A Winning ShotThree COM students share their experience working asproduction assistants for NBA Entertainment duringthis year’s NBA Finals

Courtesy of Mytia R. Zavala.

BY CELESTE SUNDERLAND

When the Golden State Warriors clinched the win in Game 6 of the NBA Finals lastmonth, they brought home a big shiny trophy. But they weren’t the only ones with areason to feel proud of themselves. Three students from Academy of Art University’s

School of Multimedia Communications had just capped off two weeks of hard work asproduction assistants for NBA Entertainment (NBAE)—the NBA’s video and filmproduction and broadcasting department.

Mytia Zavala (M.A. ‘15), Tommy Liu (M.A. ‘15), and Molly O’Brien (B.F.A. ‘16) wereamong 10 production assistants hired to work with the NBAE during the 2015 NBAFinals. Their “top-notch” academic work and professionalism got them shortlistedfor the job by department directors Jan Yanehiro and Steve Kotton and instructorDave Stoelk. Stoelk, a freelance writer and producer who also worked on thechampionship series as a producer for NBA TV, found out about the open positionsfrom a colleague.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Stoelk said. “Yes, some of the job entailed ‘grunt work,’but that’s how you start. You gain people’s trust. Those students were working on anational stage in a bright light for all to see. And they rocked it! I got feedback fromNBA TV network producers – AAU students represented the Academy very well!”

The PAs reported each morning to the NBAE’s temporary headquarters at theInterContinental Hotel in San Francisco. Non-game days had them overseeing avariety of tasks, from replenishing drinks to picking up lunch—but game days gottheir adrenaline pumping. First, each PA was assigned to a media crew, then, afterlunch they headed over to the Oracle Arena.

“It was great to get a glimpse of what it’s like to work for the NBAE,” Liu said.“During the games, I got to see the big picture of how all the different crews worktogether to create their content.”

Courtesy of Mytia R. Zavala.

Each media crew focused on a different aspect of the event, like capturing gamefootage, or filming the fans in the stadium or the team getting off the bus, orconducting pre and post-game interviews. The content they created was used insports packages, “mini-movies,” or as clips on social media, like one Liu helpedinitiate, that went viral on Instagram.

One night after the game, Liu was working with a crew capturing footage of theCleveland Cavaliers leaving the arena after Game 5, but when he spotted star playerStephen Curry he knew it was a winning opportunity. “When I saw Stephen Currywalking down the hall I pointed it out to my cameraman, so we went over and walkedwith him and interviewed him and got some great footage,” he explained. “The NBAliked it so much they immediately posted it on their social media sites.”

The fast-paced environment of live sports coverage gave Liu and his fellow PAsinvaluable experience. Since their tasks varied so much on a day to day basis, theylearned how to juggle multiple types of work, with many different parts, all at once.

“The NBAE staff rotated us to make sure we all had opportunities to experience itall,” explained Zavala who just graduated last May, and plans to pursue a career insports broadcasting. “I learned that hard work pays off. Being quick, efficient, anddetail oriented is the key to surviving in a fast paced world.”

O’Brien, who is a guard on the Academy’s women’s basketball team, was thrilledabout the opportunity to work for the NBAE. “I came to work everyday with an openmind and an attitude ready to learn so I soaked in everything they were asking andmade sure to get everything done,” she said.

“Having played college basketball and then getting to work for the NBA was adream,” she added. “It’s every kid’s dream to be in that arena one day. Being anathlete and being that close to that caliber of players and that type of atmospherejust kind of takes your breath away.”

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