CSVS Q&A: Paul Danna, University of South Carolina, Director of Gamecock Productions

The fourth-annual College Sports Video Summit, to be held June 6-7 in Atlanta, promises to be the best yet. SVG has assembled a distinguished group of college sports-video experts and television executives to serve as speakers to share their expertise in order to help move the entire industry to the next level.

South Carolina's Paul Danna

Leading up to the two-day summit, SVG will check in with key members of the program to discuss their involvement and what they hope the Summit will accomplish, as well as to impart some initial pieces of advice.

This week, Paul Danna, director of Gamecock Productions at the University of South Carolina, discusses how, in just four years, CSVS has grown into a must-attend event.

Why are you involved with the College Sports Video Summit?

The collegiate production industry, as a stand-alone department, is still very young, but it is becoming very important to the marketing strategy of every athletic department. I believe it is important for all of us to learn from each other. But it is important to learn the techniques and hardships that networks and other industry professional have been through, so that we can implement those lessons into our workflow. CSVS gives us a great opportunity to gather this mix of network personnel and collegiate personnel.

In what ways have you seen CSVS evolve with the rapidly changing climate of college sports?

In four years, CSVS has become a must for all that are involved with collegiate productions. It has become a mini-NAB. The biggest change for CSVS has been the workshops and the number of presenters within each workshop. Again, it has given the collegiate industry a great opportunity to mix ideas and real-life examples with networks, professional leagues and vendors. That has provided the collegiate a professional networking opportunity that did not exist before.

What are you most looking forward to at CSVS?

I am look forward to hearing [Keynote Speaker] Gary Stevenson from Pac-12 Enterprises. The Pac-12 has embarked on a very aggressive plan for this fall, which will be interesting to watch as they put it all together. I really believe they have created a model that is very forward thinking and very advantageous to the Pac-12 Conference. I think [strategist] Chris Bevilaqua and [Pac-12 Commissioner] Larry Scott did a great job thinking through how Pac-12 Enterprises would work and how it will benefit the conference. Now it is up to Gary Stevenson to implement it and I am anxious to see his plan and the challenges he has and will face with the start up.

You are moderating the workshop panel that will discuss reaching fans in venue. What’s one piece of advice you have for an athletics department looking to improve their in-venue video experience for fans?

While video boards have become bigger and some institutions may be using social media during games, the one aspect we can’t forget is that fans are there to enjoy the game experience. We have to make sure we enhance that experience and try not to complicate the production too much.