The largest street art festival in Europe is always going to be an inspiring place to make films as an event photographer.

Upfest takes over the city of Bristol in the UK every summer. In just ten short years it has grown to become a place where more than four hundred of the world’s most innovative, creative and coolest urban artists gather to show the world that urban art is something different, something special…

The event is held across a range of different locations, its heart is in Bedminster along North Street, but there are a whole range of connected venues and locations. Each has something different to offer and it is impossible not to enjoy exploring and discovering new, breathtaking art around every corner as the various masters go about creating their work in real time…

Using focus and experience to capture magic

With so much happening and so much to capture, it is all too easy for an event videographer to lose their focus, the incredible sights, the emotive sounds and the unique atmosphere can all combine to make this kind of event film a real challenge to get right.

Fortunately Highlander studio has the experience to dive in and get straight to work. Through collaboration, preparation and groundwork we knew exactly what to expect and exactly how we wanted to shoot Upfest.

 The results were better than even we had hoped for…

Urban art is beautifully unique, with a feel and style you can’t find in any art gallery.

Upfest plays host to every style and every subject matter under the sun. As an event videographer it might be easy to capture them but to really showcase them, and do justice to the artists and the work always takes respect and real skill in the field of event cinematography.

The world’s best artists, Europe’s biggest festival

Those artists are at the very top of their game too, the Upfest line-up regularly reads like a who’s who of world street art, Insane51 was in attendance, creating incredible 3D murals. The acclaimed Manchester based collective, Nomad Clan were also on hand as well as other giants of street art such as L7m, Odeith and The London Police to name just a few.

Upfest takes over this particular corner of the world, with every spare inch of walls, buildings, fences, pavements and shutters transformed. To be there, to spend time exploring everything that Upfest has to offer means your breath is taken away at least once a minute by the amazing creations you see taking shape in front of your eyes. Highlander studio’s goal was to capture that feeling, to preserve it and to share it with those who might not have been fortunate enough to be there…

Upfest is inspired by and devoted to street art, but there is always a lot more going on, the sounds of live music are always mixed in with the rattling of paint sprays, there are cocktail bars too, should you feel the need to take a break, there’s even a place to dance if you need to let a little inspiration out.

It all adds up to something special, that’s exactly what Upfest represents for the world of street art. It is a perfect chance to come together in celebration of a type of art that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves, and comes with a serious number of misconceptions.

Upfest seeks to give urban art the recognition it deserves and to blow those stereotypes out of the water. With the creation of our event film and the wealth of talent, skill and inspiration we were able to capture, Highlander Studio was thrilled to do the same.