Reuben Cohen (BA Video Design for Live Performance)

Biography

What's been your highlight during your time at Guildhall?

My highlight so far would have to be creating short animated introductions for the first year actors as part of the Digital Storytelling project. When I first joined Guildhall I had no knowledge of how to video design and animate, so I enjoyed the steep learning curve in my ability to use Adobe After Effects and Photoshop. I was very happy with the final animations and I enjoyed collaborating with the actors.

What's been your highlight in the industry?

I really enjoyed the experience of working on animations to be used as visuals for a musical performance and then triggering them live during the concert. I did this for a Guildhall Trombonists final recital in the Silk Street Concert Hall.

What other passions and projects have you enjoyed exploring during your time at Guildhall?

I had the chance to explore the world of design and programming for video games in my Interactive Project. I’ve always been interested in building my own game, so I was happy to have the opportunity to learn about this, and take a break from animating. I also enjoyed being taught how to use a professional filming camera (during the Lifesongs project under the direction of Akhila Krishnan and at RADA) as I’ve always been interested in filming and editing my own videos.

What's something you've learned that you feel will help you when you graduate?

All the software training I’ve been given during my time at Guildhall will be very useful, I feel when presented with a new software in the professional world I will be able to pick it up a lot more easily. I’ve also really enjoyed the hands-on elements of my learning, for example rigging projectors, video mapping and rigging lighting for theatre.

What are you most interested in working in after you graduate?

My main passion within video is designing and animating visuals for music that’s to be played in a live setting. I’m very interested in going into a ‘VJing’ career where I prepare visuals for artists and play them in time to the music as they perform. One of my main hobbies is DJing, so I would be keen to experiment linking visuals to my DJ controller so that I can control the video as I perform. I’m also passionate about video design in theatre and art installations.

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