Students work on fight night streamed to millions of UFC subscribers

Coleg Llandrillo Creative Media students worked on a live mixed martial arts event that was broadcast to millions of UFC fans.

Deborah Kelty, Josh Taylor, Aaron Boylan and Rowan Snow travelled to Manchester to work on APFC 8, fronted by former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

The students helped set up the broadcast equipment and shadowed camera operators during the event, which was streamed live to UFC Fight Pass subscribers all over the world.

It was invaluable work experience for the learners, who are all in the second year of their Level 5 Foundation Degree Creative & Broadcast Media at the college’s Rhos-on-Sea campus.

Deborah said:

“It was a very exciting experience. We were mainly shadowing, so we were helping out the crew with the set-up. One of my jobs was setting up the commentators’ table with all the equipment, and a couple of classmates were helping out shadowing the filming of the main event.

“I learned a lot in terms of teamwork, and staying alert and motivated and being in the moment during a long event. I want to work in film and TV, so it was really useful to get a feel for the experience of working on a live event, and to know what to be prepared for in the future.”

Josh said:

“I really enjoyed the experience. I want to get into sports broadcasting and ideally live sports directing, so getting an insight into how everything actually works was a really good experience for me.

“For me, the main benefit of this course has been starting to do work experience placements – not just staying in college, but getting out and doing stuff. It’s better to get that experience in that workplace environment.”

James Lehart, HE Creative Media Program Leader at Coleg Llandrillo, said work placements like this give students a crucial edge in the job market.

He said: “The students did really well, especially considering it was such a fast-paced environment.

“A lot of people come out of university with student projects. These guys will come out with something that’s actually been broadcast, which I think is really important.

“My background is sports events and live events, so if I’m able to get the students some experience through the contacts I have in the industry, that’s beneficial to them because you learn so much more when you’re on the job.”

For more information on Media, TV and Film courses at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, click here. Open evenings are being held at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s campuses during November. For more information on open events, click here.