Sporting events perennially rank as some of the most watched programs on TV. Between the action on the field and the viewer at home, it’s DGA members who are making split-second decisions that capture the moments and create these compelling broadcasts. On April 23, DGA members gathered online to hear how this is done during the Eastern Region Special Projects Committee’s event, Lessons from Road Warriors: The Path to Sports Directing.

The evening began with a welcome by Director Alanna G.A. Campbell (CBS Sports), who took a moment to dedicate the evening to former Eastern AD/SM/PA Council Chair Tony DeSanti, who was instrumental in putting the event together before his untimely passing.

Campbell described DeSanti as someone who was of service to members and invested in seeing the next generation of members become as active and engaged as he was, adding, “I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and dedicate this evening to Tony who would have been here to celebrate and champion this esteemed group of panelists that we've collected from across some of the most watched networks and sporting events in the industry.”

Campbell then introduced the panel that consisted of Directors L. Kelly Atkinson Jr., Jr. (NBC Sports), Adam Bryant III (ABC/ESPN), Mark Eric Grant (CBS Sports) and Jared T. Sumner (NBC Sports), all of whom were there to share information about their respective paths to working in televised regional and national sports in a conversation moderated by Campbell.

Illustrated by clips from their work, Campbell began with Bryant, a veteran of high-profile events such as the WNBA Finals.

Bryant recalled how a moment with an esteemed film Director lightened his spirits during the toil of playoffs, “I don't get starstruck a lot, but something in me that day was just like, oh wow, this is Spike Lee. I introduce myself and say, ‘Hey, Spike, my name is Adam Bryant III. I'm directing the game today for ABC and ESPN. I wanted to come and say thank you for paving the way for folks that look like me. I know we're in completely different genres, but it's just as important. I just wanted to come show you love.’ And he just stopped, looked, and in that thick New York accent, he was like, ‘You the Director?!’ And he gave me the biggest dap and hug. That interaction reminded me of all the years I spent dreaming and telling people that I wanted to be a game Director, and now, I’m here doing it.”

For Sumner, the clip from his work on the NBA All-Star weekend showing a Steph Curry trick shot led to a discussion on how important site surveys are and fighting for the set up you want. “There's nowhere else in the building where that moment could have happened. We were really fortunate to be in that location as it was. It turned out to be a really cool set. It allowed us to have not only him, but we had quite a few players just come up there and hang out with the guys.”

Atkinson’s clip from the Olympics and college football prompted his response about the changes at NBC regarding coverage. “Those were two events that, at one point, were routinely always done on the road, and now we've come 180, now they're routinely done in the studio. The 2016 Olympics in Rio, that was one of the last Olympics that we actually had most of the production in-country, producing and directing the entire Olympics. Fast forward 10 years later, I'm directing [commentator] Mike Tirico in the NBC afternoon show from the control room in Stanford, Connecticut. It’s the same thing with football.”

Grant’s clip from the NCAA Final Four featured the audio track from the control room during a headline making, buzzer beater, game making shot, “that was a pretty cool moment to be a part of that, and it was a lot of fun. I think that all of us on the panel when you have a moment like that, you think you'd get all the right shots, but when I go back and look at that sequence now, there's one shot that I wish I had gotten a shot of, and that would have been a shot of Carlos Boozer in that sequence, you know? I have 60 cameras, almost, and I'm just picking shots as fast as I can, because I know we want to get to replay, and somebody might have had this shot. As proud as I am of the moment, we could always make it better, right? I never want to get so cocky and happy about what I did that I forget that I could have done it better.”

Throughout the evening, the conversation also covered topics such as the challenges of working in sports, the differences in working at the various networks, their preparation for assignments, resources underrepresented groups can use to get opportunities, and their opinions on the future of the industry and where and how people can get experience.

The event ended with a Q&A where the online audience could ask questions of the panelists.

Video from this event coming soon to the gallery below.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS: