When Murray Alford first started working in film and television, one of his jobs was to sit alone in a room at Stirling Castle and watch candles burn down.

“My first paid job was as a runner on a Historic Scotland advert for Stirling Castle. One of my tasks was to watch candles burn down in a room by myself so they would look used for the shot. I took them with an enthusiastic smile and thanked everyone for letting me be a part of such an exciting day,” he remembers.

Today, Murray works as a Production Manager on major international feature films and television productions. He is currently the Production Manager on Amazon MGM Studios’ Honeymoon with Harry, an international feature starring Kevin Costner and Jake Gyllenhaal set in Chicago and the Caribbean.

It is a long way from watching candles burn on a set in Scotland.

Murray chose to study Digital Film & Television at the then RSAMD because of the opportunity to work collaboratively within a small year group and specialise in the area of filmmaking that interested him most.

“I liked that there were only 12 people on the course and that it allowed you to concentrate on the area you were most passionate about, which for me was producing” he says.

He always knew he wanted to work in production and, while finding his way into the industry, took every opportunity to get on set, helping wherever he could on short films, music videos and television commercials.

That approach eventually led to occasional days on Waterloo Road, which developed into more regular work and eventually full-time opportunities, including a full season of River City.

Murray continued working in television production in the UK before moving to Australia at the end of 2012. The decision to make the move was, in his own words, a simple one: “I followed a girl who I then married and we have just had our first child together this year.”

He initially worked in Adelaide across a range of productions, including Wolf Creek 2 and The Water Diviner, before moving to Queensland. His early work in Queensland included Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, followed by working as personal assistant to Brie Larson on Kong: Skull Island in Australia and Vietnam, and then to Tom Hiddleston on Thor: Ragnarok. Of course, he couldn’t consider himself fully “Australian” until he had worked one season of “I’m a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here” which he did in 2016. He then returned to the production office on Aquaman.

For Murray, the scale of these productions was a dream come true.

“It was the scale and excitement of watching incredible sets being built with an army-sized crew working together. This is why I wanted to be in film, seeing the blockbuster cinema I love in person being put together a day at a time,” he says.

From there, Murray continued to progress through the production department, working across film and television as a Production Coordinator, Production Supervisor and Unit Production Manager on projects such as Lunatics, Love and Monsters and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, where he spent almost three years as Production Coordinator.

More recently, Murray Production Managed Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe and was Unit Production Manager on NBCU’s Apples Never Fall.

His work on these productions led to his relationship with Amazon MGM Studios, where he Production Supervised the tentpole feature Voltron, starring Henry Cavill.

For Murray, one of the most rewarding aspects of production management is seeing a project grow from its earliest stages into a large-scale production.

“I like that I can be on so early when there are only three or four of us, then scale up by picking key creatives and department heads to have a crew of over 1,000, then wind it down to be the last one to close the door.”

His approach to production is centred on problem-solving — or “disaster management”, as he puts it — and supporting the people around him.

“No matter what the job is, I like to think we can make anything happen with the idea that we are here to facilitate, not frustrate. The production office should be thought of like a concierge department, there to help every person on a film.”

Although his career has taken him far from Glasgow, Murray still sees a connection between his time at RSAMD and the work he does today.

“When the days are hard, which they often are, I remember that I chose this line of work and try to remember the fun of being at school learning this craft.”

His advice to current RCS students looking to establish themselves in film and television is straightforward:

“If you want it, you can have it. You just need to give it everything and have the right attitude.”