Daniel Cripps (left) with Hywel Wiliam and the award-winning Between Viewings production team.

Daniel Cripps was once told, while studying in college, that perhaps only one person in his year would get a job in television, "I was determined that would be me".  Originally from Shropshire, Daniel graduated in media production at the University of South Wales.  He was certainly ambitious.  During his college years he produced video showcases for actors at Bristol's Old Vic Theatre, and worked for three years as a first assistant director on short films shown at the Cardiff based Iris Festival.  It paid off, as his final year short drama, Between Viewings, won the 2011 RTS Wales Centre Student Television Award in the drama category.

However, getting work after leaving University was tough, "you have to be prepared to be flexible and realistic in what work you’re going to get straight after uni, and more than likely you’ll need a part time job outside of the industry to support yourself in the early stages".  For Daniel, this included writing articles for various websites around the world, and working as a late night caretaker at a community centre in a very rough part of Newport.  "In between fearing for my life, the job gave me time to think and to write – and some of the characters I met there made their way into the work I went on to make”.

Daniel deliberately sought a wide range of production experience, "although drama is very exciting, there's more chance to input ideas into a factual project".  He gained work experience on Crimewatch, worked on Crimewatch Roadshow for two series, and worked behind the scenes on Doctor Who and Sherlock making additional-content shows.

But his big break came after attending the first Meet The Makers event run by the RTS Wales Centre last year, in which freelancers get to network with independent producers and broadcasters.  Daniel had a brief chat with Sam Grace of Cardiff-based independent company Boomerang.  After sending in his CV, Daniel was interviewed by Grace.  Initially gaining a two-month development contract, Daniel was offered a longer contract as a researcher, before being promoted to Development Assistant Producer with the company earlier this year.

According to Daniel, "I owe a lot to my college and to the RTS for my career success to date", adding that, "for me, it’s all about consistency.  Having left University, I tried a lot of different jobs out before I found the areas I wanted to work in".