Lights, Camera, Rave Fantastic. How VE students are keeping RMIT's rave screen legacy alive

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Lights, Camera, Rave Fantastic. How VE students are keeping RMIT's rave screen legacy alive

How do you assess students studying complex lighting, production and interactive technology? You get them to throw a rave. Rave Fantastic is a real-world production challenge for RMIT students, and it's keeping Melbourne's rave screen history alive.

In the early 1990s, Melbourne's rave scene exploded, and RMIT was right in the thick of it. RMITV, our University's student-run television production facility, turned their cameras on the emerging club scene, becoming the first to transmit recordings of local raves onto Australian television screens.

More than three decades later, the Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services students are keeping the RMIT rave legacy alive through the Rave Fantastic assessment.

Rave Fantastic (RF) is the end-of-semester assessment for the Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services, where students produce a rave from the ground up, with lighting, live audio, camera work and vision mixing. This year, six student-produced live streams brought the event to life, broadcast on YouTube and C31.

Students gathered in a control room with mixing desks and monitors.

Students and teachers behind the scenes for Rave Fantastic.

The assessment is a huge interdisciplinary project that was created to simulate real industry work, inspired by the first broadcasts of Melbourne's raves on RMITV.

Students from a range of classes work together behind the scenes to produce live performances from six accomplished local electronic music artists and twelve student performers.

Student wearing a headset operating a camera in front of a projected screen.

Will working the camera, filming the live acts for the production.

Adem Jaffers, teacher for Operate Complex Vision Systems and member of the original 90's RMITV producers, believes the RF assessment sets students up for success in a way that truly reflects the industry they are about to enter.

“Most elements of this production have been designed by the students, giving them broad creative freedom to shape the final product,” said Adem.

When students are given the space to explore and experiment, most of them shine, often going well beyond my own and the expectations set out in the assessment rubric.

For students Fiker Gebrehana and Will Lawrence, studying the Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services has opened real industry doors. Both stepped up as production assistants for RF 26, supporting the blended teams across the two days of production alongside their other roles.

Studio set with musicians, camera operators and stage lighting during a live production.

Will and Fiker on set for the Rave Fantastic production.

“The course really gives you an opportunity to ‘taste-test’ the technical aspects of large-scale projects, through in-class experiences like Rave Fantastic and Collide,” said Will.

I’ve loved studying at RMIT this year. There has been an incredible number of opportunities in and out of classes, including internships and pathways to work on productions.

“It has also been amazing to have access to professional facilities, like Studio A and The Capitol, where we can replicate real-world productions. These mimicked how industry puts on video shoots and virtual productions, allowing you to have these skills under your belt for future gigs,” he noted.

Students in headsets working the cameras and monitors during a studio recording.

Will recording the student music acts.

Fiker feels this course has been the perfect pathway for her to upskill towards a career that truly excited her, after completing previous study in 2018.

“I’ve had a great time studying this year. I wanted to have a bit of work-life balance because I am a mature-aged student, so I am doing this course part time.”

“Upskilling is important since there is always going to be new equipment or new software. I learn better in person, so going back to study has been very helpful,” she said.

It’s an amazing project to have on our portfolios as we enter the job market.

Her teachers' expertise and hands-on approach have made a big difference. "They're great mentors who have pushed the cohort to strive for greatness.”

“This assessment was a combination of everything we have learnt so far, from camera to lights to using software like vMix to put together a production. We learnt how to work with people across the course, which built our communication and team working skills” she reflected.

Watch the previous Rave Fantastic streams.

Learn more about the Diploma of Live Production and Technical Services.

11 November 2026

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