Over 550 industry professionals gathered in Atlanta, GA on June 7th and 8th for the Sports Video Group's 3rd annual College Sports Video Summit. This was the second year WKU-ETV employees attended, 4 of our people (including 2 WKU students) made the early morning drive from Bowling Green, KY.
Summit really is the term to use in describing this event. Every major entity in sports video is represented and we are very proud to have represented WKU and HSSN at this event. More than any other event in the world, CSVS has a clear focus on the world in, around and about college sports video. An impressive amount of organization and planning takes place to allow the college sports-video community to share thoughts, ideas, how-tos and lessons learned about the ins and outs of the industry.
We asked our student attendees to share their experiences from the trip. First you’ll hear from Brianne Kelley, a WKU junior from Massillon, Ohio. Our second contributor is Scott Vennell, a sophomore from Chatham, IL. Both Bri and Scott have worked as production assistants at WKU-ETV since their first semesters on the hill.
Bri’s Take:
We arrived early that morning in Atlanta to hear the Keynote speaker, Chris Plonsky, Women’s AD/Sr. Associate AD for Athletics External Services, The University of Texas. Plonsky discussed the strategies and first-hand experience of taking a college athletic department like University of Texas and branding them creating their own network that will launch this fall. As a student working with sports on a university campus it was very interesting to hear and see a university work from the same framework we have and or what we started with and create something so impacting in the community. After a few more panel discussions dealing with the debated views of sports and content rights our group headed out into Atlanta to explore. Once we wondered our way through the streets of Atlanta we finally made our way to the CNN building. We decided to take the inside tour of CNN. As a broadcast major it was fun and interesting to see the actual studios, equipment, and set-up, but as for the tour it was very dumbed down for the public to easily understand and that dragged it out for those broadcast students and professionals like us. After, we took the time to see the city and sites like Centennial Park and The Tabernacle Theatre. Finding delicious food is never too hard to find you just have to look for one that’s still open.
The next day we started our day off in “Track 1: Video ROI” (Return On Investmetn) with a discussion panel about getting your content out to the viewers in a multitude of ways in the form of TV, web, phones, and tablets. The panelists agreed getting content out to the viewers on “any screen, anywhere” matters and is a wise investment for branding and important when looking to make ROI. However, they disagreed on views of where a station/network or college with a small budget should focus their attention and money on, but in the end it was ultimately decided that quality is far more important that quantity. As students Scott and I wanted to see what the other tracks had to offer. Although they were quite intriguing we felt that they didn’t fit with us as students, working at an already up and running station/network. So we ventured our way back to track 1 for the rest of the afternoon. They did a production video virtual tour of the Yum Center and we had a panel of those from the Yum Center and the University of Louisville to discuss the problems they faced in the decision making process to implementing the best technology to make the building a “2020 building.” The group responsible for the planning and design of the arena, the Louisville Arena Authority, put every effort into making the venue as production friendly as possible, while also taking steps to make sure that was true for many years to come. It was also really cool to hear about what planning went into the arena and the problems that they ran into as well as the final project because it is so close to us at Western Kentucky University. It was also amazing to hear that one of the final key problems they had came down to pizza and how to work around the Arena being sponsored by YUM food products including Pizza Hut and the University of Louisville is sponsored by Papa John’s. It seems like such a minute detail but holds such an impact that they can work so well together in the arena sharing the space effectively. After the YUM Center Case Study, we got back into the debate of content rights and complicated network agreements and how to use these networks to a college sports program’s advantage. We heard one final case study on Penn State’s Team creating a multi-million dollar construction project of broadcast facilities and highly functioning sports facilities for their use led by Jim Nachtman, Director of Broadcast Operations, Penn State University. The final panel we saw discussed the ever important, but widely looked over topic of safety. Much is common sense, but as they discussed many people forget their common sense much of the time. Others are key things such as safety rails and harnesses that must be implemented by each facility and broadcast program so everyone is under strict and safe guidelines so we can do our jobs to the best and safest of our abilities. I’m lucky that my campus and my station follow those key safety rules everyday, with every production.
All in all we had a wonderful time exploring the city and learning from the prospective of those around us. As a student I can say it was an amazing experience to get that opportunity to go in representation of WKU and HSSN.
Scott’s Take:
There has to be a great reason to wake up at 4 A.M. as a college student in the middle of summer break. Well, on June 7th there was a great reason. At 4:30 A.M., I loaded up in a car along with Jordan Basham, Jessica Gibbs and Bri Kelley headed towards Atlanta for the SVG’s 2011 CSVS. It may seem a little excessive to leave so early, but we wanted to make sure we arrived in time to hear Chris Plonsky deliver the keynote address. Plonsky discussed the long process she and her team endured to create the Longhorn Network in partnership with ESPN. I learned that branding is important to all colleges, no matter how big or small. WKU is continually working towards this goal, the recent transition to Division 1A football is a prime example, and WKU-ETV/WKYU-PBS/HSSN can help with this goal by creating quality sports productions. These productions create an important link to fans, which strengthens the branding and fan base of WKU, and also provides an amazing opportunity for students like me.
CSVS also presented the opportunity to browse vendor booths at a technology showcase, I got a hands on look at the new replay server WKU-ETV/WKYU-PBS/HSSN is considering to purchase for the new high definition production truck. This system is a lot more versatile than the current machines we use, so it will allow us to improve our productions and provide even better experience to students involved with productions.
After the keynote address and technology showcase, we took the opportunity to tour CNN Studios. Although the tour included watered down explanations of some technologies used in television production, it was still cool to see what happens in the studios of a national news network. After taking the CNN tour, we decided to try and find a local place to grab some dinner. However, after walking place to place only to find that the restaurant no longer exists, we soon found ourselves in a bad situation. Without realizing it, we had walked right into Five Points Station. Within 30 seconds of entering this area, we quickly realized we should get out of there. As we turned around to leave we witnessed a failed pickpocket attempt, a definite sign we were not in the right area. After an eventful day made better by Jordan’s frustration of Atlanta’s one-way streets and unbelievable number of buses -which all seemed to be blocking the roads we needed to turn down, we finally grabbed dinner and called it a day.
The next day wouldn’t be nearly as exciting, but I learned a lot more from the CSVS sessions. The main focus of day 2 was about the future of sports production and the importance of creating a digital network. I learned that in today’s sports production, it is important to reach fans all on all screens, whether its TV, smartphone, or tablet. There was also a session that gave an inside look into the technology that is powering the new KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. The designers of this arena didn’t want to settle for 2011 technology, but instead “built it like a 2020 stadium.” The last session of the day discussed the importance of production safety. This panel led by safety professionals from Michigan State, UCLA, ESPN, Fox and CBS Sports outlined the safety guidelines the industry has established. WKYU-PBS has been following these guidelines for a while now, but it never hurts to hear the newest ideas on how to keep workers safe. Overall, the 2011 College Sports Video Summit was a great experience, and I am glad I had the opportunity to attend.
Conclusion:
We hope you enjoyed what Bri and Scott had to say about their experiences in Atlanta and at CSVS. If you want to find out more about the Sports Video Group or CSVS, visit sportsvideo.org for more on the Sports Production Safety Group check out the resources found at spsgonline.com
No comments:
Post a Comment