PROJECT / PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

TRUST – At some point, an Athletic Director or team GM needs to trust someone. 

The role of Video Operations manager is a difficult position to fill.  We can help —but it requires trust.  My “Secret sauce” has been to work hard, communicate well, and tell the truth.  This has led to 30+ years in the business, overwhelmingly positive relationships, long-term good standing in the industry, and genuine desire to help.

There are several advantages for a venue to outsource production and video services:

MINIMIZE ANNUAL STAFFING COSTS – no need to carry the annual expense of a permanent video staff year-round; spend during the season and minimize costs in off-season

PRODUCTION HIRING IS HIT AND MISS – Oftentimes there is a “hope we made a good hire” when an athletic department needs to hire a video position to manage operations.  It’s extremely difficult for “civilians” to write a proper job description that properly encapsulates the video duties and skills needed —most team managers do not really “speak” video very well.

Additionally, it’s difficult to properly interview a potential video candidate. It’s a very technical field, and the typical video position is tough to fill with just a resume.  Most candidates can “talk a good talk” about projects they have done —but it takes a seasoned “video geek” to know what actual skills and expertise a candidate really has.

IT’S TOUGH TO GET OUT OF A BAD HIRE – A permanent hire is tough to get out of if the candidate doesn’t work out.  Oftentimes it is MUCH easier to make a change with contractors. I have hired many many video positions over the years, and I’ve always felt strongly that the continued incentive to-keep-your-position is a big help to getting optimal performance out of the hire.

BRING IN STARTUP HELP – –  Many times a venue needs help “start-up help” when purchasing new videoboards, but that’s just for a short-term burst, then things settle down and operations become business-as-usual.  My team helps with this burst —it’s a HUGE push to install new video systems, get everything working, and tie it all together. Many times, the entire inventory of video graphics, animations and elements need to be updated to the new format.

My team does this on a regular basis.  We can help with the push, and then provide your staff with files, training, and ongoing support as needed.  We frequently work ourselves out of a job after the first season –if we do our job right, we turn the keys over to your staff once things are working well.

GET SCALEABLE EXPERTISE – New equipment usually comes with a steep learning curve. My team of experts are used to the “startup”.  If there are particular devices, equipment, or video techniques that your staff needs help with, let me find you a specialist.

SPECIAL PROJECTS – Often, a sponsor will have a specific idea about an activation, video, animation or special display that they want.  If you need some out-of-the-box solutions to help with special projects, my team can help.

OUTSOURCE SPONSORSHIP – A larger venue can have many different sized formats with multiple screens, fascia ribbon boards, etc.  The creation of elements can be time-consuming, and put a lot of hours on your video manager.  We frequently knock out inventory for clients that just need a little help making the “stuff”.  I think it’s important to keep your guy working on the big stuff, and let my team  handle the repetitive and time-consuming production work.