MA Museum and Heritage Development student works with Derby Museums on a videography project

Katie Smith approached Derby Museums whilst on a course trip and has since worked with them on the development of their World Cultures gallery by creating films for their website.

Katie Smith

MA Museum and Heritage Development student, Katie Smith has been working with Derby Museums on an innovative video project as part of the launch of their new World Cultures gallery. She has been creating videos to be used as marketing materials for the museum, as well as to document the process.

The collaboration began in March during a course trip to Derby Museums to view the progress of the new World Cultures gallery and learn more about their innovative co-production techniques. This involves museum staff, along with new and existing visitors, collaborating to create exhibition spaces. The team at Derby Museums were keen to incorporate video footage into the documentation of the project, having previously only used photography. Katie produced vlogs for a previous assignment and so arranged to complete a work placement at the Museum, continuing her videography work for them.

The team have been able to offer Katie creativity and flexibility in her work, by accommodating as many areas as possible for filming and offering feedback during the editing process. Some videos depict the general day-to-day development of the gallery, while others focus on a specific event. Students from Lincoln University came to visit the gallery during the placement, giving Katie the opportunity to film and edit an exciting marketing video that will be used by Derby Museums to encourage schools, colleges and universities to book onto a visit in future.

Katie told us: “To say the placement has been busy would be an enormous understatement. I’ve had the chance to handle objects – some that are hundreds of years old; film volunteers and staff engage with the creation of the project; get involved in staff meetings; place objects in displays and secure them, and edit creative videos that offer a glimpse of the hard work put into the project. I’m excited for my final three weeks at Derby so I can gain further experience in areas such as finance and marketing.”

The overall project will contribute to Katie’s dissertation, which will see her create a ten-minute film and a thesis to go alongside it. She would eventually like to study towards a PhD. She feels that the placement has created new opportunities for her, commenting, “I’m still amazed by this wonderful opportunity. I’m beginning to see the rewards, and I cannot wait to see where it leads me to next!"