“I’ll probably just put it on the shelf with the other three,” says TV director Dan Reed, when I ask him what he plans to do with the BAFTA he’s just won for his TV documentary ‘The Paedophile Hunter’.
If he sounds blasé about his win, there’s nothing casual about the work he’s put in over the years, there’s nothing casual about his efforts on his previous award-winning programmes, including 'The Battle for Haiti' and 'Terror in Mumbai'.
Dan is one of the professionals sharing their insights at BAFTA’s TV forum on 9 May, when less experienced colleagues and those wanting to get on in the industry will have the chance to pick their brains. Ahead of the event this weekend, Dan shares with HuffPostUK some of his tips for breaking through into this most competitive of fields and standing out from the rest of the field…
What was your biggest break?
It’s very boring as a story, but I happened to know someone. I was a cook in a bad restaurant, and a mate of mine worked at the BBC. They were after a Russian speaker, and that was my first job, researching for the great Adam Curtis.
What’s been your biggest challenge?
There are moments on every film where you’re faced with staying up for three nights in a row, and knowing your film’s not quite there, and going home and living a normal life. And that moment when you choose the former is what defines you. You have to be desperate and scared enough to make your film work, however long it takes.
What been the best bit of advice you’ve received?
I’ve been lucky with my commissioning editors and I’ve learned this from all of them: It’s what you don’t put in a film, what you don’t say, what you don’t film. When you’re younger, you have all these ideas, and as you get older, you realise there are only a few options, so don’t confuse yourself with too many things and instead keep it very, very simple. Don’t make it complicated. Learn to edit.
The three top tips you’d give anyone trying to make factual television or film…
When you’re making a film, listen and see what you’re being told, not what you expected going into the project. Try and actually listen to what your subjects are telling you.
A lot of the time, stuff happens that is interesting but it’s not what people expect so they miss it. Don’t try and make reality fit in with your story, keep a sense of purpose, real life out there won’t take shape how you expect. That’s when you start doing good stuff.
Find one thing that you can do really well, and put everything into that, don’t worry about getting on in the business, just get in there and do it. Learn to work a camera, learn to edit with software and get your head down. Don’t sit in the pub talking about your perfect film, go out and make it.
Dan will be speaking at BAFTA's TV forum , which takes place on 9 May and is geared towards those who have already started out in the industry but want to take that important next step particularly in documentary, factual, entertainment, features, factual entertainment and current affairs.
Tickets have now sold out - however recordings from the sessions will be available to watch on BAFTA's online learning channel BAFTA Guru. Click here for info.
Sundance 2015 documentaries
"Tig"(01 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Kristina Goolsby and Ashley York
When Tig Notaro first incorporated cancer into her stand-up acts in 2012, she became an overnight sensation. This film picks up as Notaro recovers from her mother's death and a life-threatening medical procedure, always looking to humor as an antidote. (credit:Sundance)
"Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief"(02 of16)
Open Image Modal"The Hunting Ground"(03 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Kirby Dick
This timely exploration of campus rapes points to the institutional cover-ups, legal hoop-jumping and victim-blaming that exists at universities of all sizes. From the director of the Oscar-nominated "The Invisible War," the film follows undergraduate rape survivors as they seek justice and attempt to move on from the atrocities they endured. (credit:Sundance)
"The Amina Profile"(04 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Sophie Deraspe
Amina Arraf became a star blogger when her online Montreal girlfriend encouraged her to launch A Gay Girl in Damascus. This film explores the global hunt that ensued after Arraf was kidnapped when Syria entered the Arab Spring in 2011. (credit:Sundance)
"Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck"(05 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Brett Morgen
Following the Nirvana frontman from his Washington childhood to blinding international fame, this documentary from the director of "The Kid Stays in the Picture" is the first authorized portrait of the grunge-rock god. (credit:Sundance)
"Fresh Dressed"(06 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Sacha Jenkins
Pharrell Williams, Damon Dash, Karl Kani, Kanye West, Nas, Andre Leon Talley and a host of others are on hand for this exploration of the symbiosis that runs through hip-hop and fashion. Sacha Jenkins turns to the roots of urban street-wear to chronicle everything from Kangol hats and graffiti jackets to the music that inspired such regalia. (credit:Sundance)
"Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon"(07 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Douglas Tirola
The National Lampoon's rise from irreverent counterculture magazine to heralded comedic brand is chronicled with archival footage and nostalgia for a time when Gilda Radner, John Belushi and Chevy Chase were at the forefront of American humor. (credit:Sundance)
"Pervert Park"(08 of16)
Open Image Modal Directed by Frida Barkfors and Lasse Barkfors
Sex offenders damned to a life of public shame can reintegrate themselves into society thanks to places like the run-down trailer park at the center of this film, which explores the hard truths that plague repentant perpetrators of such heinous acts. (credit:Sundance)
"Prophet's Prey"(09 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Amy Berg
In 2012, private investigator Sam Brower, with the help of "Into the Wild" author Jon Krakauer, published his account of the events that led to to the conviction of Mormon polygamist Warren Jeffs. This documentary, from the director of "Deliver Us from Evil" and "West of Memphis," explores the deranged leader's allegations of underage marriages and sexual abuse. (credit:Sundance)
"Listen to Me, Marlon"(10 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Stevan Riley
"Listen to Me, Marlon" is a Marlon Brando documentary told exclusively from the perspective of Marlon Brando. No talking heads, just never-before-seen archival footage from the late actor's private library, as presented by the director of "Blue Blood" and James Bond doc "Everything or Nothing." (credit:Sundance)
"The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution"(11 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Stanley Nelson
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense made an indelible and controversial mark on the civil-rights movement of the 1960s and '70s. Using archival footage and interviews with former members, celebrated documentarian Stanley Nelson ("Freedom Riders," "Jonestown") looks back at the group's polarizing attempt to enact a new version of the American Dream. (credit:Sundance)
"Larry Kramer In Love and Anger"(12 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Jean Carlomusto
Divisive gay activist Larry Kramer returned to the spotlight last year with HBO's adaptation of his iconic play, "The Normal Heart." Now he's the subject of a documentary that aims to weave together the many realms of Kramer's history, from founding AIDS support groups in the '80s to the abrasive tactics that made him such a polarizing figure within the gay community. (credit:Sundance)
"Best of Enemies"(13 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Robert Gorgon and Morgan Neville
The American public was riveted by ABC News' unprecedented 1968 debates between conservative author William F. Buckley Jr. and leftist figurehead Gore Vidal. Their television appearances were like the birth of reality programming: unscripted, vitriolic must-see TV. Oscar winner Morgan Neville, who directed the Sundance hit "20 Feet from Stardom," joins Robert Gordon to dissect what the two leading thinkers' interactions did for American rhetoric. (credit:Sundance)
"Finders Keepers"(14 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Bryan Carberry and Clay Tweel
A bargain hunter discovers a severed foot inside a used grill he purchases at an auction, becoming a minor media sensation in the process -- until the owner of the foot comes calling for his missing appendage. (credit:Sundance)
"Cartel Land"(15 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Matthew Heineman
A violent drug cartel has been wrecking the Mexican state of Michoacán and oozing across the Arizona border for years. The producer of the 2009 documentary "Our Time," Matthew Heineman trains his camera on two small uprisings attempting to stymie the Mexican drug wars as they affect the respective regions. (credit:Sundance)
"3 1/2 Minutes"(16 of16)
Open Image ModalDirected by Marc Silver
Jordan Davis and three friends stopped at a convenience store on Black Friday 2012; there, a white man named Michael Dunn harangued the black teenagers for loudly playing music in their car. The two exchanged words, then Dunn fired 10 bullets, killing Davis. Dunn's trial becomes the backbone of this timely documentary, which explores Florida's dicey self-defense laws and what Davis' parents experienced as their son's media circus escalated. (credit:Sundance)