The experience was unbelievable and I honestly couldn't understand why more people didn't do it. I had such an amazing time meeting hundreds of new people from all over the world! I guess I should start with the beginning then.
When I arrived in Malta, we moved in to a flat in Bugibba right near the sea front and the view was amazing. I had a few days to settle down and then I started my placement at Media Coop Ltd 5 days after I arrived. Here are the links to their website and other outlets:
I was welcomed in to this amazing company by the four guys who work there; John, Ruben, Michel and Joel. In the first week I was at an event in the Parliament buildings in Valletta filming an environmental debate. This put me straight in at the deep end and from this point I knew this was a great place to work.
From this point I was given a few responsibilities that I would take care of throughout my stay at Media Coop. For example; the iValletta website that I have linked has an events page that I was in charge of updating daily with the latest and best events in Valletta.
The company received the get-go from PBS (Public Broadcasting Service in Malta) to make a documentary about Valletta, the capital city. This meant the beginning of long filming hours for myself and Michel the camera man; but this was great because I always had something to do!
We would go out nearly every morning to film stock footage for the series and this meant collecting shots all over the city and also investigating stories and starting interviews with people. Here are a few photographs from our filming days!
Through work I got to visit many places and do a lot of things that you would usually have to pay to do or even things you aren't allowed to do. Michel knew everybody and so introduced me to his friends and other business people in the city. I got to network like I have never networked before; learning bits of Maltese along the way. We filmed all over Valletta, and even though the city isn't even the size of Liverpool, I think I still didn't see all of it! It so packed full of life, culture, architecture and beauty; but I definitely seen more than all of the tourists that came through the city walls daily.
In the office I developed my editing skills with the Adobe suite that the company used which was very useful considering I will most likely be using it for my 3rd year university work. I was able to help edit footage for various projects and was also encouraged to make my own things. So here is a short film I made using my own footage of The Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta.
I used this exercise to learn more about editing to music because that isn't something I have really focused on. It definitely helped me with my editing skills and I learned a lot about using music to create emotion. Joel who was in charge of the editing suite basically just coached me in various tasks and let me help with the documentary edits.
My photography interests really came in to play when they asked me to go and photograph various events that were happening in Valletta. I got to stand as one of the press at these events and take some great photographs using my own DSLR and also the one that they had. Using new equipment made me realise that once you can use one camera, its not hard to use any others and with a bit of practice you can get some really great shots.
Speak Soon!
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