29th August 2020

Meet the Grammy nominated college graduate

At The City of Liverpool College we love hearing about what our former students are getting up to,  one of whom is Paul Caslin, who graduated from our Level 3 Media Production course 15 years ago. Since then, Paul has been working as a director in the music industry and has some impressive career highlights. Here’s what Paul had to say:

What made you decide to study at The City of Liverpool College?

I originally applied to Liverpool John Moores and after what I thought was a successful interview process was rejected. At the time I wasn’t aware of the course at LCC but once I was it became clear that that was the best path, I’d almost class the course as a hidden gem that maybe doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. Being turned down by John Moores was the best thing that could have happened as I instead found a course that gave me incredible hands on experience in an environment that is designed to let your creativity breathe.

What course did you study and what was it like?

I studied Media and Film Studies, which was amazing, I learned so much! The main thing was probably how to be part of a team from a collaboration point of view but also from a delegation perspective, as in the industry you quickly learn that you can’t do everything yourself and you are only as a strong as your weakest member in the team.

I really enjoyed the balance of practical and theory. The only way to actually learn is to get hands on experience, whether it be in the edit suite or on set, but the theory side gave the course enough foundation to allow the practical side to all make sense. There was a clear direction as to how the two are intertwined

What are you doing now?

I left the college nearly 15 years ago and since then I’ve worked my way through the different strands of directing in the music industry. Originally starting out in the behind the scenes documentary world, then progressing onto music videos, then live music multi-camera direction. For the last five years I’ve moved into the creative direction side of things, designing live music tours for the likes of Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello and the VMA and EMA award shows for MTV.

Do you have any career highlights?

My career highlights would probably be when I was Grammy Nominated for Directing Rihanna’s Live DVD in 2009 and when I got to creative direct the VMA and EMA awards, as they were both shows that I’d always watched growing up and thought I’d never be good enough to get to work at that level, but by taking things step by step I finally did.

How did the College prepare you for work?

I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for The City of Liverpool College. Before I started the course, I’d never even picked up a camera or stepped inside an edit suite. The tutors gave me so much confidence and belief in my ability which still carries me through tricky situations even today 15 years on.

What advice would you give someone considering a similar career path?

Do it!! Enrolling at The City of Liverpool College is the best decision you’ll ever make… it certainly was for me!

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Paul for taking the time to talk about his experiences and wish him all the best with his future career.

If you are interested in a career in Media or Film like Paul’s, then our unique Media Production Diploma — Level 3 (One-year UAL Foundation Diploma), taught at the Arts Centre campus is a great choice. It offers learners a practical course, based around media, production and film making and is completed over the course of one year. It is equal to 3 A-levels and holds the same amount of UCAS points, so is therefore perfect for anyone wanting to get to uni within one year, or students looking to build upon their creative skills before starting a degree.

To browse our media, journalism and production courses, please click here.