If there is one thing last semester (my first one being a uni and Media student) taught me, that would be uni is all about experimenting and making the best of new experiences. I headed into Media 1 not shooting a video before, not editing anything before, and not taking a proper photograph before (unless you count circumstances when strangers call me out on an ordinary Saturday afternoon and ask nicely for me to take some photos in benefit of their virtual life to be proper photography. I can never please easily). Making vlogs was the highlight of my first uni experience. Honestly, at times they were cringy to watch, but in the end those videos proved to be solid foundation in understanding what Media study is really about – constantly experimenting, improving and reflecting.

I take that “learn something new every day” mentality with me into Media 2, which is my first engagement with a studio. When choosing “The Scene in Cinema” as one of my preferences, I imagine learning more about the cameras and how they are used in construction of scenes. To a certain extent, my first thought was precise. The camera would be the star of the studio, and right away in the first session, we got to learn about its different components, as well as practicing how to set it and the tripod up properly. It was very much all new information and practical to me, considering I have not been near cameras of such size before. I also came to acknowledging the concepts of “panning” and “tilting”, which are basic motions in cinematography. It is knowledge like this that I aim to earn more at the end of the course: always something new to learn and appreciate everyday about the use of camera coverage in cinematography in terms of techniques as well as valuable practices to put that knowledge into empirical.

What I found is truly special about this studio is it emphasizes the role of camera coverage in films, an aspect that is too often underestimated according to my tutor. This makes me think of how I have always appreciated a movie: the acting, the plot and the visual effects. It is true that how a scene is shot is an element I never think about, but it plays a fundamental role in how the scene would eventually turn out. The reading by Tom Reilly, “Blocking is overlooked and undervalued” in 2009 highlights this fact. He significantly imposes the process of blocking which is “the process of choreographing a scene” to be having “a dramatic effect on both the rhythm and the timing of a film”. Some exercises in class later required us to practice this, as we constructed some scenes from certain scripts with restrictions over camera coverage implied. From these exercises, I realise that there are many more factors of camera coverage that have to be considered: lighting, exposure, reflection or framing are just some of them. Hopefully, I would be able to ponder on them when practising with the camera later on in the semester. And moreover, to appreciate the effect of camera coverage to a greater extent in watching movies is another goal I aim to accomplish at the end of the semester, as this aspect in cinematography is too fascinating to be left out.