JMC Department Lacks Equipment as Students Dive into Intro to Cinematography

In September 2022, AUBG once again was listed among the leading institutions in the Bulgarian University Rankings. In the ranking, AUBG shared first place with Sofia University in Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC). Moreover, AUBG decided to add Film and Theater Studies as a minor, which is mostly accompanied by JMC students. However, there have been concerns regarding the need for more equipment and professors among current students. 

One of the elective courses for Film and Theater studies is Intro to Cinematography. The course is designed to teach students how to create video journalism for various media platforms. Students work in two- or three-person teams to shoot and edit news stories, as well as master the fundamentals of camerawork, and video and audio editing. 

When asked about the course, current AUBG student Maria Taushanova said: “I expected more practice with camera movement and to learn about technical stuff, even though I understand that we need to know some theory too.”  Maria believes the course is still in the making and should be polished better. However, she revealed that working in teams and filming on the different topics in the class is still interesting. 

Niko Long, a JMC student, said:“The lack of equipment definitely affected our studies.” He also stated: “If there were things that I changed, it would be more equipment and better resources for teaching because we learn theory a lot and not so much practice,”. Niko said that he would not take the second level of this class, as he feels that he will learn the class material on his own time. 

"Hristina Tsonkova, another JMC student, said, “I thought there were going to be less students in the class since there are not enough cameras for each of us.” Hristina pointed out that if only two professors can teach this class, it will be harder for them to teach everyone because having only one class is not enough to educate students on camera usage with step-by-step lessons.

“I am happy that we started doing post-production, where we can learn more about editing, which will allow us to practice our skills even outside the class,” she added. Hristina said that she would still take the second level of the class. “This is just an intro class, and in the second level, I believe we will learn even more, and hopefully, the problem with equipment will be solved as well”, said Hristina.