Buffalo Bisons-Video Production

Summer 2017

This summer I spent my time interning with the Buffalo Bisons baseball team. As a video production intern I had several different duties that changed depending on the day. These different positions included operating graphics displayed on broadcast, operating the audio board, playing commercial spots on the video board for fans to see, creating video packages to be used online and on television, filming and uploading player interviews, operating camera on field during games, and creating celebrity-look-alike videos to play on the video board for fans. The interns were assigned a different position each day in order to master each skill. At first it was intimidating and stressful to try each new thing on my own, but after about a month I was proficient in each position. The full-time employees were always kind and helpful. They explained everything required of us and genuinely wanted us to have a good intern experience while learning new things. I was worried about not having enough experience or knowledge of the technology, but some of the full-time employees who used to be interns told me that they started out in the same position as me. This gave me hope and made me more comfortable.

I learned the most from working on the computers operating commercial spots and uploading plays online. I learned how to use Adobe Premiere to edit and export video. I think this is very helpful because I have recently looked at other video production internships that require knowledge of this software. I also learned a lot by using Photoshop to create the celebrity-look-alike videos. This involved taking video footage of fans at the game from the camera operators and picking out people who looked like celebrities. I would assemble a Photoshop project with the name and picture of the celebrity and put the project in Premiere and match it with a close up of the person in the crowd. This was challenging simply because I had to figure out who people looked like. However, it furthered my knowledge of Premiere and Photoshop. I think I was best at operating the cameras, mostly because I had experience using them in the Ridge Report. I did learn a lot more about the cameras with the Bisons because I was using them so often. I probably had the most difficulty working Adobe Premiere in the beginning. There was a lot to remember and a lot of skills I didn’t know about when editing video. I tried to watch the full-time employees work when I could and pick up on some tricks. Luckily, the employees were always eager to help.

I jumped at the opportunity to do this internship because I really wanted some hands-on experience. I didn’t realize how much of what I’ve already learned in school would help me. Being a part of the Ridge Report was the biggest advantage. As I mentioned, I learned how to use the cameras there and was able to use that knowledge with the Bisons. There was one week at the internship when each intern got a day to go learn how to use the cameras during the game. I felt so proud of myself when the camera operator instructing me was impressed with my skills and told me I was doing better than the intern from the day before. The skills I learned in the digital media production class at Niagara helped a lot when I was working on Photoshop at the internship. I already knew what most of the tools did and how to organize the layers on a project. Also, in my media writing class, we had a day where we held a mini press conference with an employee of a local newspaper. This experience helped when I would record the post-game interviews of the players and when I recorded a press meeting of a major league player who was at the park on rehab. I also think about how my knowledge of critical media studies and social justice applied to the internship. The Bisons are very dedicated to their fans. Going to a baseball game is very different today than it was maybe 20 years ago, its all about the experience now. People go to the games not just to watch baseball, but they go for the promotions, events and even the food. The Bisons organization is responsible for delivering a fun, quality experience to their fans. I was able to witness first-hand just how important this is. The Bisons hosted several events that brought attention to important organizations. There was an Irish Festival Night, Italian Festival Night, Strike Out Cancer Night, and a Polish Festival Night throughout the season. The Irish, Italian and Polish nights were already encouraging inclusiveness and bringint attention to different culture, and to top it off they were sponsored by Unyts. Unyts is a non-profit organization that helps those in need with organ, blood and tissue donation. These events were so important in terms of social justice because they brought attention to helpful organizations and different kinds of people in the community. It was all these little things that I’ve learned along the way that gave me a leg up at my internship, and I have Niagara University to thank for that.

This internship opened the door for plenty of future career opportunities. I never pictured myself working in the sports industry, but being with the Bisons changed my mind. I never really thought about a video production position with a sports team, but I learned there is a lot that the production team does behind the scenes. This was also only on a minor league level, which means there are so many other opportunities and things happening at the major league level. I looked at a video production internship with the Buffalo Bills and found that the skills required were all things that I learned with the Bisons. The video production team at the Bisons was also mostly comprised of free-lance employees. I think when I graduate I may have to at least start off doing free-lance work, but I learned how it can really work well for some people.

The obvious benefit of the internship was all the different skills I learned. Another benefit is that I now have a great reference for future employment, especially in the sports field. One drawback was the schedule. I was expected to be at every home game, which was every other week for the entire week. This was hard because I also had to work at my part-time restaurant job and often couldn’t work during the weeks I had my internship. Other than that there really were no drawbacks with the job itself.

Overall, I would do it all again if I could. I learned so much and got to meet so many great people along the way. I loved being behind the scenes and seeing how the games are run. I know I will be able to take this experience with me into future endeavors. I am happy with how I performed because I always put in my best effort and took on responsibilities without being asked. I would absolutely recommend other students to apply for this internship. There are opportunities in promotions, marketing and writing along with video production, and the Bisons are eager to educate their interns. I owe my amazing summer to the Buffalo Bisons organization.