Press Release
Maddrim broadcast Up Helly Aa
Joe Christie and Marjolein Robertson in the studio.
Shetland's youth based film group Maddrim Media, in partnership with Promote Shetland, broadcast the events of Up Helly Aa live to the world via webcast last Tuesday. Over 8000 unique visitors from as far afield as the Bahamas and Australia watched the day’s events online and were able to enjoy a special radio segment recorded by the group.
Joe Christie and Marjolein Robertson provided the on-air talent, with other Maddrim crew members operating the equipment.This was a new experience for all involved andallowed members to experience live media production for the first time.
The team spent Monday and Tuesday filming the events of Up Helly Aa as they unfolded, one production team recording interviews and another recording the morning procession. The teams then met back at base and, alongside Creative Director Liz Musser, spent time collecting all the footage together before the main event. This will be added to the Promote Shetland website, and one of the films “The Story of Up Helly Aa” is available on YouTube from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNmL21y6psY
Marjolein Robertson,Vice-Chair of Maddrim Media and co-presenter alongside Davy Gardneron the Up Helly Aa webcast, said:
"Through this experience I gained confidence in commentating, which was indeed a completely new skill for me. It was an amazing opportunity. I also gained experience of interviewing members of the public, both in interviewing and filming, something we had to get to grips with quickly, but it was incredibly interesting and we discovered some awesome stories of people who had travelled the world to see Up Helly Aa."
Andy Steven, Destination Development Manager of Promote Shetland said:
"These young people were an inspiration to my team and I look forward to many more exciting video projects as we all get involved in the promotion of Shetland as a progressive and creative community.
“The webcast has become such a community event that it reflects the very nature of Up Helly Aa and Promote Shetland's own 'Get Involved' campaign.”
If any young people aged 12 - 25 years are interested in joining Maddrim check out www.maddrimmedia.com
Katya Moncrieff.