these two's enthusiasm and helpfulness, the course would be fantastic.

I would strongly tell anybody who is looking at doing a course within these fields to go elsewhere. Go somewhere where your creativity will be welcomed and you will be allowed to flourish. Do not go on this course if your serious about what you want to do. They will kill all passion you have for the specialised subject, putting you into a large amount of debt and really in reality, graduating with a pretty pointless and vague degree.