A tickling of the senses… that was what felt by cinematography student Arun Balaram of Neo 4 when he touched Alexa, Arri’s new addition to its digital arm. It was the same experience for all the 25 students of various departments of Neo Film and Broadcasting School, when they had a ‘date’ with Arri Alexa!

  The occasion was the shooting of an International Music Video at Athirapally with Arri’s Alexa by one of the most acclaimed Cinematographers in India, Santhosh Thundiyil. Neo 3 and Neo 4 students were there as a part of one day study tour to know more about Alexa and Santhosh Thundiyil. It was the first time Alexa has been brought to Kerala for a shoot.

It was a fantastic experience for the Neo 3 and Neo 4 students as they could feel the heat and liveliness of a professional shooting set, that too with international artists and producer. Manel Amara, world famous Lebanese singer was shooting for her latest music video with Santhosh Thundiyil at the helm of things behind the camera. They had a four day schedule in Kerala and were shooting in Kodanad, Athirapally and Alleppey. Students could feel the professionalism of International artists and Bombay crew.

 School director Jain Joseph accompanied the students and facilitated a practical demonstration of the Camera for the students. There was too much excitement in the air as they were exposed to one of the most modern camera equipment which has triggered a lot of interest all around the world due to its versatility and image quality which almost equals celluloid’s.

 A brief interaction section with Santhosh Thundiyil followed, were he shared his experience in cinema with students. Students were too much impressed by Santhosh Thundiyil’s response to the questions put to him by them. He was very calm and quiet at the same time very informative in his replies. Students were more eager to know about his experience with Alexa and other digital formats.

Another highlight of the shoot is that, 6 previous students of Neo… NEOS..  were assisting Santhosh Thundiyil in this project. So all the present students felt at home at the shooting set as they could relate themselves to these NEOS.

A totally rejuvenating and refreshing experience… That was what all the students who participated in the trip commented about the day!