ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿

 News 

ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿ to BAFTA: Award-winning Director of Photography Ciaran O’Brien reflects on his creative journey

Monday, 6 July, 2026

Ciaran O’Brien, who graduated in 2011 with a degree in Creative Media Practice, recently celebrated a major career milestone when Hustle and Run, a documentary he worked on as Director of Photography, won a BAFTA.

Looking back on his time at ºÚÁÏÕýÄÜÁ¿, Ciaran credited the University's hands-on learning environment with helping him build confidence, develop practical skills and establish a career in the creative industries.

"I was pretty low confidence going into University. A career in the media didn't feel particularly viable. I was quite shy and thought maybe I could be an editor and sort of hide behind a computer.

The course sort of forced you to do everything that someone can do on set. It was very practical based and helped me develop a range of skills."

One of the defining aspects of Ciaran's degree was spending his final year working from Paintworks in Bristol, where students operated a production company and worked with real clients. The experience provided valuable insight into both the creative and commercial realities of the industry.

"Those projects gave me a load of confidence to carry on. The transition from being at University to going out and freelancing was fairly seamless because, as well as learning what the buttons do on the camera, we were also learning how to manage client expectations."

Working on paid client projects while studying enabled Ciaran to invest in his own equipment and begin building a freelance career before graduation.

Those opportunities quickly led to bigger things. While at BSU, Ciaran worked on a project helping to grow a YouTube comedy channel. The success of the project led to him and a fellow Bath Spa student winning a place on YouTube's early creator programme, Next Up, which provided funding and training opportunities. Just six months after graduating, Ciaran joined YouTube's studio team in London, helping creators produce professional content.

However, his full creative desires weren’t quite being met. As Ciaran reflects:

"I got frustrated with not being able to actually get a camera in my hands enough. I'd only just graduated. I'd not made anything yet."

Leaving Google to return to freelance filmmaking proved to be another pivotal moment. Through work with some of YouTube's biggest creators, Ciaran built a reputation within the industry, creating sketch comedy, music videos and short films that collectively attracted hundreds of millions of views. That experience eventually opened the door to television work, including projects for CBBC, before expanding into documentaries, commercials and branded content.

Reflecting on his varied career, Ciaran said:

"I just sort of follow what I'm interested in, I suppose, and make stuff that I’m passionate about or that piques my interest."

That philosophy led him to Hustle and Run, the documentary that would ultimately earn BAFTA recognition. The film, which tells the story of an unlikely fly ball dog-racing team, was produced on a remarkably modest budget.

"There was no money at all when we started, until Channel 4 came in to support the project. Almost all the shoot, if not all of it, we were recording the sound ourselves because we couldn't afford a sound recordist.

The idea that we would win a BAFTA at the end of that process was, and still is, quite surreal. It was very much a very scrappy little endeavour that I was very proud to be a part of."

For current students preparing to enter the creative industries, Ciaran reflected on the balance between pursuing creative ambitions and building a sustainable career.

"It's always a balance between putting food on the table and doing cool stuff. My philosophy is: I do one for the bank balance and one for the soul."

Perhaps the most influential lesson for Ciaran came from Screenwriter Doug Chamberlain, who in a talk at BSU shared a piece of advice that has stayed with him ever since.

"Doug said, 'It is about being in the right place at the right time, but you can control 50% of that. You can keep putting yourself in the right place.'

If you're in the room enough times and you're doing good stuff, then eventually you're there at the right time and opportunities kind of catch."

From student productions and client work in Bristol to global digital platforms and BAFTA-winning documentaries, Ciaran's journey demonstrates how practical experience, confidence and a willingness to embrace opportunities can help turn creative ambitions into reality.

Looking to get started on the next steps of your career journey? Check out BSU’s range of media and film courses that can kickstart your development.