SVG Students To Watch: Henry Thuss, Indiana University

The Southern California product has his goals set on the front bench

In the live-sports-video industry, the future is bright. Our new series, SVG Students To Watch, highlights the next generation of live–sports–production professionals. Across campuses nationwide, students are playing a pivotal role in bringing their schools’ games to fans — from running cameras and graphics to sitting in the producer or director’s chair and everything in between. This series shines a light on the young talent making an impact today and preparing to shape the future of sports video production.

Henry Thuss
College: Indiana University
Academic Year: Senior
Hometown: La Cañada Flintridge, CA
Roles: Producer, Director

What drew you to live sports production, and how did you get started?
I attended Indiana University originally to major in audio engineering, and a couple of people in the program my freshmen year put out a word about Big Ten Network StudentU needing audio engineers. As someone who watched a lot of sports as a kid, I thought it would be something interesting to try. When I arrived, I started as an A2 and A1. About three weeks into my time at StudentU, my boss said they needed directors, and I volunteered to learn and try. From there, I continued to direct and eventually learned to also produce.

Thuss sits at the front bench preparing to broadcast one of his favorite events to work: the Little 500, an annual student-organized bike race at Indiana University.

Are there any “aha moments” when you realized you loved a particular role?
I think the moment I realized I really liked this job was when I got to direct the first round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer tournament on ESPN+ my sophomore year. The opportunity to showcase a postseason game kicked me into another gear and forced me to be even better. Since then, I’ve pushed myself with every broadcast to put out a better product every time.

What has been your favorite project or game that you’ve worked on, and why?
My favorite game easily is something that not many other schools get to do: Little 500. It’s a 200-lap bike race based on the Indy 500, and no college sports event that students get to fully lead the broadcast on can compare to Little 500. Stadium packed with 20,000+, 33 teams, so many storylines: there’s nothing like it. I’ve directed four [of the events], with two more coming for me. It is easily my favorite event I’ve had the opportunity to work.

Thuss runs a preshow camera meeting with fellow students and professional freelancers.

What’s the most challenging aspect of working in live sports production as a student?
I think the most challenging aspect is that everyone around me is also learning. We are not professionals, and sometimes it requires some coaching: people coaching me, me coaching camera operators as a director, etc. I think it creates a great learning environment where we at Indiana StudentU specifically are all working together to learn and improve our product together. It’s a challenge but one that is rewarding.

What are your career aspirations after graduation?
I’m looking to join a network as a production assistant and, hopefully, someday work up to directing and producing national broadcasts. Beggars can’t be choosers, but, if I had to choose a sport, it would be baseball. I love the sport, but, in my opinion, it’s the most unique of all the sports, from a directing standpoint, and even more fun to direct.

Thuss prides himself on the prep work that he puts into each and every broadcast he calls.

What advice would you give to your freshman self?
Take a step back, take a deep breath, and calm down. I tried to do a lot as a freshman, too much. I thought I knew everything and could do everything. Those things are obviously not true. I would tell him to step back and take a second, and calm down. What we do is great, but it’s not worth getting overly mad about. Sometimes things happen. It’s live TV! Anything can happen, and, when it doesn’t go your way, you’ve got to work through it and find a way to make it work. I like the way I developed so far, but I know there’s so much more for me to learn, and I couldn’t be more excited to continue building my career.

If you run video production at a college athletic department and would like to recommend a standout student from your crew to be featured in SVG Students To Watch, please email SVG Director of Digital Brandon Costa at brandon@sportsvideo.org.