On the 25th of January, Adam Knight, Shona Galloway and Sam Kemp, a group of Creative Media Practise students, packed their camera equipment and headed to the floating city of Venice, Italy, to capture the celebration of Venice Carnival. Commissioning Editor, Sami Coulthard, had the opportunity to speak to Adam, the group’s Director, Camera and Editor, and Shona, the project’s Producer, about their two days filming in the land of art and culture.
So, tell us a bit about your project, and for those that don’t know, what is the Venice Carnival?
Adam: Our project is to create a cinematic film showcasing Venice and the Carnival of Venice. We wanted to capture the beauty, energy and atmosphere of the carnival and the city.
The Carnival of Venice is an annual festival held in Venice, Italy. The Carnival ends with the Christian celebration of Lent, forty days before Easter, on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. The festival is world-famous for its elaborate masks.
How did the idea of filming it in Venice come about, were you all on board? Why Venice in particular?
Shona: We chose Venice because the carnival looked amazing to film, and there wasn’t a film that showcased the carnival in the way we envisioned.
Was it a pain to plan ahead? (finding a model, deciding on locations etc)
Shona: The planning wasn’t difficult because I love that aspect, so it was fun casting a model and sorting out the flights and accommodation!
Did you receive any funding for your trip?
Adam: We did a crowd-funder on Indiegogo in which we raised £510 from 19 different backers including friends and family. We also received £300 funding from the university.
How were roles decided upon in your group, were some roles from stressful than others?
Adam: As part of our third year as Creative Media Practice students we are encouraged to specialise in particular roles. Shona specialises in Producing and Production Management. Sam specialises in Director of Photography and Camera Operating. I’m awful at specialising as I tend to do a bit of everything, mainly Directing, Camera and Editing.
Venice is absolutely beautiful (I’ve been myself), was there time to explore the city?
Adam: There was little time when we weren’t shooting. Because we only had two full days there we were on our feet shooting for about 10-11 hours each day but we were able to take in and enjoy the city. We still made time for plenty of drink and snack stops at the many lovely cafes and went out in the evening for a well-earned meal.
Is the video everything you expected? (is it better, or not quite what you expected?)
Adam: For me the film matched and surpassed my expectations because how well produced and planned the project was, all credit to Shona of course. Almost everything went entirely to plan and we were also very fortunate with the weather!
So, when can we see it?
Adam: The finished film will be online in March for viewing to the public.
To keep updated on the project visit the group’s website, or follow Shona, Adam and Sam on Instagram (and follow us too, while you’re there!)
