Tech volunteering for ESA Summer 2019

Intro

Like every year, we will seek the help of volunteers who would like to help run the stream that everyone at home watches.

This year, we are looking to recruit about 12 volunteers in total. These volunteers will be working alongside seven senior tech in teams of two. These senior tech are trusted, returning volunteers who have taken on the extra responsibility of being leaders.

Structure of tech this year

These senior tech this year are Tyr, Gael, Linkboss, Milk, Maxie, DammFot and Popeter. These guys will be doing about 20 hours each through the week, supported by Zephyyrr and Zoton2 from the software team.

During the daytime, while the two scheduled people will be there, there will also always be additional knowledgeable people around to help. During the night time, only more straightforward runs will be scheduled to keep the setups simple and easily handled by the team of two.

In the future, when we need senior tech, we’ll be looking to past returning tech volunteers who want to continue to support ESA with their time.

What you’ll be doing

As a volunteer, you’ll be working with one of these senior techs for about 8 to 12 hours. In this time, for the more technical side of things, you will learn how to operate our stream overlay software, mixer, and how to connect consoles.

But there is a more human aspect of it as well, as you will be working closely with the runners and commentators to make sure that they are set up properly with the correct sound volume, reposition the camera so that their whole group is in view, and whatever else they might need. Some of these tasks are mundane but just as important as the rest.

For a full rundown in more detail, the YouTube intro videos from 2017 are still the best place to go. Nothing in our setup has changed since then https://goo.gl/yE5rg5

Why should I volunteer?

To put it simply, without volunteers, we would have a hard time running the marathon at all. With over 7 days of runs to cover, everyone would need to pull double the hours or we’d need to ask some of the organisers to help with tech, and they already have a lot on their plate.

Instead, we ask for the help of volunteers, who on top of making the event possible, will get an exclusive look behind the tech scene of a major marathon. You will get to see from up close how everything works, and learn how to operate it, so that you will help set up the runners and their games on a variety of systems.

You might think that it is very complicated and if you don’t already have good knowledge about game capture you wouldn’t be helpful at all. This is a common misconception. Our setup has become very simple thanks to the efforts of the production team over the years and even someone with only basic knowledge of streaming without any capture knowledge can be of great assistance and even eventually become a senior tech, as that is exactly the background of some of them.
The only thing we’re asking is a willingness to learn.

You also have the actual best seat in the house to watch the runs themselves!

Applications

You will be able to apply through the website.
The applications will be open until July 1st.

You may be contacted on discord at any point up to or after the submission deadline for a chat or to let you know you’ve been selected.

Additionally, if you’re unsure, would want more details or generally have any questions on tech volunteering, feel free to contact Tyr (tyr#3168) and he would be happy to assist you.