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I think it's where it's all happening.
I think it's important to experience a capital city.
It's a lovely location to be in.
Apart from, aside from the course there are galleries, museums - you know there is a lot going on.
You can go and see some of the bigger colleges' shows and that helps you out with your own work.
So you've obviously got all the cultural things going on which are on your doorstep.
I've never been to so many private views in my life and of course that is another benefit of being here in London.
You've got the kind of the nice suburban feel and not the hectic London feel
but also the accessibility into London.
It is close enough to London and you have all the south of the country, and so I think it has both merits.
London is a cultural hub - also the design over here is a lot more free than in America.
You kinda take chances with the European market in general.
I just think being in a major city studying art is essential;
it lets you develop your own identity as an artist.
London is great. It is beautiful. It is full of design and of art.
You have your ideas and they try to guide you there. They never say this is bad,
don't do it at all. They always let you.
I wasn't really focused before I came to Kingston. I guess Kingston helped me focus my intention more on design.
It helped reaffirm my decision to do design also.
Two colleagues of mine had studied at Kingston and were really excited and couldn't praise it enough
so I came to Kingston to have a look at it and really liked what I had seen.
On our course there are 13 students. From those 13 students there are actually
10 nationalities so it is very diverse.
The course director our course very much as a foundation course for grown ups where you
are encouraged really just to really explore lots of different avenues.
The creative environment is brilliant here.
You haven't got all people coming from just one background,
say like a painting or a drawing background. People come from lots of different disciplines.
It is quite a small course because it is a postgraduate. There are about 10 people on the course
and so because we are working in groups and there is a lot of teamwork, we get to know each other quite quickly.
We are very encouraged to work in the studio and form a community.
They are very good classmates who are all professional in their own field so I get more inspiration from them.
The tutors, the resident tutors that are here are just really brilliant and supportive,
and just very knowledgeable in their field and it just impresses me
that they do their own work as well which is very exciting.
It is a very intimate interaction with the tutor.
I came with certain ideas about drawing and I have just been influenced
and my horizons really broadened, not only by tutors on the course but my fellow students and their past experience
experience because there are such a wide range of students from different backgrounds and
we all just get so much from each other.
Also I think what has had the most impact on me is the visiting lecturers
that we have and because we are so close to London we have really renowned people
- so for instance Hugh Lork and Jordan McKenzie have come
and they have taught us for the day as well as giving talks and that has been so exciting.
I think perhaps other places in the country you just wouldn't have access to those kinds of people, it's brilliant.
Before I came to uni I didn't know really anything about software or cameras
but the technical support here is brilliant and they've got a lot of experience
and I think for my course in particular where you do have to know all of this technical stuff
it is really, really useful.
The technical support at college is really good. The two guys that we go to most are very helpful and always
on hand which is great and can give us a broad range of advice about software applications, using
cameras, filming techniques, all sorts of stuff like that.
And that is good because it throws you right in at the deep end and you haven't got any time to have to worry about
whether you know if you don't know the software or
I've never used a camera before. You've just got to get in there and do it. It's a good way to start.
The equipment that is on hand is really useful, really professional.
There are good photography facilities, definitely good moving image and film and animation equipment
which I think is really actually extraordinary.
The main tutors both have worked extensively in industry,
both from a BBC background.
We have industry speakers coming in to teach us
- they taught us for two week projects and I think that
that's really, really important because you are getting a nice balance of the commercial world
which is obviously what I am going to be exposed to when the course finishes in November.
You are also being able to be creative and I think that is an important balance.
A lot of students have had a lot of success from here.
One girl actually has just got a job on the new Bond movie which is excellent.
We all come with our different skills, knowledge and experience; and that makes it really exciting.
There are some interactions with other courses - for example
I spend a lot of time in the moving image studio which is dedicated to animation students.
Within that you can do animation, you can do preparation for title sequences, motion graphics,
commercials, idents, branding - so it is really broad.
But of course you can be very specific within that if you know
or you can learn to know what you really want to get into.
You get all of those disciplines together and then from all of their education
and so you in turn learn from them as well as you've got things to offer as well.
Everyone brings something special to the group and it is absolutely brilliant.
Everyone really enjoys work the here and gets on fine, and it's a really nice environment to work in.