Fire, Felting and Fearless Cliffs: My Takeaways from Shetland

Heather Davidson, Lisa's mam, allowed us to film the interview in her croft. It is a place she has been renovating to emulate the traditional way of Shetland living, a sort of exhibition for tourists to come and see in the summer, where she will also be selling her handmade needle-felted Shetland animals as souvenirs. That Tuesday I not only got huge insights into video and film production but also into the history and roots of Shetland. Heather was showing and explaining items displayed in the croft, things like wooden hand-shaped tools that were used to stretch woollen gloves into the correct shape. This croft brought history to life and helped me visualise what day-to-day life looked like for Shetlanders back then.

It was one of those moments where you realise that the stories Finn Moray is trying to tell are not abstract. They are living, breathing things, kept alive by people like Heather in places like that croft. And Lisa Manson, sitting in the middle of it all, talking about her connection to Shetland and to Muddy Bay (Blood and Bone), was the real thing. No script, no performance. Just a woman in her mother's croft, talking about where she comes from.

As Lisa was part of this year's Jarl squad, I had the opportunity to learn a great deal about the famous cultural tradition. From the outside, and to me at the time, it looks like a one-day event where Vikings burn a galley at sea. I learned from Lisa that for this one day to happen, a whole year of preparation takes place. The boat, the torches and every element of the Jarl suits are designed and made by the Jarl squad and SMUHA volunteers. In these designs there are a lot of personal touches that give nods to heritage and loved ones.

For Up Helly Aa to come to fruition, the SMUHA volunteers work on it twice a week, every week, until the procession is held. The procession itself was like something I had never seen before. Hundreds of people marched down to the beach with flaming torches towards the galley. This walk seemed to me almost a pilgrimage of sorts for the Shetlanders, a cultural ritual. Seeing all the hard work of the galley, built and painted for this moment, burning out at sea whilst the Jarl squad and others celebrated was quite something.

Every part of Shetland was beautiful. You could be standing at Co-op and get spectacular views. The Eshaness cliffs were something else entirely. Dangerously beautiful. The cliffs were so tall, the wind and waves so strong. If you fell off one you would have no chance, but you could not help but be in awe.

There is a rawness to Shetland that photographs cannot fully capture. The wind does not stop. The sea does not stop. And the landscape has been shaped by both over thousands of years into something that feels ancient and alive at the same time. Standing at Eshaness, looking out at the North Atlantic, you understand why the people who live here carry such fierce pride in their home. It is earned.

Eshaness Cliffs & Lighthouse, Shetland — Drone footage by Calum Youngson

Becoming part of a small filming team meant that my perspective had to change. Every second I was looking for a good shot. I found this fun and challenging, as I had to actively think about whether what I was filming was the best angle, direction or focus. Working with Calum was an eye-opening experience into the way of film production and has certainly made me appreciate the amount of work and attention to detail it takes to get a good shot.

What struck me most was how much thought goes into every frame. It is not just about pointing a camera at something interesting. It is about understanding light, movement, timing and story. Calum has been doing this for twenty-five years and you can see it in every decision he makes. For someone like me, coming from a marketing background, it was a masterclass in visual storytelling. And it has changed how I think about every piece of content we produce for Finn Moray going forward.