Newhouse, Same Me.
The Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Summer 2024 E-Sports Immersion
Pictured above is the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. I had the privilege of finally attending classes there in person this past June after spending the past year pursuing my Master’s Degree in Media Management through the school’s online program. I’ve wanted to attend Newhouse School since I found my passion for broadcasting and media back in middle school in South Jersey. So being here was a dream come true!
Here is what my classroom usually looks like for me. As I’m doing homework and attending Zoom class meetings, I too am prioritizing my role as Transmission Coordinator with CNBC. It’s a full schedule!
It was so rewarding to finally get to go up to campus and meet my classmates and professors in real life. It was so exciting! During a two-day immersion, we were tasked with learning all there is to know about the emerging media landscape of E-Sports. Something I knew very little about. It turns out, that Newhouse has a concentration in E-Sports for its undergraduate students, and Syracuse University has an E-Sports Division 1 Team, complete with athletes from all over the world, being given a scholarship to join this program.
Dr. Gawriskiak, Chair and Co-Founder of Syracuse University’s E-Sports Program
As someone who has spent well over a decade in traditional broadcast media both at CNN and CNBC, learning more about emerging media platforms like competitive gaming and E-Sports was fascinating. What you realize is there are so many subjects, areas of concentration, and focuses with media. But the rules, art, and science you learn are universal. Whether it is news, sports, entertainment, or e-sports.
We broke into teams for our project. Some focused on a marketing strategy for an E-Sports team or company, others worked on their E-Sports Casting skills and shot, edited, and produced themselves as E-Sports Casters for their breakout groups to see. I went with what I’ve known, and what I love which is Content Creation. The subject was very familiar to me, as I spent years as a Video Editor Producer, and Assistant Editor at CNN. The focus was very new, and frankly very intimidating at first to edit a one-minute video trailer/teaser/promo on a subject I knew nothing about before attending this immersion. After all the content I was used to editing looked very different, here is a look at my edit bay during my stint at CNN:
Editing a lead story with CNN’s Gary Tuchman and Anne Clifford.
I had less than twenty-four hours to come up with a one-minute trailer or teaser for my favorite esports player. Well great, that’s easy. I’ve edited dozens of trailers and promo teasers for various HLN True Crime Series and CNN Programs. But, where do I start? I’m an editor-producer, I’ve got this. I’ve crashed lead stories for Anderson Cooper 360 in far less time than twenty-four hours.
Media is the narrative business. The space of e-sports is different and new but the content all works the same! In a given minute, I have to tell a story. I need a subject. So I always loved playing Call of Duty with my friends in high school and college so that was my game of choice. Then, I found an exciting subject. Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez, a World Champion Call of Duty Player. Not only was his gameplay exciting, but the video content I found to edit was visually captivating. You saw equal parts gameplay but also hero shots and hype visuals of HyDra himself. The people watching a teaser promo of a competitive e-sports champion need to see the person behind the controller and relate to him.
Hydra, you were my focus! I was off to the races now. I gathered as much footage as I could and then a little more. I was in my groove now. I love the creative process, I love telling stories. I love editing, sound design, character development, pacing, and immersing myself in post-production. After I got a ton of visuals and learned about my subject, he needed his theme song. Through watching some videos one of the Casters referred to “Hydra” as a beast. That reminded me of the Rob Zombie song “SuperBeast”. No time to waste, I love that song, it has some hard rock that would fit perfectly with wartime Call of Duty gameplay. I was back in my element.
I started with my radio edit. Laying down the music and pacing out a ton of soundbites to accent the music. Then I laid down how I wanted the beginning and end to feel. It’s a story so it starts with an impact and it ends with a conclusive finish. Then the visuals came into play. I included equal parts gameplay and seeing “Hydra” the person. It’s a balance. I laid a ton in there. Fast cuts to the beat of the music was my foundation. Then I broke that structure a bit to keep the video exciting. Call of Duty sound effects were added for additional impact. There’s a time for “less is more” in Content Creation. This was not the time. My improvisational acting teacher, Mr. McCabe in high school told me, “Give me too much, we can always subject than not have enough.” That’s been how I teach my students at Montclair State University’s School of Communication and Media when we’re working through our projects.
I edited any chance I got. Just like anything else the hardest part for me was getting started. I just needed to go with what I knew. I loved it. I was editing that next day any chance I got. On the bus to another event for the immersion. After our group dinner out at Dino BBQ in Syracuse, NY. I wanted to win. The winner of each of the three sections got to present their projects to the immersion class of more than fifty students as well as to the Newhouse School faculty and staff. Why did it matter to win a competition in a class that was simply pass/fail? It mattered because this was my opportunity to separate myself from the pack.
We uploaded and presented our projects to our smaller breakout group. Then each of the students in the section voted for their favorite video. Whoever has the most likes won. And I did. I won the content creation contest! I was elated! I was confident I’d be top three. But, I was so thrilled to be recognized by my peers.It was a confidence boost after a few years away from full-time content creation. It was wonderful. What I’ve realized is this is the beginning of the next great chapter of my life. It was the Newhouse School. But it was the same me.
Presenting my work at the Newhouse School
This was a special moment! To stand in front of a group of my peers and professors at a school I’ve spent decades wanting to attend was a dream come true!
