Called into the offices of BBC in Glasgow, Dundee man Danny Flynn and his film making cohorts did not expect to be asked to create a documentary based on a short piece they made as part of their university studies.
But that is what happened last year — just months after the team of five students finished a film and media course in Stirling University.
The short was called The Bad Guy and was about MMA fighter Chris Bungard, from Holytown.
That film caught the eye of BBC Scotland commissioner Louise Thornton, who called them in for a meeting and offered the group the chance to make a follow-up with a considerably larger budget of £30,000, compared to the £100 to cost to make the 12-minute university project.
The result, also called ‘The Bad Guy’ will be broadcast on Tuesday.
But Danny and the team did not anticipate what happened next, as Chris signed with Bellator — one of the biggest American promoters in the sport.
The new film details Chris’ nine-week training regime in the build up to his first fight since signing with Bellator and culminates with the fight in Newscastle against Terry “The Dominator” Brazier.
Despite the show’s title, Danny insists Chris is “one of the nicest guys you could meet”.
While the making of a documentary is stressful enough, Danny and the team piled even more pressure on themselves by electing to handle all of the production themselves.
“We got some advice and were told we could either make it ourselves, or work with a professional production company,” Danny said.
“If we went with someone else we would not have been able to make every decision ourselves, so the film would have ended up different.
“It was a lot of work, but it was our work. I don’t think many people would have done it the way we did.
“It was long days for me, as I moved back to Dundee after the university course last year. I was getting up at about 6am and then not getting home until midnight.
“But it’s really exciting to have our documentary being screen on television.”
