Career behind camera beckons

While women’s sport might be gaining more media coverage thanks to the success of the Black Ferns and some major sporting events, when it comes to women filming these fixtures, there is still a bit of catching up to do.

According to Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) women remain underrepresented in technical broadcasting roles such as camera operation.

But one local student is bucking that trend, with awesome results.

Last month, Otamatea High School student Shia de Ridder had the opportunity to film a double-header Warriors game at Go Media Stadium. The budding sports videographer and avid league fan spent the day with a Sky Sport camera crew, gaining real insight into what it takes to become a cameraperson in the fast-paced world of live sports.

“It was really fun,” Shia says. “But being behind the camera and actually recording a game was kind of scary at first because I’ve never done it before.”

Despite being new to live sports filming, Shia managed to capture three tries during the match, with her footage later featuring in a highlights package of the games.

“Three of my clips were replayed in the highlights. Seeing my recording on the big screen was crazy,” she says.

The experience was made possible by the Gateway Programme, a government-funded initiative that gives senior secondary students (Years 11–13+) the opportunity to gain workplace experience in areas that interest them.

“When you live in a rural town, sometimes young people don’t know that these opportunities exist, so for them to have the opportunity to experience something like this is wonderful,” Otamatea High School Gateway Co-ordinator Helen Anderson says.

“It can sometimes be challenging to find meaningful work experience for some of our students, so when you get a business like Sky Sport, especially one that offers these kinds of experiences, it’s amazing for our students.”

The opportunity has sparked a real passion in Shia for pursuing a career in the male-dominated industry.

“The senior camera operator said there are not many camerawomen at Sky Sport, so it was really cool for him to see that I’m interested in it,” Shia says. “One day I hope to work for Sky Sport and be able to travel with them. Filming at the Olympics or the Sevens Rugby would be really cool.”