This January, the Creativity and Innovation Centre “LinkMenų fabrikas” at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) transformed into an experimental space where students from three ATHENA European University Alliance universities – VILNIUS TECH (LT), Hellenic Mediterranean University (GR), and the University of Vigo (ES) – collaborated with students from NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences (NL) and Daugavpils University (LV), alongside raising Lithuanian music artists.
The international Winter School, part of the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) “Sound and Vision: Mastering Music Video Creation” 2025, invited students to explore the art of recording and visualizing musical performances by creating live performance video clips for artists.
The Winter School featured performances by four Lithuanian acts: “Ketera,” “Defektas,” “P404,” and artist Eglė Ancevičiūtė with her band.
Creative Workshops with Live Music
The Winter School provided participants with a unique opportunity to work directly with music artists, learning not only technical skills but also teamwork and creative communication. Students analysed songs, developed visual concepts, recorded sound, filmed, and edited the final video clips.
According to Greta Markūnaitė, Head of the Creativity Laboratory at VILNIUS TECH “LinkMenų fabrikas”, this process mirrors the real-world challenges of the creative industry – balancing artistic visions with technical solutions.
“Collaborating with music bands taught students not only technical but also negotiation skills. Just like in the real creative sector, they had to find a balance between the artist’s vision and a professional audiovisual execution,” she adds.
During the theoretical week, students participated in interactive lectures and hands-on workshops, where they explored the intricacies of lighting, sound engineering, filming, and editing. This year, the winter school also welcomed the team from VILNIUS TECH Virtual Production studio “Faux Real studio”, who introduced students to the fundamentals of virtual production. During practical sessions, filming took place in front of the studio’s LED screen, with a unique visual backdrop created for each group.
Final Screening and Special Guests
The highlight of the project was the final screening, where students showcased their work, and the participating artists shared their experiences of the creative process. Special guests – the famous Lithuanian musician Tomas Narkevičius-Free Finga and director Pijus Vėberis, provided their feedback, questions, shared professional suggestions and insights.
The Winter School’s outcomes are not only polished recordings of live music performances but also a valuable experience for both students and artists, who received professionally produced audio and video recordings.
Live Performance Audio and Video Recordings Created During the Winter School: „Ketera“, „Defektas“, „P4040” and Eglė Ancevičiūtė with a band.
Photos by Renatas Venclovas, VILNIUS TECH “LinkMenų fabrikas”.
