
A recent graduate from Westchester, NY, this experienced technician has already started her first gig in the industry, as a REMI A2 Comms Specialist at ESPN
In the live-sports-video industry, the future is bright. Our series SVG Students To Watch highlights the next generation of live-sports-production professionals. Across campuses nationwide, students are playing a pivotal role in bringing their schools' games to fans - from running cameras and graphics to sitting in the producer's or director's chair and everything in between. This series shines a light on the young talent making an impact today and preparing to shape the future of sports-video production.
Dana Shearer
College: Syracuse University
Academic Year: May 2026 Graduate
Hometown: Westchester, NY
Roles: A2, A1, Parab, PA, Utility, Camera Operator
What drew you to live sports production, and how did you get started?
About 10 years ago, I had the unique opportunity to [shadow a broadcast] of New Year's Eve in Times Square [with my father]. I had been fascinated by live sports and entertainment for a long time, but this was the first time it all clicked for me..
Having graduated from Syracuse University this year, Shearer has already landed her first full-time job: as a REMI A2 comms specialist for ESPN, working out of its Bristol, CT, headquarters.That night, I watched each person's job on the crew. I paid close attention to all the different roles that it took to bring a production of that capacity to air. I noticed the teleprompter operators and the engineers, and everyone in between.
I left the show that night thinking I wanted to be a jib operator. A few years later, I was able to practice on the jib at WWE SummerSlam, which solidified my interest in the field.
What fascinated me most about live production was the need for teamwork and collaboration. Each person's responsibilities are unique, yet all are necessary to create memorable experiences for audiences around the world.
During her time at Syracuse, Shearer excelled in technical roles. Here she works on a Cat 5e Ethernet cable.Are there any aha moments when you realized you really loved a particular role?
Audio is something I never really thought about pursuing and then, over time, just continuously kept going back to. It is one of the most important components of a live broadcast. Audio can make or break an audience's experience and truly has the power to expand on what is visually on screen.
It is also one of the most complex and challenging parts of engineering a live show. There are so many different elements that need to be routed and pieced together beforehand, on top of live mixing. My interest in the area has inspired me to spend a lot of time working as both an A2 and an A1 and has led to my new role at ESPN. I am looking forward to learning more about audio while also exploring other technical areas of field and in-studio production.
What has been your favorite project or game that you've worked on, and why?
My favorite project that I worked on was the 78th Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall [last month]. This project was one of my favorites because it was a multi-day experience, and I was able to be involved in a number of aspects of the production. Over the week that I was on this show, I met so many new people and learned so much.
Throughout this time, I tried to introduce myself to as many people as possible. When helping out one of the fiber technicians, I introduced myself and asked if he had a few moments to tell me about his role. This led to a new connection, and, over the next few days, there was someone else on the crew that I knew.
I repeated this with several other crew members and learned that people love to talk about their jobs and help young professionals entering the business. My biggest piece of advice is to put yourself out there and see what happens.
What's the most challenging aspect of working in live sports production as a student?
As a student, the most challenging part has been figuring out what I want to do. There are so many different paths that one can go down, and it can be a bit overwhelming when figuring out which way to go.
I have been fortunate enough to have been exposed to a number of different areas, such as transmission, audio engineering, and camera work. I plan to continue to dip my feet into all areas of television production to see which path I want to take long term. The good news is that there is so much to learn!
Shearer quickly learned to enjoy the role of mixing audio for a live broadcast. A1 became one of her favorite jobs to take on a game night.What are your career aspirations after graduation?
I am not 100% sure of my long-term goals. Right now, I am taking it day by day. I am interested in how things work and why things work. A role that allows me to explore this interest through engineering or technical work speaks to me.
One reason that inspired me to pursue a career in live sports was the ability to travel to new places and the opportunity to meet new people. This is my main goal in whatever I do. I'd love to be on the road for a bit at some point but also to figure out what my interests are and what I want to do long term. I am excited to get started in my new role at ESPN this month.
Last month, Shearer got the exciting opportunity to work behind the scenes on the 78th Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.What advice would you give to your freshman self?
Your experience is yours to create. Introduce yourself to everyone and always build your network. Dip your feet into everything. It is important to figure out what you do like. But it is just as important to figure out what you don't like.
Also, learn how to over under. It is one of the most useful skills you will learn in television production, and you will nev
North America Stories
22/08/2026
O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco, and Mason Thames appear in Idiots by Macon Blair, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of ...
22/08/2026
By the time Hacks reached its fifth and final season, Adam Bricker ASC had spent six years shaping one of television's most distinctive visual identities. T...
22/08/2026
Polsat reclaims second place, ByteDance climbs to eighth, and live football miti...
22/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/08/2026
Avid brings agentic media production to IBC2026
Brie Clayton August 21, 2026
0 Comments
After launching Avid Content Core at NAB 2026, Avid expands it...
22/08/2026
Making of Lord of the Flies Shot with Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro
Brie Clayton August 21, 2026
0 Comments
Filmmaker Lisa Marie Russo shoots on the bea...
22/08/2026
Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Dogs In A Pile The rising jam band talks about where it all started on the Berklee campus ahead of their Homecoming performance o...
22/08/2026
Berklee Alumna Lexi Vollero MA '22 Receives Fulbright Award to Brazil Vollero, a Berklee NYC graduate, has been selected for a Fulbright Open Research Awa...
21/08/2026
A massive deployment of specialty cameras, graphics, and AR will showcase the na...
21/08/2026
The West Coast Conference unveiled its new 30-second public service announcement, the latest expression of the Conference's We Rise in the West brand iden...
21/08/2026
New look will serve as the foundation for ESPN's upcoming NFL season and Sup...
21/08/2026
ESPN will air the ninth annual MLB Little League Classic presented by New York Life on Sunday, August 23, at 7 p.m. ET from Historic Bowman Field in Williamspor...
21/08/2026
In an emotional acceptance speech in Canton, Grossman celebrated the pioneering ...
21/08/2026
Our priority was making the best, most powerful, most meaningful story possible,...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Avid will unveil how it is transforming production to help media organizations unite content, agentic workflows, and business insights at IBC2026 (RAI Amsterda...
21/08/2026
New routing, modular processing, orchestration and monitoring capabilities bridge dedicated hardware and software-based processing as part of the Dynamic Media ...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/08/2026
When hundreds of thousands of people gather to hear a single voice, there is no room for compromise. Every word must be delivered clearly, every wireless transm...
21/08/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced a strategic partnership with ScorePlay, the AI-powered media infrastructure that spo...
21/08/2026
NUGEN Audio announces the launch of its new Post Plan and Producer Plan, two flexible subscription offerings designed to give audio professionals short term acc...
20/08/2026
From host-broadcaster and rightsholder support in June and July to MLS, NWSL, US...
20/08/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
20/08/2026
At IBC this year, Veritone (14.A56) is bringing two connected themes to the booth: architectural independence in enterprise AI, and the automation of the media ...
20/08/2026
Telestream and ScorePlay have announced a partnership combining Telestream's...
20/08/2026
The Grand Slam of Curling and Rock League have announced a three-year agreement with ESPN, bringing more than 300 hours of live curling coverage to U.S. audienc...
20/08/2026
Nielsen has announced a series of enhancements to its Big Data + Panel currency measurement methodology, taking effect August 31. The updates were developed in ...
20/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected by service provider Big Blue Marble (formerly ORS Group) to provide its Nimbra platform as the core media transport solution for a...
20/08/2026
The 2026 US Open will bring a series of free fan activations across New York City ahead of and during the tournament, which runs August 23-September 13.
We...
20/08/2026
Bridge Technologies will announce a transport stream (TS) playout feature for its VB330 and VB220 compressed monitoring probes at IBC2026 (Booth 1.A71).
The fe...
20/08/2026
ENCO will demonstrate solutions across captioning, translation, AI production tools, automation, and virtual production at IBC2026 (Stand 7.A34, Amsterdam RAI, ...
20/08/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will demonstrate camera robotics and mot...
20/08/2026
Chyron will demonstrate news workflow solutions at IBC2026 (Stand 7.A23), marking the company's 60th anniversary. Highlights include updates to PRIME HTML, ...
20/08/2026
Spectrum SportsNet LA, the exclusive television home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is now available to Spectrum customers in former Cox markets following the clos...
20/08/2026
swXtch.io will unveil expanded Global SRT Distribution and native multicast tran...
20/08/2026
Riedel Communications has announced that Transformation Church in the United States has deployed a communications system built around the Artist intercom ecosys...
20/08/2026
The bestselling author and longtime Apple observer explores how product launches...
20/08/2026
The Orlando Magic entered last season with a dramatically upgraded in-venue prod...
20/08/2026
Pacers Sports and Entertainment has announced a partnership with DAZN, making it the exclusive streaming home of Indiana Pacers basketball. A team-branded strea...
20/08/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...