“Who picks which camera goes to air?”
A student asked me that this week while I was showing a camera plan to a room of high schoolers. Forty cameras on the sheet. Lenses, positions, zones. He looked at it, then looked at me. The room went quiet.
I said, “Great question.”
Then I walked them through it, step by step. You could feel the light bulbs turn on. Heads nodding. “So it is like a team, each person at the right time.” Exactly.
We do not build rockets or save lives. Still, our world is a mystery to most people. That includes friends and family. If they have never stood in a control room or inside a truck, how would they know?
The biggest mistake we make
We assume everyone understands what we do. They do not. That gap hurts hiring, training, and respect for the craft. Let’s close it with simple language and real examples.
What actually happens on a show day in sports (plain words)
Director
Chooses the best shot in real time, like an air-traffic controller for pictures.
Technical Director (TD or Vision Mixer)
Programs the switcher and presses the buttons that take those shots to air.
Audio Engineer (A1)
Design the audio plan and manages dozens of microphones, opens and closes based on where the play is, balances crowd and voices.
Camera operators
Track the action, hold focus, frame clean, and anticipate.
Replay
Catches the moments you missed and serves the right angle fast.
Graphics
Score, clock, names, and facts, on time and accurate.
Transmission
Turns pictures and sound into a signal that travels through fiber or satellite so your screen lights up at home.
Talent support
Hair, makeup, mics, notes, and guests so on-air looks effortless.
Commentator
Tells the story of a game and guide the viewers through the action beyond what they can see or hear.
Most viewers see the faces on camera, not the hundreds of hands behind one clean show.
What most people never see
Unless someone has worked in the business, it is hard to imagine how cameras connect to a truck and how there is a person in the chair (think octopus meets spider) with enough arms and eyes to pick the best angles from 35 cameras, call replays, and press the right button at the right time.
Most people do not realize there is an audio engineer who manages forty-plus microphones in a football game and opens and closes them based on the side of the field where the ball is being played.
Most people cannot quite grasp what transmission is or how what a camera captures becomes a signal that travels through a tiny cable to the other side of the world. Let alone how that same signal can go up to a satellite in orbit and come back down to another continent.
People also do not realize that the on-air talent they love relies on an army of professionals for makeup, hair, microphones, preparation, and guests. A team brings interviewees to the sideline or books those who will join in the studio.
Our friends and family may know about the long hours and the weeks we are away during tournaments. The rest of the world mostly sees our photos from distant places and hears that we are working a very cool event.
I am not complaining. I am pointing to something many of us share in this craft.
Why telling our story matters
Please spread the word and take the chance to explain what you do when people are curious, especially young people. We are facing a shortage in many places. It is hard to find new people for audio, replay, and engineering. The more we promote our industry, the better our chances of keeping it healthy and bringing new blood into productions.
We do not build rockets or save lives, but we tell stories and bring emotion to millions. That matters too.
Platforms will keep changing. The need for people who tell the stories will remain.
Your 60-second script to explain your job
Use this the next time a student, friend, or parent asks.
Start with the goal
“My job is to help millions watch the game as if they were in the stadium.”
Say your role in one line
“I [your role], so viewers see and hear the right thing at the right time.”
Give one concrete example
“When the ball moves to the far side, I open the field mics there so you feel the tackle.”
Share why it matters
“If we do this right, you understand the game and feel the energy.”
Invite a next step
“If you are curious, shadow me for one hour or join our next walkthrough.”
A quick before–after you can borrow
Before: “I work on television”
After: “I run replay so you can see the key angle ten seconds after it happens. On a goal, I find three angles, trim the clip, and play it back on the director’s count.”
Help the next generation find us
If you work a show
Take one behind-the-scenes photo (no sensitive info). Caption it in plain words.
Offer a one-hour shadow slot once a month.
Keep a ten-word glossary for interns. Words they will hear on day one.
If you teach or mentor
Invite a local crew to your class, or tour a truck.
Map show roles on a whiteboard, from camera to transmission.
Share starter paths for audio, replay, and engineering. These are in demand.
If you lead a team
Add one student or early-career guest to a pre-production call.
Create a micro-internship: two days, one clear task, one mentor, one deliverable.
In your next debrief, recognize unseen work by name.
Why this matters now
In many markets we cannot find enough new people for audio, replay, and engineering. Platforms change, but the need for people who tell stories does not. If we want talent tomorrow, we have to explain the work today and invite people in.
See you next week,
Oscar
P.S. On my way to Europe, excited to see the colors of fall and see many friends and colleagues again.