Producer and St Mary's alum Kerry Boyd recently came back to campus to deliver a session to our Sports Journalism and Computer Science students on his work for EA sports at Whisper Films.
We caught up with Kerry after his talk to ask him about his time at St Mary's, and how his journey after graduation got him to where he is now.
Why did you choose to come to St Mary’s?
St Mary’s reputation for sport really stood out to me as I was a big rugby player when I was younger. I was playing academy rugby at the time, and St Mary's were playing premiership rugby against the best players in the country.
I also loved the location. I remember coming to an Open Day and just feeling straight at home. Compared to other universities I visited, what really stood out was the size and real community feel.
I knew I wanted to come to St Mary’s but didn’t really know what course I was going to study. I ended up applying to study History and Sport Science, but decided to switch to Media Arts and Sport Science. After my first year, I decided to just focus on Media Arts and dropped Sport Science.
How did you find the course?
I really loved it. We did some really interesting projects including designing a Disney hotel and a motion graphics course. We learnt important skillsets early on, such as photography. One module that stood out for me was a TV and film production module, where we went into the studio and worked with cameras. I remember my first day in the studio learning the ropes and thinking this is really fun and something I could do for a career.
In my third year, we did a more upgraded production module where we had to produce an award show in groups. I produced and directed the show and ended up getting a First in that module which I was proud of.
The lecturers were great and supportive. We could talk to them about their industry experience, which really made me want to work in television and pursue that career.
How did you find the social life on campus?
I had the time of my life at St Mary’s. I remember my first year in hall was amazing. My next door neighbour in Doyle halls is still one of my best friends to this day. I was also captain of the rugby team and they were a great bunch to be around. Wednesdays were the big sport days and I remember the SU used to be buzzing with all the different teams in there having fun.
The social side was incredible but I won’t go into too many details…
I still see my time at St Mary’s as one of the greatest periods in my life. I've made lifelong friends from the University, and my wife even went to St Mary’s too. This place means a lot to me and it has a special place in my heart.
What did you do when you first graduated?
When I graduated we were right in the middle of a recession. There weren’t many graduate jobs going but I knew I wanted to get into TV eventually. During the tough months, I met a bloke in the Red Lion in Teddington who gave me a roofing job. I was roofing for a couple of months, doing all the townhouses in Teddington. Then one day I was back in the Red Lion after work and overheard someone talking about working at Sky. We got talking and I asked if he had any details for someone I could talk to about getting a job. I emailed the contact two different times with no response, but after the third time I was given a week’s work experience with Sky Sports on rugby union coverage.
After that week and I asked if they had any more work experience that I could do, but she said they didn’t have anything for eight months. In the meantime, I did all sorts of jobs like roofing, digging up gardens, and bar work. I went back for my second week of work experience and found it really fun. I then went to the person that hires runners and asked if they had any jobs going. She said they didn’t, but that they’d keep my details on record as I’d done really well during my two weeks of work experience.
That was on the Friday, and she wrote to me on Monday asking if I could start the next day. On the Tuesday, I was working at Sky as a runner.
What has your career journey looked like since then?
I was a runner at Sky for about a year and a half, but I worked on some amazing events across many sports. I did European Rugby Champions Cup finals, Super Sundays in football, the 2012 London Olympics, the NFL in London, and golf tours. After about a year and a half of running, I eventually got an editorial role on Rugby. I was working on shows, doing things like cutting mini highlights packages and doing stats.
I then got a job at a company called Perform, working on Premiership Rugby as an assistant producer. I worked on the Channel 5 highlight show and I used to work on the live outside broadcasts as a VT coordinator, which is like a replay director. I'd pick the replays and tell the director what angles we would use next, which was really cool.
After that, I was still an assistant producer but I started getting to produce more content, including for Channel 5 and DAZN. Then COVID hit and work started to slow down, so I decided it was time to move up to an actual producer role. A role came up at Whisper, which is where I currently work. I started working on branded content, so big briefs from big brands like HSBC and Mastercard with sporting stars like all the F1 teams.
I then moved onto a World Rugby contract working across some really good campaigns like Mastercard’s Youth Unstoppables and HSBC’s Remarkables, including filming with St Mary's alumna Abi Burton.
Whisper then signed the EA deal, so EA became our client and there was an opportunity to go back into live sport. I'm now producing the live shows for EA Sports FC. We did five events last year and we're just starting again for the new season.
How did St Mary’s prepare you for your career?
St Mary's gave me a lot of life skills, with confidence being a big one. I felt like I went from being a boy to a man at St Mary's. Leaving home for the first time and having that independence was huge.
I learned a lot from the academics, but also from my classmates and from my friends. I met people who came from different backgrounds to myself, but we all got to know each other and you stick together. Now, I see my mates from St Mary’s as almost like a brotherhood.
Doing the course itself, and particularly the film and TV modules, gave me a sense of direction. I didn't know what I wanted to do when I first came to St Mary's, so discovering something that really interested me was amazing. It gave me a career path, and something to focus on.
What advice would you give to any current students?
One bit of advice that I'd give is to never give up. If you've got a dream or a goal, just keep knocking on the door. If there's something that you're really passionate about, you’ll get there.
I’ve always loved sport, and now I’ve worked in the industry for 14 years and met some of my heroes. I was born in New Zealand, so I support the All Blacks in rugby. Last year, I produced the New Zealand Rugby Daily Show for the Rugby World Cup and was mingling with the All Blacks every day, including past and current players.
Hard work really does pay off. You just have to keep getting in there and keep digging. Once you burst the bubble and get your foot in the door, a whole new world of opportunities will open up.