Picture courtesy of Martin Walter
As BU’s Digital Screens Content Editor, he’s no stranger to the big screen. Little wonder then that Stuart Claw has also rubbed shoulders with a whole host of celebrities – including a dream gig with Dr Who.
By day, by night awford
y of Juliette Cr
Picture courtes
By day...
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t’s my job to create the signage you see on all the TV screens around the university, and I work with both students and staff to get the right messages across.
Picture courtesy of Charlie Read
They contact me about events and then it’s down to me to produce creative signs, making sure those messages hit the target audience.
By night...
I love the creative freedom and the fact there are so many diverse events going on around BU. Obviously you have events that happen every year, but you can always put a new, creative twist on them and work from a different angle to keep the audience interested.
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People want to do things differently each time and it really keeps me on my toes! What I really love is creating memorable graphics. My imagination is always ticking over as I look for new inspiration. One of my favourites was creating the signage for the iBU mobile app as I was able to use some new techniques that I had developed and the end result received great feedback. It can be challenging making something look appealing to such a huge audience, but I love that challenge. Whatever I’m creating, I always want to make people feel as enthusiastic about it as I do.
ould you believe I’ve met close to 500 celebrities?
Away from BU I work as a Stage Manager and Presenter for the MCM Expo Group, a company that hosts events all over the country for fans of films, comics, gaming and TV series. I’m up on stage with a microphone interacting with both the audience and the celebrity guests, making sure that everyone’s having a good time. When I started doing this, six or seven years ago, we’d get about 15,000 people turning up to events. However in October at the MCM Expo London Comic Con event at ExCeL, over 70,000 people attended and at points people we’re queuing around the block – it was unbelievable! I’ve met so many famous people like David Hasslehoff, Henry Winkler, Danny De Vito and stars from cult TV shows like Stargate SG1. Recently, I ran a Dr Who panel and met the current Doctor, Matt Smith. Working with the BBC and being part of an event streamed live to the Dr Who fan base, it was quite simply a dream come true. I’ve never been more nervous, but it was incredible.
Stuart Claw 22| InsideBU
Anything can happen at these events though. Once, a guest was unable to go onstage at the last minute and suddenly I was faced with a packed audience and an hour to fill. I jumped on stage and started giving away prizes. Thankfully, everyone had a great time and most barely noticed the guest hadn’t turned up!