Communication Design student Jake Irvine won both the Imajica Brand Evolution Emerging Talent Award and the FortyTwo Studio Emerging Talent award at the 2025 Gray’s Degree Show opening night last Friday. He answers our questions about his last four years at RGU and the work he is exhibiting in this blog.
What project are you presenting at the Degree Show?
For my Degree Show project, I wanted to show a variety of my video work from my Honours year. However, my spotlight project is an experimental short film exploring a small part of the Aberdeenshire coastline from Portsoy to Pennan. I chose to display this film as it represents a direction for my personal filmmaking style and journey, capturing the way I see a place, the details I noticed, and transports the viewers there with me through the lens of the camera.
How did the creation process go?
I enjoy every step of creating a film, researching and developing the first ideas I have into a plan and beginning to narrow down visuals and narrative elements as I go. For a film focusing on a space, I like to explore the area through photography, using this to capture quick moments or compositions I can refer to later, and possibly refine for the final product. I will eventually narrow down the shots I want, and over a few days start to record everything.
Finally, the place where the magic happens – editing. I love to use Davinci Resolve for the incredible scope the colour grading offers, in this case creating a vintage inspired film look based on Local Hero, adding grain, colour shifting, and warmth to the final image. This is the part I enjoy most.
What excites you the most about the Degree Show?
It’s incredible to finally see everything come together after four years of studying at RGU, not only for my own work, but being able to see everyone else’s, and share this with them across an amazing week to celebrate all the hard work and creativity we have built together. It’s an amazing feeling to have come this far, and see everyone else being there with you. We all create totally different work, but together it becomes the possibility of what we as a group can do.
How was your experience at Gray’s in the last four years?
I have experienced so much over the past four years at Gray’s that has shaped me as a creative but also provided a direction and purpose for my work. The later years really helped to build the independent feeling for my work, where it has become just what I do rather than feeling like studying for exams or coursework.
Having so many opportunities available to work with others inside and out of my course and develop skills and a portfolio different to any of my course mates is something I think is unique to Communication Design at Gray’s, and something that has helped me to become the creative I am and strive to become in the future beyond RGU.
Jake Irvine
Related blogs
The students behind the 2025 Gray’s Degree Show
From Undergraduate to Postgraduate studies at Gray’s
The post Gray’s Degree Show 2025 – Jake’s journey at RGU appeared first on RGU Student Blog.