My DPS year began with a short placement at Spectacle Archive, an independent production company with a large archive of social and political content that I was continuing with from the Summer. I worked remotely on some of their archival material, primarily digitising, editing and uploading to YouTube and Vimeo.

It wasn’t the most exciting or creative work, but it gave me an understanding of what to expect in the real world. Everything had to be kept organised to a degree, and footage had to be kept with utmost care. A keen eye for detail was required as Archival footage came with a unique set of drawbacks and spotting them before upload was essential.

During this time, I was also trying to find other placements or projects; I didn’t have much luck early on and after sending a bunch of applications, and that uncertainty made it hard to stay motivated. But in hindsight, the slow start helped me ease into the year and adjust my expectations.