Listen up follows three students from the Berklee College of Music at different stages of their budding career paths, Mau and Alissia, who are graduating the college and venturing out into the world of professional music and Kyana, who is starting her journey at the college.
Created by Michelle Nash, the 6 part series provides a raw and intense insight into the lives of modern musicians trying to make a name for themselves in a notoriously competitive industry.
Alissia, Mau and Kyana are all very different types of artists, but they all converged on Berklee, was that diversity something you tried to emphasise in the production process?
Absolutely, there are so many types of musicians in general, and at Berklee in particular. We wanted to meet musicians with different focuses and from different backgrounds.
What (and/or who) inspired you to create Listen Up?
I had the pleasure of meeting with some staff and students at Berklee – when I realized the immense talent at the school, I knew it would be a great series!
What was the most difficult challenge you had to overcome in production, and how did you go about it?
Getting the College to grant permission and access to the students and school.
From start to finish, how long did it take to complete the project?
1 year from concept to delivery.
Can you describe the ultimate fan of your series?
Young music students questioning whether they should make the leap and make it a career.
What’s special or different about Listen Up?
It follows students while in college; it’s very rare to get access by a college to film. Usually colleges keep media out, but they embraced us and supported the series.
Have you achieved the goals you set for Listen Up?
Yes, the students and school couldn’t be happier – and that is a great gift to know the people involved are proud of the final product.
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