UWTSD Adventure Filmmaking Students collaborates with Red Warrior Challenge

31 July 2023

The BA Adventure Filmmaking students from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David have been busy filming and photographing the Red Warrior Challenge.

Driftwood in the foreground as participants jog towards the camera on a beach through a greyish haze.

The Red Warrior Challenge is a canicross and obstacle course cross-country race, based at Pembrey Country Park that takes place three times a year. The event attracts professional canicross runners as well as enthusiasts, and those raising money for charity and those seeking adventure.

During the event, UWTSD’s students are responsible for filming and taking photographs of a range of activities such as forest and beach running, dogs, cargo nets, climbing walls, and hurdles. The events provide them with the opportunity to practice their observational and practical production skills in a real-life event.

After the event, Red Warrior Challenge host the students work on their website, ensuring their contribution is seen publicly and providing a valuable portfolio experience to show future employers.

For student Daniel Phillips:

“Working with Red Warrior Challenge as a student and being a part of a team to photograph and film their events is an invaluable experience that I thoroughly enjoy each year. It gives me the opportunity to build my portfolio, work within a larger team to capture as much of the whole event as possible and gain experience in using camera equipment creatively in a variety of environments, situations and scenarios.

“As a part-time student I have worked at these events for three years now, and I hope to reap the benefits of working at Red Warrior Challenge Events for the remaining three years of my course.”

A female participant running in gloves and a jacket beside a small dog keeping pace with her.

This collaboration has existed for the past two years. Organiser Graham Ascott said:

“In the last two years we have collaborated with the Film and Media team via Brett’s leadership and have been very impressed by both the quality of the photos and videos they have produced for our events, but also their enthusiasm and willingness to get involved on race days.

“We hope that this will continue for our future events.”

Lecturer Dr Brett Aggersberg added:

“Working with the Red Warrior Challenge team on their cross-country events as a media team has been a fantastic opportunity for the students of BA Adventure Filmmaking. Students such as Daniel Phillips have been able to practice their photography and filming skills on a live event in some challenging situations including heavy rain, a heat wave, and a large diverse location such as Pembrey country park and beach.

“We hope to continue developing the working relationship to support this great event and to see our students contribute to the community whilst gaining valuable professional experience.”