Connection begins with the relationship we want to create between the audience and the factual or fictional world. As a cinematographer, I like to think of this as an emotional mindset, a spectrum between subjective and objective. Philosophically speaking, even an objective representation of a scene has still subjectively restrained the three-dimensional world within the two-dimensional recording medium and temporality of when we press record — but I digress.
Building on literature and remarks from practicing filmmakers, achieving a subjective connection entails the “energy of the shot” (Doyle, 1998), a “visceral, tangible feeling” (Thomson, 2010), a presence. At the other end of the spectrum, an objective perspective is non-reactive to the emotion of a scene or character, often observing from a distance or ‘outside’ a characters point of view.

Subjectivity and objectivity can be seen as a guide to the emotional vantage point of a scene, and thus coverage decisions that should be made to maintain or break that vantage point.
In practice, this approach results in ‘rules’ that guide the relationship the camera (and thus the audience) have with the characters and world that are captured.

A great example of this is how cinematographer Robbie Ryan BSC works with director Andrea Arnold in creating subjectivity:

From this example of a ‘rule’ we can see the emergence of specific cinematic techniques that are being referred to in coverage choices when creating this connection with character; through my research I’ve categorised them as:

• Optical Point of View
• Proximity
• Composition & Framing
• Movement
• Time & Focus