About Me
My name is Anastasiya, I’m 21 years old and I come from Ukraine. I grew up in Crimea, but at the age of 13 I came to England to learn English. I spent two months at the International School in Rossall School (Fleetwood) and really enjoyed my time there, so I ended up going back there for a year. Even though I decided to stay in the UK to study, I didn’t want to completely forget about my education back at home, so I continued my studies there part time.
After a year at Rossall, I transferred to Culford School (Suffolk), where I completed my GCSE’s and A-levels and then went on to getting a higher education in London. I did a foundation course in Art & Design (Film Pathway) at University of the Arts London (UAL) and then attended the Met Film School (Ealing Studios) to get my BA in Filmmaking.
At the same time I got in to the National Academy of Internal Affairs in Kiev to do Law (Part Time) and decided to continue my studies there as well as getting my education in the UK. As I was interested in Film&TV Producing, the Law course was useful to me, as I could eventually become a Media Lawyer for Film&TV Productions.
BA at Met Film School was very practical, which was the best thing about the course. In my opinion a practical, repetitive approach is the best way to learn and gain new skills. While studying I also worked on many other projects. I started off with writing and directing short films and gradually I became more interested in Producing and Accounting for films.
I have produced short films (in variety of genres: drama, documentary, comedy, sci-fi, psychological thriller, horror), feature films, TV shows, trailers, live multi camera productions, promo videos, ads and web series. I’ve worked on film shoots in many different places in the UK, Moscow (Russia), Kiev (Ukraine), Crimea (Russia) and LA (USA).
Why Westminster
I started to wonder how any producer sells their product. What makes people interested in your film? What makes them want to buy it or go to the cinema? What is the best way to promote your film? All these questions made me want to learn more about advertising and marketing.
My family friend and my tutor from Met Film School suggested that I look at Westminster Business School, the University of Westminster. I knew about the university and that it has a good reputation. I liked the fact that the university is in central London and that the teaching approach is also very practical, which is what I liked at Met Film School.
I looked at different courses and came across the MA in Marketing Communications, which was perfect for me. I looked at the course overview and the teachers that I will have. The course seemed to cover everything that I would need and all the teachers have worked in the industry, which made me very confident that I would be getting the best education. I also liked the fact that Westminster has so many different societies, events and talks going on.
When I applied, my Postgraduate Applicant Officer had told me about a webinar that I could attend to find out more about the university and the course. This was so helpful as I found out everything I needed to know and I was able to ask any questions that I had regarding the University or the course. After attending it, I was certain in my decision.
I started looking just before I graduated from Met Film School in November 2016 and the course was going to start in January 2017. So I immediately started working on my application. I had to get all my documents for my Student Tier 4 Visa application ready very quickly and also balance my studies and work at the same time. However with the help of Westminster’s Applicant Officers, this process was made quick and easy for me. They helped me and guided me along the way.
Life At Westminster And The Future
When my course started I was overwhelmed by the amount of work and information we were given. But after a week, I got used to the pace and started enjoying myself. I joined different societies and tried to take advantage of the many university facilities across the campuses. Now I am on my third week at Westminster Business School and I am so excited for this year ahead of me. I know that it is going to be challenging yet very inspiring and I am looking forward to then pursuing my career in an ad agency.
Anastasiya Chabanova, a current Westminster Business School postgraduate student enrolled on the January 2017 in-take of the Marketing Communications MA and kindly authored this blog.
Joseph Coote-Cowling
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