Many people don’t have a clear grasp of what really goes on behind the scenes of the booming esports industry. In this series, TheGamer will peek behind the curtain and take a look at the biggest competitive gaming scenes. Today, we sit down with esports videographer Sean Do.

Sean Do is a senior videographer and photographer for Complexity Gaming. He’s the mind behind “Through the Smoke” and was a finalist for 2019’s Esports Videographer of the Year.

Sean was kind enough to give TheGamer a refined perspective on what esport videography is all about.

How did you get into esports videography?

About three years ago, I was tired of working in a small firm down the street from where I’m currently working right now. I found a random advertisement for Call of Duty World League that was happening in Dallas. And so I bought a ticket for the weekend and showed up to photograph the event. I went in not knowing anything about Call of Duty esports, so I kind of just took advantage of, you know, “I’m not a fanboy. I can talk to anyone at any given site.” […] I might have like talked to twenty plus people in a single day. And over the weekend maybe forty to sixty people, just to get to know them and know their backstory and maybe how I can break into esports. And, at the time I came in as a photographer, I later on [down the line] moved on to videography when I first joined Complexity Gaming.

What are some of the rewarding aspects of being an esports videographer, especially for Complexity Gaming?

I’m living every millennial’s dream at the moment. I love to travel the world and get paid [for doing my job]. The company handles everything. And especially, I just watch people play video games for a living. It’s just a very odd job in the sense of like the older generation don’t even know what I do exactly, especially like my parents. I tell them what I do, and they still don’t understand what I do. Even though I brought my dad to the 2019 Esports Awards, and he was like, “I still don’t know what you do.”

What are some projects you’ve done that you are proud of, both in videography and photography?

There’s not one real project for photography. I have to provide video and photos for the social team [since I’m the only one that goes to the events]. But for video, I think the number one thing that got me nominated for the Esports Videographer of the Year 2019 [at the Esports Awards] is our documentary series called “Through the Smoke.” It’s a very raw behind the scenes look into our CS:GO team. I’ve been handling the project for a year and a half now. It’s one of my proudest achievements. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TTyM9n3PPzI&list=PLY4JacIIesa6PjanHigAKXlOnMnRcSh45&index=2&t=1s

What were the trials and challenges you needed to overcome as an esports videographer and photographer?

There’s been a couple of hard times for me in the past few months. We had announced a new team, and we kind of overshot our expectations for the detailing of the video. I had to learn 3D modeling in like less than 48 hours. And so I kind of knew what needed to be done. [So I thought] I’ll follow through and try to do it to the best of my ability. But it ended up working great. I just persisted and persevered through the trials and ended up learning 3D modeling in the end.

What goes into capturing moments, and how do you know when the right moment is about to happen?

So when shooting “Through the Smoke,” I’m the only one person shooting the documentary-series, photographing the event for Complexity Gaming. So I make sure the social team receives these assets throughout the event. I coordinate with the manager, and I’ll have full awareness of the team’s schedules and know when they’re practicing and heading to the venue. I’m flexible [when it comes to time]. And just like knowing when’s the best time to give them a sit-down interview and tell me what’s going on and what’s on their mind.

But also there is another cool opportunity that I get since I’m with the team. They know that I am looking for their best interests in mind when filming and so they’re fairly expressive on camera. But they know that I won’t show the bad parts of them— only the good stuff. So full trust with the team, and they just give me good moments. 

[When it comes to right moments], I think every photographer and videographer knows that the last round of a major event [is where the winning shot is]. But like any other right moment, I don’t know when are the right moments. I kind of just miss them sometimes. And I’m totally fine about missing them because there’s many more later.

What are three tips you can give a person that’s trying to get better at esports videography?

Tip number one, I think you shouldn’t limit yourself to esports alone. I think you should branch out to wedding photography, to portrait photography or even video as well. Wedding videography and music videos, I think there’s so much more value looking outward vs. just focusing on one thing. You just learn so much more and more differently and creatively when you look outward instead of just singling on one thing.

Another piece of advice would be, even though you’re a competitor videographer, it’s a free for all if you’re a freelancer because you’re competing for the same spot. But if you join a team, you need to put that competing mindset aside and learn how to be a better supporter— just humbling yourself to learn from your peers.

And I guess another advice I would say is to be very patient when receiving criticism on your work, but also be patient during not knowing or the unknown, especially when you deal with documentary-style filming because anything could happen.

You can find Sean at his Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also tune into the documentary-series “Through the Smoke” wherein Sean goes deep into Complexity Gaming’s CS:GO scene.

Special thanks to Sean for taking the time out of his schedule to make this happen. Stay tuned to TheGamer for more of the “Inside Esports” series.