Our Event Production and Film and TV degree students recently worked with a regional independent production company, MacLarty Brown Media, to produce an exclusive BBC Christmas special, ‘The Hills Are Alive With The Kanneh-Masons’.
The Kanneh-Masons are an award-winning musical family, made up of seven talented brothers and sisters aged 12 to 25. Filmed on location in Salzburg, the new holiday special sees them follow in the footsteps of Austria’s most famous musical family, the Von Trapps from The Sound Of Music. Cutting between Austria and the Kanneh-Masons hometown of Nottingham, the Christmas holiday special features live performances filmed by Confetti students at our Metronome studios.
Our students got hands-on in roles ranging from camera ops, to rigging, and supporting the production team. Take a look at some behind the scenes shots of the set:
A follow-up to the Royal Television Society award-winning “A Musical Family Christmas With The Kanneh-Masons” – also filmed at Metronome – students gained valuable insights working alongside industry professionals with production credits to boot! Third year BSc (Hons) Film Production Technology student, Laura McNeill, worked as camera operator on the production and really enjoyed the experience, she said:
“Although I wasn’t familiar with the Kanneh Masons to begin with, I was interested in getting involved with this production as it was a unique opportunity to gain experience camera operating in a professional production, which is something I want to go into in the coming years.
“My role on this production was camera operator. I was responsible for a camera on a PED (portable electronic device), and worked with the two other camera operators on the floor, as well as the remote PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras to get a variety of creative shots.
“The skills and experience gained on my course really contributed to my performance, as I felt comfortable operating the camera, and was confident in aspects such as shot framing and focus. Speaking to the DOP (director of photography) during the shoot, I learned a lot about focus pulling, and was able to action this as the day went on, allowing me to become more confident in this area.
“I really enjoyed working with the production team in a professional capacity, as it was interesting to understand more about client-based work, and how the process of recording live music differs to the recording of other content, such as short films.”
Tune in to BBC Two or BBC iPlayer on Christmas Eve at 5.40pm to catch ‘The Hills Are Alive With The Kanneh-Masons’. To find out more about the programme, please visit the BBC website.
You can also watch the previous Royal Television Society Award-winning collaboration, ‘A Musical Family Christmas With The Kanneh-Masons’ on BBC iPlayer.
Photo credit: Tom Morley
Are you interested in being part of events and getting hands-on experience as part of your studies? Book onto an Open Day to find out more about all the opportunities on offer here at Confetti.
