An analysis of a professional portfolio

The media industry is full of freelance positions in a variety of roles. A freelance camera operator is just one example and often considered one of the most demanding, with around 1.4 million British freelancers working across the country (Matthews, 2014)

Therefore a good-looking online portfolio is very important in order to stand out of the crowd. Cal Thomson is both a freelance camera operator and editor with 5 years experience in writing, shooting and directing short films. His website is a great example as a starting point for someone wanting to create their own online portfolio.

image source: http://www.calthomson.com/

The above image is the home screen to Cal's website. It has a similar feel to that of the wireframe created for Henry Board's brief back in week 2, with similar links to areas such as 'About' and 'Contact'. Like other freelance camera operators, Cal has also chosen to have a show reel on his first page which works well in order to catch the viewers' attention and draws them towards his work. The font used is simple and easy to read, however there is a mix of third and first person wording which can be seen as unprofessional if mixed together.

image source: http://www.calthomson.com/

The second image which can be located above, shows a quick overview about Cal. As previously mentioned, the use of third person contradicts Cal's usage of first person in some posts. The image below shows a screenshot of one of Cal's videos, which is accompanied by informative text about the project. This information is in first person and has several punctual errors. To a potential employer, these sort of mistakes mean a lot and could be the difference between getting hired or not.

image source: http://www.calthomson.com/portfolio/coventry-university-join-in-music-video/

Although errors like these are consistent, the website does also have several positives. The portfolio is rich with evidence of experience. The image below shows several different videos evidencing Cal's experience. To accompany this, each individual video has informative text to go alongside which gives the viewer a better understanding of Cal's involvement of the project.

image source: ihttp://www.calthomson.com/portfolio/

The inclusion of a blog as well as numerous testimonials on the site, make Cal feel more down to Earth and engages the reader even more with him. The ability to access social networking sites such as Facebook and Instagram also build on this notion, whilst getting in touch is very easy and accessible.

image source: http://www.calthomson.com/

On reflection of Cal's online portfolio, what pros and cons can be taken away in order to publish a successful one?

Firstly the cons, as aforementioned, the inclusion of both first and third person text doesn't work well and seems unprofessional. The errors in grammar throughout also make it feel rushed. If spelling errors happen here, what errors might happen on shoot if Cal is hired?

It has to be said there are far more pros than cons throughout. The experience presented is rich and wide in projects. Whilst the layout seems timeless yet upto date modern. Overall, this is a website worthy of taking inspiration from.

References

Thomson, C. (2016). Camera Operator/ Editor in Manchester. [online] Calthomson.com. Available at: http://www.calthomson.com/ [Accessed 16 Mar. 2016].

Matthews, B. (2014). Freelance Statistics 2015: the Freelance Economy in Numbers, Ben Matthews. [online] Ben Matthews. Available at: http://benmatthews.com/freelance-statistics- 2015/ [Accessed 16 Mar 2016].