We caught up with alumnus Nick Davis who graduated from the University of Gloucestershire in November. Nick achieved a fantastic first class degree in TV Production BA (Hons) and also won the Annual School of Media Creativity Prize for one of his fantastic projects with his friend.
What was your biggest achievement at university?
University is full of lots of achievements both personal and professional but the one that stands out for me is 'The Uni eSports Games'. Myself and a friend on my course decided to put together our own inter-uni eSports event. It was Univeristy of Gloucestershire (UoG) first. Across four months we planned and executed our plan which involved weekly live streams and a 24-hour live-stream (I was awake for 32 hours straight!). All from an industry standard TV Studio. And the big day saw teams from UoG compete against Worcester University on Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Rocket League. UoG won both games. In total we raised over a thousand pounds for disabled gamers charity, Special Effect. This was such a huge highlight for me because it involved months of planning, rigging cameras, running SDI's and ethernet's everywhere. Lots of troubleshooting and content creation. As producer, I crewed over seventy people who were involved in many different aspects from camera to presenting.
I am also extremely grateful to finish university with a first class degree. It’s the ultimate achievement after three years of hard work. In addition to this at my graduation ceremony I was awarded the School of Media’s annual creativity prize for ‘the most creative project to directly support the work of the School of Media’. I jointly won this with a close friend for, we think, our esports event!
What did you enjoy most about your course at the university?
My particular course allows for lots of practical experience which in the early years is a great chance to learn your trade. Personally, I started officially freelancing at the end of the first year and so was able to make not only additional money as a videographer and editor, but make more professional connections. Equally there is lots of external opportunities too. Some of these meant I got to film a music video with Eddie the Eagle for the BBC and also be the Official Headline Videographer for Wychwood Festival: filming Scouting for Girls, ABC and The Stranglers.
What advice would you give to our Sixth Form students?
My biggest piece of advice which has always seen me succeed is take the opportunities offered to you. Do as much as you can in the area you want to work in. Free work when you're starting out is a blessing because you can mess up and learn. I started volunteering as a camera op at Insomnia Gaming Festival (The UK's biggest Gaming Festival) in April 2018. The following April, only one event later, I was contracted as the Camera Head of Department for the Main Stage.
How did All Saints’ help you in reaching your goals for university?
During my time at Sixth Form All Saints' offered invaluable external opportunities to work with clients to film and edit content for them, as well as creating my own documentary. The staff were full of support and as a result I was able to evolve my understanding of various industry practices as well as choosing the right next steps for me.
Where are you looking to go following your graduation?
Since leaving university I have been doing a range of freelance work including working as a Camera Operative on Britain's Got Talent (second stage producer auditions) and working as an Assistant Casting Researcher on A Place in the Sun (casting event).
While TV is still something I am passionate about, my recent experiences have taken me into the live event and branded content market. Although my options are still open, I'd love to work in a branded content production house on either the video or edit team.
