My Role As A Video Engineer

As of late I’ve been playing the role of video engineer. I entered the industry as an audio engineer, but ended up doing just about everything else. I think that’s the beauty of the live production community, especially when doing corporate AV. Through working the convention center, and the resorts around Disney became everything but what I set out to accomplish. With that being said I still mix audio at gigs when I’m off of work, and I still educate myself in that vein of the industry.

Working as a video engineer for Technomedia Solutions has been a challenging experience.  We work primarily with large vendors like Abercrombie & Fitch, Hard Rock, and Universal Studios year round. Earlier this year I was a part of the AV installation at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa. This was a basic AV installation of the poolside private huts, and the floor. Over the last 8 months I’ve been a Video Engineer/Technician installing storefront video walls for Abercrombie & Fitch’s, Hollister Co.  Our systems as complex as they are, are fed by two sources.  A hub of Green Hippo Grasshoppers, typically four in a system are what run the HD video feeds to our storefront walls and interior walls.  Our interior walls are run off of a live video feed, which is provided through satellite. That is what we feed into our rack after it runs its course throughout the building, across amps, and pads to tune the signals strength to our needs. The storefront walls output resolution is typically 3840x1080, and displayed on anywhere from 35 to 170 monitors. To get from the Grasshopper’s to the video walls, they run the gauntlet of scalers, switchers, and transmitters. Once they leave the transmitters they output across our pulled CAT6 cable to the receivers in the field, from there it’s to the displays. Aside from the technical aspect of it there is an astronomical amount of video and control programming.  As much as I’d like to talk about the ins and outs of the programming, that’s the little secret to my job.

Our clients are worldwide and the new developing projects are immense. My role at the company is currently a sub contractor but this allows me to conduct my business as I please. Being a private business, without the commitment of a full time position, I can network and build a reputation in the industry so that I can help my career grow. 

My Present Career in the Show Production Business

Being a graduate from Full Sail University's Show Production and Touring Bachelor Degree Program, During my two years in my Show Production major, I focused on learning live event production, audio and lighting systems, audio visual technologies, and concert media design. The education that I acquired through Full Sail's Show Production and Touring Bachelor's Degree Program was the right combination of all the possible careers in the live event production and AV community. Ranging from the interworking of a loud speaker to the setup and turning of a home theater system, I definitely was educated on all possible levels of this career path. More information about Full Sail's Show Production Degree can be found at http://www.fullsail.edu/degrees/show-production-bachelors. During my studies, I myself mostly focused on specializing in audio engineering. When I graduated from Full Sail with my Show Production degree, I wanted to find a job in the audio industry. After working with career development for a little while after my graduation,  my main goal was to work for Clair Brothers Audio Systems. However, with plans of completing my master's degree in the near future, Clair Brothers was not the right career choice for me at the moment. Because of that, one can say that I am still currently in between areas of my career at the moment. I am first and foremost an audio engineer, however for the last five months I have also been a video engineer.  I got in touch with a company out of Orlando called Technomedia Solutions. Technomedia Solutions is one of the leading companies in audiovisual design. At technomedia solutions, I was hired a contracted AV installationer/video engineer. My job for Technomedia involves the installation of the video walls in all of the Hollister Company stores around the world. Technomedia Solutions is also responsible for the AV instillation in these stores. My main jobs for this company are located internationally, which to some may seem exhausting, but to me is extremely exciting and eye opening. Traveling almost non stop allows me to not only see the world, but also allows me to network with a wide variety of people while still completing my master's degree online. My company always makes sure to set me up with hotels internationally that can offer me wifi so that I can complete my school work, which I am extremely thankful for. More information about other work that Technomedia does can be found at their website http://www.gotechnomedia.com/. Working for Technomedia Solutions is a job that I never really predicted myself as having. For my entire life I've always wanted to work in the live production industry. I wanted to see myself working along side of a stage doing the audio and video work for bands on tour while I was employed at a venue. In my eyes, my current career path is just an example of how many jobs are out there that people may not even consider. My best advice to those who read this is to never close any doors, and to always look for a new opportunity. Just because your first goal doesn't happen right away, doesn't mean there isn't something better waiting for you.