"My job came about as a direct result of my degree -聽I did a sound specialism in the second year of my course, which led me on to post-production and into choosing my placement."
A summer work placement has turned into a first step on the career ladder for 聽graduate, James Colledge.
James, who completed his degree at BU in 2017, has taken up a full-time role as Media Wrangler and Office Runner with BAFTA and Emmy-nominated Jumbuck Film & TV.
The company is a post-production sound facility, with film and TV credits including Humans, The Last Kingdom and Fleabag. It was also where James spent the summer working between his second and third years on the course.
James said: 鈥淭his job came about as a direct result of my degree. During the summer break we were required to complete a four-week work placement. I spent my time at Jumbuck, with two weeks as work experience and a further three weeks paid. Jumbuck then approached me in April, before I had even started looking for work, to ask me to join the team.
"Returning to the company has been great, as I know the team and my experience meant I could hit the ground running.鈥�
Looking back on his time at university, James believes the course and work experience prepared him well for his future career.
He said: 鈥淚 did a sound specialism in the second year of my course, which led me on to post-production and into choosing my placement. I was able to take everything I had learnt on the course into the placement, and then the skills I learnt in the five weeks with Jumbuck into my final year.
"Gaining this position is the culmination of all of that. I wasn鈥檛 exactly panicking as my course was coming to an end, but getting a job is always on your mind. To be offered something before I even finished was great and this is a good place from which to build my future career in editing and mixing.鈥�
James鈥� advice to others wanting to launch their career in television is: 鈥淭ake the time to get to know people. TV is a very sociable industry and it pays to network. Also, based on my own experience, keep in touch with the company you did your placement with. This could be as simple as sending a Christmas card or the odd email, or asking them for feedback on your final project. You never know where it might lead.鈥�