Marcus Johnson (History, 2015, County) set up his video production company, Glacé Media and has used his passion for history and how people's lives play out in wider society as a basis for his film-making.

"My name is Marcus Johnson and I studied History at Lancaster University. I currently run a video production company called Glacé Media and we’re about to release our first short film. The film is called “Joel” and is a story of internal exploration, unforeseen loss and how these two elements struggle to find harmony in the form of family relationships.

This project marks the first occasion I took on the role of Producer on a short film. Previously with my business, we’ve worked with brands and businesses to create promotional video content. The development of the business has been fantastic and being able to combine creative projects with the excitement of growing the business has been something from which I have derived much satisfaction.

However, this current step is one I’ve been wanting to take since starting out in the world of video production. Films and other forms of expressive art have always appealed to me, particularly through my degree studies, and so incorporating fictional sources into my work came naturally in order to investigate how artists’ imaginings correlate with real life. Producing this film has now given me the platform to enter that world and spend more time working on such creative projects.

Many people I speak to wonder how I went from studying a degree in history to producing films and videos. Even though from a very practical point of view it isn’t that clear, I believe the path is a lot more direct than it may initially seem. Even though History as a subject has the reputation of dealing with dates and events, the areas that most interest me are the stories of people’s lives and how they play out in wider society.

This fascination with people and stories has always run wider than just history for me. It has been something I developed in other creative areas. At university, for example, I was the Head Of News at the student radio station Bailrigg FM. I also occasionally wrote for the newspaper Scan and was also drummed in a band. I even shot a music video inside the concert hall next to County Bar.

I have always treasured my time at Lancaster University. The environment it created put me on the path I am now following. I was able to lay all my passions and ideas out and engage in conversations with so many people that stick with me to this day. Most of the influential people currently in my life I met at Lancaster and everything I do in the future will have some form of link to my time there.

At the moment my creative energies and passions to learn more about the world and the people that are in it are going into filmmaking and the development of my business. If you would like to check out the film, it is available here on YouTube."