An award winning filmmaker and cinematographer from Mannamead is among students who have graduated from Plymouth College of Art this year.
Sonny Layton, who is 22, was among scores of graduating students from the college’s photography courses as well as its film and screen arts and digital media production courses.
Sonny set himself apart during his time at Plymouth College of Art with his exemplary eye for lighting, image composition, camera movement and timing. His journey with the college began almost 10 years ago when he first got involved with its Saturday Arts Club aged 11, before studying media at further education level at the dedicated Pre-Degree campus, followed by undergraduate study at the Higher Education campus.
BA (Hons) Film & Screen Arts lecturer, Dr Neal Kirk, said:
“Each year that Sonny studied with us, he set himself a new personal challenge, from learning sound and editing, to animation, creating a short horror film and his final major project, a music video. Sonny’s graduate projects demonstrate an impressive range, each dripping with attention to detail that position Sonny as a soon-to-be-unleashed force in the creative moving image industry.”
Sonny’s low-key biographical animation of his father’s travels around Europe ‘1977’ won the Animation award at the Royal Television Society Devon & Cornwall Student Television Awards 2021, with the judges commenting on how mesmerising and original the short was.
Sonny said:
“My final project was a music video for the song ‘Shower Thoughts’ by local musician, Lil Dip. I wanted to challenge myself and have wanted to make a music video for a long time. As a result of the project, I want to continue collaborating on music videos, as well as taking on freelance work in videography and editing.
“Now that I have graduated, I plan to continue my freelance career and am looking for paid work as a videographer and editor which is where my skills primarily lie. I can’t wait to get started in the industry and continue creating and improving my craft.”
