Students collaborate with Norwich Theatre Royal and Glyndebourne Opera

Student work displayed in Norwich Theatre Royal during Glyndebourne tour.

Students from the BA (Hons) Animation and BA (Hons) Film and Moving Image Production courses were recently inspired to create work that captures the heady and bewitching nature of Glyndebourne Opera in an exciting collaboration.

Animation course leader Peter Martin explained that the project was a fantastic opportunity for students to work on a live brief with collaborative partners at the Norwich Theatre Royal and Glyndebourne Opera: “Animation and Film students travelled to Glyndebourne for a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour of this world-renowned opera company, which has years of history and tradition but is also very welcoming to a new generation of theatre-goer. Observing a full rehearsal was an insight into the commitment to the highest production values at Glyndebourne; experiment and risk is encouraged as part of the teaching at NUA that students are familiar with, so to see the rigour of this with a whole opera company was an inspirational experience.

The brief set by the Glyndebourne and Theatre Royal teams was for the students to translate their experience of Glyndebourne into their creative practice, with the completed films exhibited in the front-of-house spaces whilst the Glyndebourne tour was in Norwich.

The work was a fast turnaround, with pitching, production and responding to feedback occurring over approximately a one-month period, no small feat for animators. The projects ranged from digital drawn 2D to mixed-media collage including video, film, photography and CG elements being composited to create a vast range of responses to the magical operatic experience that Glyndebourne offers.”