One person and his team stand in the shadows to create the athletics’ video content that is seen on game day. This includes everything from the introduction videos to the Whataburger giveaways.
Mark Anthony Osmena, video production coordinator of Texas State Athletics, is the man taking on all of the challenges of creating unique content for each athletic event.
“It keeps me creative and forces me to sharpen my skills,” Osmena said.
Osmena began his career in 2010 as the Master Control Board Operator for his local PBS Station, while attending Central Texas College in Fort Hood.
“I stayed there for two years while earning my associate degree in Radio, Television, and Film Broadcasting,” Osmena said.
Osmena has worked for SXSW, ESPN, Indeed.com, Apple and the University of Texas-Austin as a freelancer. The Texas State alumnus joined the university video production team in 2014.
“I joined in 2014 as a student worker,” Osmena said. “In 2016, I was promoted to full-time with the athletics department as the video production coordinator.”
Osmena’s job is constantly challenging him because the athletics program is a year-round production. With so much work involved, Osmena manages to find the positive said.
“The positives of my job are that I work in a field that I love and have been working in for over eight years now,” Osmena said. “My work has allowed me to travel, and experience things that I never thought I would do, which is a huge reason why I love what I do. I don’t always know what direction it will take me.”
A normal day for the Kentucky native consists of working alongside different departments to prepare for each game day.
“I have to coordinate with marketing on how to execute promotions at games and improve the fan experience,” Osmena said. “I also have to work with sports information when they have requests for video content for conference or news agency use.”
Osmena coordinates everything that is seen on the screens at sporting events.
“Some examples of my work are intro videos and highlights of game footage for volleyball, women’s soccer, football, men’s and women’s basketball, softball and baseball,” Osmena said. “All of these sports have had varying levels of my involvement throughout the past four years.”
While Osmena is passionate about his work, the videographer’s vision about what he wants from his viewers at the game is simple: to feel empowered that the Bobcats will win.
“My passion is evoking an emotional reaction to our fans,” Osmena said. “For intro videos, I want my fans to feel empowered that our team is coming out on the field ready to go to work. I want the players to feel empowered to do their best.”