Penn State Men’s Club Ice Hockey

I currently work with the Penn State Ice Lions as Director and Production Manager to livestream their games for family members and fans around the globe for the 2021-2022 season. From coordinating personnel to implementing live-streaming solutions, I work to make sure fans around the world are able to watch professional, reliable streams of the team’s games.

Production Team

• Director and Production Manager: Michael Smedley
• Technical Director: Austen Yim
• Commentators: Stephen Pepper, Noah Bland, Tyler Hamer, Katie Knol, and Kyle Schmidt
• Camera Operators: George Liu, Carolyn DeRosa, Ethan Ellis, Stephen Pepper, Sydney Smith, and Adam Waxman
• Photographers: Sydney Smith and Stacie Zhang

What I Did

Prior to me coming onboard, the team used a basic, static setup so that their fans who could not travel to Penn State to watch their games were able to follow along at home. When I stepped into the role of Director and Production Manager, my mentality was that fans around the world should be able to experience the same sense of excitement watching on their TVs as the fans sitting in the stands.

I rethought and rebuilt the team’s livestream setup from the ground up, and I started by building a team that was passionate about sports production and the game of hockey. I am extremely fortunate to have found an outstanding team in my Technical Director, commentators, and camera operators, and my job is to help them move in harmony on game days so that we can tell one cohesive story and put the athletes on the ice in the spotlight.

My preparations began long before puck drop. For each game, I made a 1-sheet that outlined the schedule of the day, where and when the game was, who was needed when, and what roles people would be filling during the broadcast. This made sure that everybody knew exactly what was expected of them well before we arrived at the rink. In addition to the 1-sheets, I held production meetings with the team to go over the schedule and expectations for each game, and I remained in close communication with the team President to make sure my team and I were continuing to meet the team’s expectations. I also worked closely with the Technical Director to create audio and video content to run during the livestreams. I used QLab to compile bumper music, and we were able to integrate a score board into the stream so that fans always knew exactly what the situation was on the ice.

On game days, my job was to arrive at the rink and coordinate with the rink staff what we needed to get our production on the air. The Technical Director and I then worked to get all of the gear placed, connected, and tested. Once the talent arrived, we did a final brief on the game with any last-minute lineup changes, did a mic and video check, and got ready to start our pregame coverage. Once all of the checks were complete, I was in charge of coordinating audio, video, and talent sequences to give our viewers the best viewing experience.

What I Learned

Getting to work in live sports helped me learn to make decisions on the fly with a moment’s notice. A lot of times in theatre and concerts, sequences are rehearsed over and over again, and I know exactly how things are going to happen. In sports though, every night is different, and we had to be ready for whatever came our way. From having to relocate our broadcast location 60 minutes before puck drop to figuring out how to handle ambient stadium music getting flagged for copyright infringement on YouTube, I was constantly thinking on my feet about how to solve problems quickly so that we could focus on giving our viewers the best stream possible.

In addition to the technical and problem-solving skills I honed working with the Penn State Ice Lions, I also worked on my team management skills. Being the Director and Production Manager meant that I was ultimately in charge of and responsible for the entire broadcast team. I had to work with them and navigate work, school, and personal commitments while making sure that we never compromised on quality. Additionally, I was the point of contact between the broadcast team and the athletes, so it was my job to pass information that came my way from the team like lineups and name pronunciations.