Your Victoria captured on film

Watch a short video capturing what is distinctive about Victoria University of Wellington and its capital city location.

Stunning images of Victoria’s campuses and Wellington city were captured by University multimedia producer Steve Cochran, and an original score to complement the footage was developed by two students from Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music–Steffan Paton and Kenyon Shankie.

“We were really excited to be involved in this project,” says Steffan. “We knew the music had to have drive and energy, and had to fit the scale of the landscape used in the footage. We also wanted to reflect the feel of the University and give a sense of its enduring location, which is why we worked with orchestration to get that effect.”

With Steffan on guitar and Kenyon at the piano, the duo spent a weekend working on the first rough draft before showing the results to supervisor Professor John Psathas, who helped them refine the concept. The end result was recorded and mixed in a studio in Newtown, an experience which was a first for the two students.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Grant Guilford says the original piece is a remarkable snapshot of Victoria and nicely encapsulates what it means to work and study here.

“The way the score and imagery work together is terrific. Music has the ability to inspire us all and I am delighted by the way Steffan and Kenyon have captured, in musical form, the energy and passion that you find here at Victoria.”