Laura jets to the desert for music video shoot

A student film-maker from the University of Northampton took one of her course modules to the extreme – by shooting a music video in the middle of a desert.

Laura Roklicer jetted out to the little-known Durdevacki Pijesci desert, in her Croatian homeland, with Northampton indie band Robbing Dogs to film the promo video for their first single, Sorry Not In Service.

The ambitious shoot was for the creative video module of her Media Production & Moving Image course.

Watch the video, which has had more than 18,000 YouTube views within a week of its release, below:

Laura called in favours from her Croatian contacts to help her achieve her cinematic vision. As a result, she was backed by a full film crew and had hugely expensive cinematic equipment from the biggest production company in the country at her disposal.

“The run-up to the shoot was very stressful, and involved a lot of planning months ahead,” said Laura.

“But when the day came, I’d never felt better or more excited. I had an amazing crew, a professional director of photography, jib and dolly operators and runners.

“It was a truly professional shoot with people who knew exactly what they were doing, creatively and technically, and I just felt amazing working in that kind of environment  which is far, far from the typical student projects!”

Not only did Robbing Dogs benefit from a professional video, Laura also managed to fix them up with a music producer to record the single.

Laura said: “The link with Robbing Dogs came about when I put out the word I wanted a band to make a music video for my course module. I received a few demos, and the Dogs’ one just had that kind of feel that got me intrigued.

“I met with Ross, the guitarist, and after going through all the questions I had, I realised they haven’t got a producer, a label or anything like that. They just had an awesome song. So I hooked them up with a very established music producer and composer, Rejhan Okanovic Regi, with whom I’ve worked with for a number of years now.

“Since he’s based in Croatia and the situation required them to come to him, I met with the whole band for the first time and said ‘guys, what do you think of a trip to Croatia?’.”

Laura has been combining her studies with running her own production company, which sees her produce, direct and edit.

She said: “My dream job would definitely be directing films, music videos and so on – and to travel the world as a freelancer.

“My time at the University of Northampton has really helped me to prepare for working life.

“My lecturers are absolutely amazing and they’ve been so approachable and helpful on so many occasions, from giving advice to offering opportunities for exciting work.

“If you’re just sitting around in lectures expecting to get a job with just a degree, you’re in the wrong industry. But if you’re working on building your portfolio whilst studying, just ask for help and I guarantee you you’ll get it.

“I’ve got internships, my lecturers have helped with the whole music video process and opportunities for other work, applying for grants, volunteering and even an awesome job for a TV show aired in eight regions across the world.

“The whole course encourages creativity, ambition and guides you in the direction you want to go in.”