When coming into this studio, I was unaware that it was a combination of first and second-year students. After finding out that I was amongst second years I went back feeling a little demotivated and that I would not be able to produce work as good as theirs or seem like a loser for not knowing as much. Being an individual who lacks a lot of self-confidence. However, after reflecting a lot on that over the past two weeks, I realised I should have been approaching this situation with more positivity and excitement. That I am able to share the same studio as students who have an extra year or experience, knowledge and skills. Having the opportunity to go through some of the work of second years have broadened my view of creativity. The way they structure their shots, their ideas and their editing was just such eye openers to the many different approaches I can incorporate into my work and how much more I need to explore the wonders of Premiere Pro.

In class last week, Paul played a short scene from a TV series and at first, I did not notice much about it but once he started pausing the video bit by bit and breaking it down, there was so much to the filming that I had to observe. He spent about 15 minutes breaking down the different camera angles and the degree to which is perfect to film a scene that involves a dialogue between two people on opposite ends of the room. I was always curious to know how many cameras it took to get those kinds of dialogue scenes that go back and forth to different actors. It was interesting to find out that in a setting/location as such that only one camera was allowed to shoot. Makes sense thinking about it now because they would not be able to get the camera out of sight continuously throughout shooting the scene. Whilst watching this particular scene, it was obvious to everyone that the camera movement had changed but supposedly the actor stays in the same position. However, a few of us noticed that it seemed like the actor had moved as well and it was a fun debate between us and paul as to whether the actor moved. After class last week it was brought to my attention that every time I watch a sort of film, I tend to observe every aspect of it and my boyfriend got annoyed because I kept pausing it and pointing things out.

On a side note,

Collaboration. Collaboration is ‘the action of working with someone to produce something’. Being in the situation of having to work collaboratively in almost every class, it is only right that it should be approached with an open mind. Everyone is creative in their own way and it has been a great experience to get the opportunity to work collaboratively with new people every week. Considering it is only week 2 and everyone is slowly warming up to each other the cooperation, contribution and teamwork in the class so far has been very comforting.

For the past two weeks of this studio, I would say my favourite part of class would be the occasional screenings of our homework. I personally learn better visually therefore with viewing our homework and giving feedbacks on them has really taught me a lot about filming. Last week Paul pulled out a couple of our 30-second sequences to view in class, some edited and some just certain shots. Not going to lie I was hoping mine was not going to be shown because I felt like I could have done much better and that it was not good enough as compared to the rest.

Fortunately yes, fortunately, a shot of my sequence was projected and Paul pointed out a lot of things that I did not even notice about that shot. I did attempt to plan out that shot well, from the angles to where I was going to place myself. However, that wasn’t what was noticed in the shot, what Paul pointed out was the clothes hanging behind the shot and thought that it was a well planned out structured shot when I honestly was not bothered with the clothes hanging that much. After it being pointed out I realised the importance of that detail. That a change of colour in clothing, placement of those clothes hanging to make the shot more pleasing to the eye and how the clothing could either be a part of the background or distract the audience from seeing the actual subject.

This moment of discovery progressed as he carried on giving feedback on other students’ work and as that went on I noticed all these different angles/ideas that I would personally probably not have thought of but really turned out well and worked for the better of the shot. It caught my attention and I was excited to carry on with the class exercises/homework so I could work on those things and try new things as well as plan my shots out better.

(a screenshot from the clip i mentioned)

Through this studio I want to be able to observe the work of others as well as my own in a wider perspective and taking into account all the main facets of film production such as analysing every aspect of the a single shot to a sequence and developing the technical competencies required to work through the projects in this studio. From the white balance, exposure, camera angles, focal length to something as detailed as an object placed in the background that seemed a little out of place that could change the whole aesthetic of the shot. I can honestly say my writing ability to critically analyse and reflect on personal projects/experiences has never been my strong point, however, I am working on it and looking to improve on this area throughout the semester as it is an important and beneficial asset in the process of self-development in this studio.

Being able to handle the equipment (camera/tripod) confidently would also be another goal of mine I would like to be able to achieve by the end of the semester. It is always good to have relationships/friendships with people who share the same passion and artistic film appreciation as you who will understand the struggles and the little joys in the pre/post production process. I am hoping to come out of this studio not only developing my skills and myself as a media practitioner but developing and building strong friendships/connections with my fellow studio mates. With that being said and growing throughout the semester, I am looking forward to collaboratively working with the people in this studio, learning new things and getting their perspective on some of my work as some of them are more experienced.

A point that stood out for me in the aims of studio was “To incrementally and iteratively design your own method of working”, everyone has their own distinctive unique way of working and approaching projects and as someone who is inexperienced I would say, I have yet to discover my own personal way of working through projects and discovering my ‘style’ .Definitely aiming to end the semester feeling proud of how far I and my work have come.