Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell, a second-year graduate student, is finally living his dream of working in a major city with connections to college and professional sports, thanks to the assistance of the Georgia State Production Network (GSPN).
Interview by Jordan Ferguson
Thomas, tell me about yourself and how you got to Georgia State.
I did my undergrad at the University of West Georgia and I decided, as a senior, to go out on a limb and try something different. I announced games for the local high school, and I ran across a gentleman there who was doing video. I went over and introduced myself to him and gave him my spiel about what I was doing and where I wanted to be in a few years. Turns out, he was a freelance technical director here at Georgia State University, and he had his own production company in Carrollton, Ga. I began working with him and within a few months, I started my journey working with Georgia State.
What are you looking to do with your graduate degree?
Once I graduate with my Sport Administration degree, I plan on being either a technical director or producer. I want to travel across the country and produce high-level shows such as the Super Bowl, NBA All-star games and the World Series. Georgia State has helped me a lot because it puts me in and near three big NCAA markets – the Sun Belt Conference, the ACC and the SEC. Being able to work with all of these conferences has helped my career tremendously. Even though I have a long way to go, Georgia State has paved the way for my future.
If I don’t take that route, then I may take the engineering pathway with Game Creek Productions based in New Hampshire. That would be later on down the road, when I plan on starting up my own production company.
How is being at Georgia State setting you up for success?
At the Georgia State Production Network, where I’m a graduate assistant, I help produce and broadcast all 140 GSU home sporting events to the ESPN network. We work with freelancers who are working across the entire sports market in Atlanta — with the Falcons, the Hawks, Atlanta United — and then they come to work with us and tell us about what they do.
So, these freelancers are able to see me and they understand that I’m not only a director or producer, I can also run a camera, audio and graphics. Being flexible, and wanting to learn and grow, helps me because sometimes when these professional freelancers are able to go to these jobs, they’ll reach out to me ask if I want to go work with the Hawks, the Falcons or with Atlanta United. It’s a dream come true being here.
Can you share with us any highlights that let you know you’re in the right field and you’re doing what you love?
One of the best highlights that I have was from last year during my time at GSPN. It was the beginning of the men’s basketball season and Eastern Kentucky was down to the Panthers by 2 points with 5 seconds left in the game. Then a player from the opposing team threw a ball from behind half-court and it went in with 0 seconds on the clock. I was producing that game and we had all angles of that shot. That moment aired on “SportsCenter Top 10,” and it was featured on Overtime, Bleacher Report and every sports conglomerate or Instagram social media page you can think of. So that was pretty cool to see and be a part of. This was the first experience I encountered where my work was seen by millions of people across America. That feeling? Indescribable.
