Why I Keep Working in Live Production While Teaching It

There is a reason I keep moving between live productions and training sessions. Each one gives me something to bring to the other.

As the founder of University of Television, I teach replay and live production. I also work as an EVS engineer and operator, and in vision switching and video coordination. Those roles give me different views of the same production. A decision that makes sense at the replay desk also has to work for the director, the engineering team and the people receiving the material.

That is what I want to bring into training. We can learn where a button is and what it does. Then comes the more interesting question: when would you use it, and how does it help the people around you?

I like questions that start with “Why?” Sometimes a simple question makes us reconsider a habit we have had for years. What is basic to one person can be completely new to another. That is a good reason to ask, not a reason to stay quiet.

My role as a trainer is to show you the possibilities. You decide what works best for your production. And when I return to a live job, I keep learning too.

Piotr Szymborski

Founder, University of Television