On Wednesday 21st October Dv8 Sussex students from our Brighton and Bexhill campuses showcased the amazing work made during their 4 week induction period in a series of performances, screenings and displays at Brighton’s Synergy Centre. Best of all, the event was organised brilliantly by our very own Live Events & Promotions students! Here’s a little taste of how it all unfolded…

Across all our courses students have spent the first 4 weeks of term getting settled in whilst working on projects to put their new skills into practice. Music students have been putting in the hours in the studio and rehearsal rooms to find the perfect balance between production and live performance, building new bands and partnerships in the process. Media students have been filming, photographing, editing and designing, creating a varied portfolio of work whilst our Fashion & Design students have been exploring how to recycle materials and make amazing outfits in a project aptly titled Trashion. All the while our Live Events & Promotions students have been getting to grips with how to stage events, exploring everything from their fantasy festival (all planned with the correct health and safety and licensing regulations of course) to the staging of the FRESH event itself. A particular mention needs to go to our Advanced Live Events students who worked tirelessly (quite often starting early and staying late) with The Synergy Centre and the entire Dv8 team to make sure that every student had the space and equipment needed to showcase their best work. On the day each student took on a crucial role and ensured FRESH was incredibly professional and organised from start to finish.

The event opened with Bexhill student Emma playing solo piano. An incredibly beautiful and atmospheric way to start proceedings (not to mention brave), the room fell instantly silent as Emma performed a Ludovico Einaudi theme from This is England with amazing feeling and precision. To keep everyone on their toes Rob and Brandon next took to the stage, dressed in black and with black guitars to match with every button firmly set to rock. Long hair banged back and forth as heavy metal signs were raised in the crowd to compliment the waves of chugging rhythms and dextrous soloing springing forth from the stage. The track climaxed in a half speed finale reminiscent of the much acclaimed group Earth. Time for some vocals now and Jordan took to the stage to sing Remembering Sunday by All Time Low. Singing solo to a backing track she showed no signs of nerves and hit every note perfectly with the perfect balance of expression and understated emotion. Our first duet of the day followed as Joanna and Tommy performed a Justin Bieber track. Joanna‘s voice brought a whole new dimension to the piece, recalling smoky jazz bars and a maturity beyond her years. As if that wasn’t enough suddenly Tommy, a silent partner until now, launched into a heartfelt rap, perfectly on point as he squeezed in seemingly impossible amounts of words into his bars. Closing the first half of music was beatboxer extraordinaire Jordan who stepped up on stage with nothing but a microphone and his voice. Hands in pockets and baseball cap turned backwards, once he opened his mouth a whole world of sound sprang forth. Starting with an oscillating bassline laid under a variety of snares and cymbals he switched up to a skittery west coast hip hop/trap beat before ending in a crescendo of snarling synths and kicks. What an amazing collection of music and performances from some real stars.

Next was the turn of Dv8’s Media Production students to showcase their work as the back wall of the stage was given over to projections. We saw a collection of Introduction to Music, Media & Digital’s films from the Urban Kitchen (cooking in the street!) with some brilliant acting, camera work and editing; all soundtracked by the students themselves. The Media Intermediate students followed with their identity project Who Am I? films from Eloise, Elle, Izzy, Kuba, Dan, Shannon and Tasha displayed a variety of techniques and approaches from the surreal to the funny and the heartfelt, as we all learnt about more about them. Finally in the showreel were Media Advanced’s films featuring documentaries and interviews showcasing skills in filming, animation, editing and photography to the highest level. Ehecatl even made a very nifty vectored Chameleon. Hard to believe you could get that amount of work done in just 4 weeks!

Whilst films were being screened and stages being set up students, tutors, friends and family were free to venture upstairs to discover a world of Trashion, fantasy festivals and Drunk/Not Drunk disco. Live Events Intermediate students/superstar DJs Lucca and Ollie whipped up a storm of house and old school classics (Renegade Master a particular crowd pleaser) whilst everyone was furnished with special glasses that made the lights sparkle through the dry ice and music. Some tutors were even seen breaking out some rather special moves, the less said about that the better…

Time for the second half of the music showcase and Brighton’s Intermediate students started with a bang. Performing as a live band for the first time they dusted off 2005 anthem Forgot About Dre adding their own raps, lyrics, harmonies and musical flair. James kept perfect time behind the drums despite having only learnt the basics a couple of weeks ago whilst another James and Abu rapped their own verses to perfection. Alpha and Grace brought some beautiful harmonies to compliment Jamie‘s guitar work and Callum on the keyboards, all underpinned with Josh‘s metronomic bass. Once the dust had settled on this explosion of talent and energy, Grace and Alpha remained to sing a beautiful and soulful version of the Emilie Sande track Heaven over the most delicate of piano lines. Hairs stood up on the back of necks as these two voices blended perfectly in the busy room. Not to be outdone Bexhill’s Advanced Music students took to the stage to perform a crowd pleasing medley of almost every song ever! Josh drummed, Jack guitared and Reece bassed as Kieran led us through Blackstreet’s No Diggity, Psy’s Gangnam Style, Jessie J’s Price Tag, Eminem’s The Real Slim Shady, Kelis’s Milkshake and they are the only ones I had time to write down! All performed with real passion and confidence, it won’t be long until this group are filling venues with their own work. Liquid Chaos (yep, some of the bands already have their own names and merchandise!) next appeared to change the pace with their original rock ballad Just Like a Storm Chaser. Recalling Nirvana and Deftones the song was expertly performed as two acoustic guitars played off against each other under a gravelly voice. And so finally, after almost two hours of talented and mind-blowing entertainment, it was time for Connor and Sanchez to close the show. A duo of guitar and drums, they launched into a full on metal assault of thrashing and beating, taking inspiration by other such influential power duos as Royal Blood and Lightning Bolt. A small but perfectly formed (and well policed…) mosh pit formed as the show was brought to a close with an explosion of energy and sound. Phew.

So there you have it, and that’s just what can be achieved after 4 weeks, imagine what our Christmas and end of year shows are going to be like! Every single student deserves huge congratulations for their work and effort but it’s worth drawing attention to our amazing Live Events team who made all this possible as well as a special thanks to The Synergy Centre for allowing us to work in their space. An extra special mention has to be made to Live Events Advanced student Caitlyn who stage managed the event – featuring 10 music performances, 3 media screenings and a rave, set out over two floors – to perfection, somehow getting it to finish on time! Also thank you to Intermediate Media student and official press photographer Tash for the amazing photos.

We have limited spaces available on our courses for 2015/16 as well as an exciting 2016/17 programme now recruiting for anyone who wants to be a part of something this special. For any interest or enquiries apply here