After two years working as a production assistant with NFL Films, Jen Spell ‘22 will spend the next two years with ESPN as part of its NEXT program.
At NFL Films, Spell was logging and editing video weekly into what she described as cinematic highlights for features and documentaries. Spell worked on award-winning shows such as Netflix’s Quarterback, multiple seasons of Max’s Hard Knocks and even one week of NFL Turning Point.
“I didn't want to go into a specialty without asking myself, what do I really think I'll love the most? Therefore, I wanted to give the studio side a try,” Spell said. “That's kind of where I'm at right now, just trying to continue to learn and diversify my skill set as much as possible.”
The many differences between ESPN and NFL Films are what drew her to applying to the NEXT program, and diversifying her skill set is exactly what she is doing.
“ESPN has a lot of live shows and a lot of studio shows. With NFL Films, we had some tight turnarounds, but at ESPN they're even tighter,” Spell said. “If you're producing something for SportsCenter, you might have to edit the main highlights for a game that's currently happening and have them ready by the time the game is over.”
In the NEXT program, Spell is a part of a cohort, and together they go through training in their first three weeks. During training, the cohort is visited by producers from baseball, football, hockey and basketball to help them learn how to cut every sport.
“You want to learn from the best and have people who are actually focused on helping you learn,” Spell said. “I felt like that really aligned here, just like it did in NFL Films. I'm very lucky that both places I've been so far, everyone was really eager to teach me.”
After their training, the cohort rotates through the different shows at ESPN. First up for Spell is NFL Countdown. After NFL Countdown, Spell's options for her next rotation are vast. She said her next opportunity could be working on a studio show, features, hype between games or teases, giving her a holistic view of production at ESPN.
“As we look at my career, I really want to be able to say anything you ask of me, I can do it,” Spell said. “I've done it before. I have experienced doing it, and [ESPN] felt like the perfect place to really get that opportunity to learn, because the NEXT program is really based around these rotations.”
Spell began working with ESPN in July and, as a self-proclaimed “football girl,” she said that starting right before football season seemed like it was meant to be. Soon though, she’s looking forward to being able to say that she can cut hockey, basketball and baseball as well. Through the NEXT program, ESPN has opened opportunities for growth and promotion for young creatives. Spell said that many NEXT production assistants are now working as associate producers all across the company.
“They bring us all in with the idea of, 'we want you guys to be next up,'” Spell said. “[They have] young people coming into their program with the goal of training the next talent that [they’re] going to get to keep here at ESPN, which is one thing I love – having a company that's really prioritizing retention and developing their young talent. That's what you want when you're my age and you're trying to make sure you have all the skills you need.”
Kathleen Ortiz, a junior from Kingwood, Texas, is double-majoring in Social Policy Analysis and also Sport Management with a concentration in Sport Law.