Dave Decandis, Director of Broadcasting and Production for the Jacksonville Jaguars, spent some of his time with the Communications Academy Sports Media students at Nease this week. A Nease and Bartram Trail alumni, Dave explained how he started learning the ins and outs of TV Production during his time in high school, then followed his interests to UCF, where he majored in broadcast journalism. Following an internship at a 24-hour news network in Orlando, Dave explained that after sending his resume and demo reel out to 70 news stations, he only got two calls for interviews and one job offer. He said that even though this business is tough, it’s worth it if you love it. He spent time as a sports anchor in Kansas and West Virginia. He then moved behind the camera as a sports producer in Jacksonville, working at a local new station which also happened to be the official television station of the Jaguars. When the NFL team decided to launch an in-house video production crew, Dave was hired as Director. He shared that while the department started as a team of 2, there are now 20 people in his crew, which turns out a variety of long and short-form video projects for a variety of platforms. The students had the chance to watch some of his work and learn the stories behind the video clips. They also got to ask questions, and get some inside information as to what goes on behind the cameras on game days. Thank you, Dave, for spending your morning at Nease with our Academy students!
