National Youth Arts Wales (NYAW)nytw — residency 2025
scroll for the storythe brief
National Youth Arts Wales—Celfyddydau Cenedlaethol Ieuenctid Cymru—runs ensemble residencies for young performers across Wales. The 2025 residency at Theatr Clwyd was a two-day intensive: new participants brought together in one of Wales’s best-equipped producing theatres for an immersive programme of performance, mentoring, and collaboration.
The commission was a full media package: a main residency film, a 60-second social cut for the recruitment campaign, individual vox pops with participants, and atmospheric photography throughout. . The film was needed for the 2026 recruitment campaign.
the approach
Documentary work with young performers requires a different operational approach to corporate work. The camera has to earn its place before it can disappear—before people forget it’s there and start behaving like themselves rather than like people being filmed. Two full days on-site makes that possible in a way that a single afternoon shoot cannot.
The plan was specific: make something that shows what being part of NYAW actually feels like. Not a highlights reel of performance moments, but something that makes the right young person watching want to apply. That’s a different task from coverage.
the making
The shoot covered Theatr Clwyd’s rehearsal rooms, stage, and common spaces across two full days in March 2025. Atmospheric photography ran alongside the filming to give the organisation a complete bank of still assets for social and press use.
The vox pops were shot as standalone pieces with individual participants, designed to run as independent social content rather than be cut into the main film—each one answering the implicit question a prospective applicant would want answered.
the outcome
The main film, social cut, vox pops, and photography package were delivered for use in the NYAW 2025 recruitment campaign.
the meaning
Youth arts organisations in Wales need to be seen in order to be funded, and funded in order to continue doing the thing they’re trying to do. A recruitment film that works is a lifeline—not marketing in the brand-vanity sense, but a genuine tool for getting the right young people into a programme that will change what they do next.
Two days at Theatr Clwyd, a full media package, a 60-second cut ready for the campaign. That’s the value.
watch the reel
A short-form vertical cut of this project — designed for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
"It was great to have you there with us over the 2 days and for capturing the residency activity and alumni."
—Megan Childs, National Youth Arts Wales, post-delivery email, 2 March 2026
credits
- Direction, Cinematography & Edit
- Dafydd Weightman, Mona Digital
- Client lead
- Charlotte Moult, Marketing Manager, National Youth Arts Wales
- Production coordination
- Megan Childs, National Youth Arts Wales
- Production assistant
- Jemma Sturrs
- Funded by
- Creative Wales
- Filmed at
- Theatr Clwyd, Mold, North Wales
- Commissioned by
- National Youth Arts Wales (NYAW) / Celfyddydau Cenedlaethol Ieuenctid Cymru
questions about this film
Who produced the NYTW Residency film?
What was the film used for?
Does Mona Digital work with arts and culture organisations in Wales?
Who is National Youth Arts Wales?
