Creativity unleashed
The lighting is ambient. The room’s acoustics are faultless. And every intimate detail’s captured in crisp, awe-inspiring, high definition. It might be a student project, but this is the next best thing to experiencing a professionally produced music gig.
Art School Live, a collaboration between Manchester Met’s technical staff and students from across the University, has taken the music industry by storm since its inception four years ago.
Bringing live-streamed gigs to the School of Digital Arts (SODA) and global audiences alike, each show is carefully curated with hand-picked lineups. It brings industry-standard experience to the students who take part and first-class viewing to the fans who tune in.
When it comes to studio sets, you’d be hard-pressed to find much between Art School Live and gigs by seasoned pros. It’s all thanks to Manchester Met’s specialist industry technology and links with the local creative scene. Not to mention, of course, highly engaged students working under the guidance of experienced technical staff.
The result is a slick and laid-back audio-visual treat, expertly captured with all the immediacy and fragility of live performance. With 15 free-to-view events streamed to date featuring acts by 52 local, national and international artists, each is as close to the likes of Radio One’s iconic Live Lounge as it’s possible to get. Just ask the many hundreds of website, YouTube and social media viewers worldwide who tune in religiously.
For students hoping to boost their CV, Art School Live is a gift. Where else could a sociology student and industry-curious music fan get their hands on a live broadcast camera? Or a business student and avid gig-goer meet and greet pro DJs, managing their marketing and helping to attract digital audiences?
With no less than 200 roles up for grabs so far — everything from camera operator to journalist, sound engineer to designer — there’s an area of expertise for every Manchester Met student.
As Sam Bosworth, Foundation Filmmaking student and Art School Live vision mixer, acknowledges, his opportunity would be unmatched elsewhere. “The closest I’d get doing work experience would be shadowing someone,” he said.
“With these events, I get stuck in, personally taking charge of live camera direction and talking in the ears of the operators. We’ve got a good connection going, and we all work with a bit of a ‘hive mind’.
“It feels great — like I’m part of a much bigger project. It’s about way more than the subject I’m studying. It’s about picking up skills I can use in the future and actually having fun doing it.”
When SODA Technical Specialist Evan Wilson got his hands on a new live-streaming kit in 2019, little did he know what it might lead to. Roping in a friend’s band to test the technology, he experimented with simple live streaming from a classroom.
What started as a handful of filmmaking students helping out grew to several dozen eager applicants across different faculties and disciplines. Then, thanks to co-creator and fellow Technical Specialist Sam Heitzman, ad hoc broadcasts became scheduled events, and students’ tasks turned into defined production roles — over 200 at the last count.
“It’s built up from there,” said Wilson. “We’ve streamed from the University’s Holden Gallery, its theatre and new sound studios, with hundreds watching remotely and a physical audience, too. As more students have applied to take part, we’ve assigned them roles in everything from the technical side to operations and marketing. It’s really varied and gives them real-life experience they can use for their CV or a showreel.
“And as we’ve grown, we’ve been able to attract bigger up-and-coming bands in the local music scene and schedule and promote regular events, with two larger festivals each year.
“We’ve even extended our reach to national and international artists, with Pozi, Reciprocate, BINA (pictured below) coming up from London, and Hainbach visiting from Germany.” Key to that success has been the investment of Rise, Manchester Met’s award-winning co-curricular initiative. It helps students get experience across all disciplines — crucially, not just those related to the course they’re studying, accruing credit points and gaining recognition for career-enhancing learning.
Before Rise got on board, Wilson was calling in favours from musician mates, relying on their goodwill or the promise of a pint. Emboldened by Rise’s investment in the project, he was able to approach new and bona fide bands, attracting emerging talent like soul vocalist [ K S R ], established DJ Shell Zenner and, most recently, TikTok pop sensation Nxdia.
The Manchester-based singer (known personally as Nadia) performed at Art School Live’s January Festival 2023, describing the experience of working with Manchester Met as ‘amazing’, and the student production team as ‘a sick bunch’ (translation for pre-Millennials: great). Having previously gigged at BBC Music’s The Hundred at Old Trafford, Nadia knows what she’s talking about.
“Art School Live was as impressive as any professional gig I’ve done,” she said. “I was in awe of everyone, from the camera operators to the artist liaison crew. The students were on top of their game, and I felt very looked after.”
Responsible in no small way for such a ‘sick’ experience was Caitlin Bottomley, third-year Economics student and Nadia’s artist liaison officer. A music fan in her spare time, part of her attraction to the role was the fact it was unrelated to her studies. “It seemed like a really fun opportunity and not linked to my degree whatsoever, which was refreshing,” she said.
“I love music, and I liked the idea of gaining people skills I could put to use in the future, as well as earning Rise credits. Getting assigned my own artists to communicate with prior to gigs is really cool. I get to meet them on the day, show them to the green room and help with everything they might need.
“I wasn’t expecting to be so heavily involved, and I’d say it’s definitely helped my confidence when it comes to being able to communicate in a professional manner. It’s great looking back at the finished performance, knowing I’ve played a part in it.”
Bottomley’s just one of as many as 40 students working on each festival, and up to 15 on regular gigs. With 16 DJs joining the previously mentioned 52 bands performing across 15 events (and counting), 23 artists also produced visual projections. So it’s safe to say the project is a collective creative powerhouse.
And while live producing doesn’t come without adrenaline kicks, this gig offers a safe space for students to take risks and explore their creative potential. As Ewa Setlack, third-year Filmmaking student and eight times Art School Live gigger, acknowledges, it’s okay to make mistakes.
“It’s the perfect balance,” she said, “because you want to do well in that live environment, but at the same time, you’re not going to get fired if something goes wrong.
“I’ve been a camera operator, vision mixer and deputy festival director, and each time I want to perform better. This is the ideal learning environment, and that’s very motivating.”
It’s an asset that Chris Daniels, Senior Lecturer in Filmmaking, prizes: “Art School Live is a hands-on, professional and employable project.
“The students can apply their skills and creativity, and that gives them a lot of confidence. There’s not one I’ve met that hasn’t come back from a gig excited and grateful for the opportunity.”
Just ask Finn Logan Browning, who graduated from Manchester Met in 2020 with first-class honours in Filmmaking. His experience as a student with Art School Live stood him in excellent stead for his subsequent professional role, live streaming at the Halle Orchestra.
“I already knew what I was doing, and I was prepared,” Browning said. “Thanks to Art School Live, I knew how to work as part of that team to make sure that the client got what they needed.”
As for current Manchester Met students Sam, Caitlin and Ewa, while not certain what specific career path they’ll eventually tread, they agree their Art School Live experience is invaluable. “This has given us so many different skills we can use in professional roles,” said Ewa.
“I’ve fallen in love with helping to organise, film and produce live music events. It’s been such a joy, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.”
Pictured top: The KTNA performing at Art School Live (credit: Ailish O'Leary Austin)