In a basketball season that had many shining moments, Rutgers University’s Features Producer Joshua Ni was fortunate enough to capture just about every single one of them and turn them into the Scarlet Knights’ version of the “One Shining Moment” highlights video. Whether it was Geo Baker’s alley-oop from half court to Ron Harper Jr. against Seton Hall or Jacob Young’s monstrous slam dunk over Purdue big man Matt Haarms, Ni was able to include the type of content that showed the 2019-20 Scarlet Knights were a different team from the year’s past.
“It was an amazing experience for me and I was blessed to be a part of this journey,” Ni said. “I feel like I had the best seat in the house because not only was I there for the games, but I was also there for their lifts, practices, and travels as well. This season was the result of their hard work.”
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As the Features Producer for men’s and women’s basketball, Ni is responsible for creating and sharing video content for both of the teams through their social media pages. So, to say the Montville, New Jersey native’s role keeps him busy would be a massive understatement.
“During the season my schedule was packed since I had to go to games for both teams,” Ni described. “When the season is done I try to help out around RVision as much as I can since there are spring sports as well. When the summer comes, that is when I can start thinking of ideas for the next season and then the cycle continues.”
Much like anybody associated with college basketball, Ni was heartbroken when he learned March Madness would be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a fan of the Scarlet Knights, the thought of getting to watch and film his team in their first NCAA Tournament since 1991 was a dream that now has to be put on hold.
“I was speechless, I didn’t know what to say. We were all looking forward to it since the Purdue game so to end this special season like this is unfortunate to the players, coaches, and staff,” Ni expressed. “I feel bad for Joey Downes, Shaq Carter, and Akwasi Yeboah because this is their last year with us and they did everything they can for the team. Sadly, they will not get a chance to experience the NCAA Tournament.”
However, Ni is confident that under Head Coach Steve Pikiell’s leadership Rutgers will come back even stronger in the 2020-21 season and have another opportunity to dance in March.
“The team is going in the right direction, Coach Pikiell turned this program around in the four years that he’s been here,” Ni said. “Credit to all coaches and staff; I am already excited about the next season because with most of our players coming back, and a promising recruiting class coming in, I believe we can accomplish more than we did this year and I will be there with my camera to capture every moment.”
Prior to working with the basketball team, Ni completed a summer program in Chicago with the Big Ten Network where he got an in-depth understanding of what broadcasting at BTN is like. And along with being a student intern with RVision as an undergraduate, he served as a director replay operator and camera operator on BTN Student U productions as well.
While Ni has been interested in sports videography since he was a junior in high school, the 25-year-old earned a degree in Economics and a minor in Business Administration from Rutgers in January, 2018. However, it was through the power of social media where he realized he could make a career out of doing what he loved most.
“I did a soccer highlight when I was in high school for my video project and because of that project I found out what my passion was,” Ni explained. “I didn’t think it could be a career back then so my thought was to major in Economics and minor in Business Administration and use my free time to improve my skills in video editing. As time went on, the power of social media grew and through social media I started to see a way to make my passion a career.”
Now in his second year with the team, Ni attributes a lot of his success to the associates that he came across at RVision in Brian Coulter, Tim DeMartin, and Colin Osborne.
“They taught me a lot that I know today and they answered all my questions when I bothered them with questions nonstop,” Ni said. “I wouldn’t be the video editor I am today if it wasn’t for them.”
While his time in high school gave him the idea of the type of career he wanted to pursue, Ni’s journey with RVision cemented the fact that producing content through sports videography was his one true calling.
“At RVision I was able to experience everything about video to find out what I like,” Ni conveyed. “When I was introduced to the creative side of it I knew this can be a career for me and from then on I was very involved and tried to be at every game possible."
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