Salford grad wins ‘Killer’ award for her work with biggest names in music
Tuesday 23 October 2018
university; arts-media
A SALFORD graduate who has worked with some of the biggest names in pop has won a globally recognised award.
Rupa Rathod, who graduated from The University of Salford with a BA (hons) in Television and Radio in 2009, creates video content for the giant LED screens that form the stage sets for global stars, including Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Shania Twain, Shawn Mendes, Tame Impala and Bastille to name a few.
Her work on the Killers Wonderful Wonderful tour with production company Blink resulted in her winning the Knight of Illumination award for ‘best screen content’
Before coming to Salford, Rupa grew up in Preston watching her parents perform as musicians in a local & touring band. Her mother was a singer, her father was a guitarist and during his younger years her brother was a drummer. She said:
“I have always been inspired by my family, they were the driving force behind my desire to work in the music industry. I taught myself to edit after my parents bought me a MacBook Pro for my 21st birthday and graduation gift. I am so lucky to have such a supportive family who have always motivated me to go after my dreams!”
After studying at The University of Salford, Rupa landed herself a job editing video content that students produced for the local student television channel, Channel M, which Salford University operated alongside Guardian Media.
Now London – based, she has just finished working on Kylie Minogue’s highly acclaimed Golden arena tour. Most of her projects are in collaboration with LA based Production Company, Blink.
“I started as a junior editor, making content for festival screens.
“Over the course of the next few years I pushed to become a motion graphics artist within the company and work in visuals, creating content for screens behind touring artists and on big TV shows like X Factor or the MTV Awards. That was what I always wanted to do and Blink supported me and gave me the opportunity to get there.”
Most recently her outstanding work for The Killers’ has seen her win the globally recognised Knight of Illumination award for ‘Best Screen Content’ alongside Producer and Owner of Blink, Tom Colbourne and award winning Creative Director William Baker, famous for his work with Kylie Minogue.
On winning her award, she said: “It was an incredible experience and honour to work with William and Tom. To stand on stage, collecting the award in front of the legends of our industry is so humbling. I hope my achievements inspire anyone from Preston wishing to pursue a their dream career.”
Rupa returns to the North West regularly to give talks to students at her former college, Runshaw in Leyland. She’s hoping to visit The University of Salford too, to encourage others into going into the field. Rupa’s website includes some of the famous videos that she has helped to create.
