It’s a jungle out there – but that hasn’t stopped Adam Park rising up the ranks to create and manage content for some of the biggest brands on social.
His work as Head of Social Programming & Production at Jungle Creations, a social first publisher based in London, has seen his ideas and creations followed by millions and seen by billions. A self-confessed theatre kid, Adam studied BA (Hons) Theatre and Film at QMU between 2011 and 2015.
He now uses his theatrical talents and his passion for social media to create ideas that help people thrive online and in the real world. Rather than just studying the current trends, Adam’s agency is shaping, creating and breaking them. From amateur dramatics in Rosyth, to working with Red Bull, Sony Music, Burger King and Oreo, Adam takes us through his journey.
What sparked your interest in the creative arts?
I was very much a theatre kid at high school and studied drama at an Advanced Higher level. I acted in local am dram productions and performed in shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.
I was also really engaged in digital media from a young age with a keen interest in photography and design. I grew up when social media was just taking off and spent most nights on my computer, learning how to design Bebo backgrounds and getting stuck into other internet legends gone by.
My oldest sister was studying animation at university so I had access to Adobe products and became confident using things like Photoshop and Premiere Pro, which fuelled my learning.
Why did you choose to apply to QMU and what attracted you to the Theatre and Film course?
Drama was the school subject I got most from and my teachers were keen for me to study acting but I was eager to find a course that combined film production with the aspects of acting I loved.
It was also important that the course offered practice-based learning and wasn’t purely theoretical, as one of my biggest goals was to be hands-on and learn practical filmmaking skills.
I liked that the halls were only two minutes away from the University, a dream for 9am lectures!
What did you enjoy most about your course?
Definitely, the breadth of subjects the course offered, covering everything from contemporary British theatre to videography and screenwriting. As someone who wanted to experience all of what the creative arts had to offer, this was ideal for me. I discovered my strengths and potential career paths.
I also enjoyed the flexibility of being able to choose from a wide range of modules in year three and four, and build specialist skills. This was critical for the media production part of the course as the digital world was changing in real-time. When I started studying, online video was barely existent beyond a few blurry clips on YouTube, so it was exciting to see how my skills were transferable and relevant for many different industries.
What are your most memorable experiences of QMU?
I loved living in Edinburgh; it’s the perfect city to be a student.
At the end of my third year, during the summer of 2014, I secured a place on the Santander Universities Internship Programme. For 12 weeks, I worked as a Media Intern with the Lothian Autistic Society. It was a brilliant opportunity to gain valuable work experience and was very rewarding to see my work help the charity communicate and promote the amazing work they do.
What did you do after graduation?
I freelanced for a while, filming football games, creating video ads for local businesses and editing jobs. The job market can be a bit slow after graduation and building a professional portfolio is sometimes tricky but you need to persevere.
At the beginning of 2017, I made the leap to London in search of full-time roles. I joined Jungle Creations as a Junior Video Editor and loved it from day one. I’ve worked in different positions within the company and I’m now Head of Social Programming & Production.
I’m fortunate to have worked with loads of big brands including Red Bull, Universal, Sony Music, Burger King and Oreo.
I’ve also produced interviews with well-known celebrities including Gary Lineker, Tom Holland, Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Moss.
The biggest highlight has been working with the charity CALM, to produce a four-part series around exercise and its relationship with mental health. I’ve long admired the work they do and creating content with them, which received millions of views, was hugely fulfilling.
What does your role at Jungle Creations involve?
My main task is to optimise everything we do for social video, overseeing the content that goes out on our six media brands across different platforms to over 130 million followers. From creative inception and editing to live posting for editorial and commercial content. I approve almost everything you see on a Jungle Creations brand.
What advice would you give to students?
Make the most of your free time with creative ventures. It may help you after graduation.
You’re in a very cool spot in life where you have access to great resources and surrounded by talented people who want to create.
