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n 2019, Sarah Nagata, senior consultant cloud architect at AWS, and Krystal Mejia, software engineer at CBS Interactive, helped deliver the landmark livestream of Super Bowl LIII. We talk to them about the synergies that happen when technical ability is allowed to thrive in an environment of collaboration and knowledge sharing. Thanks for joining us. Could you tell us about your backgrounds? SARAH NAGATA: I’ve worked in the broadcast industry for more than 15 years. Three years ago, I moved to AWS to get hands-on experience with the cloud. I recognised that this would be the next step in the evolution of the media and entertainment Industry. KRYSTAL MEJIA: I have been working as a professional software engineer for around three years. I had internships in college where I worked mostly on front-end development and before my graduation I landed an internship at CBS Sports Digital. They offered me a full-time role on the Video and OTT team and, later, I transitioned to the Video Technology Group at CBS Interactive. We focus broadly on providing technology and services to all of the brands that make up CBS Interactive. How did you come together to work on the 2019 Super Bowl? SN: As a solutions architect, I was assigned to the CBS Interactive account when the 2019 Super Bowl planning sessions began. I felt it was important to understand the project’s requirements. I observed there were others in the room listening to the different ideas being discussed, too. After the meeting, I had some questions, so I pinged Krystal and Flavio Ribeiro, the director of Engineering from the Video Technology Group at CBS Interactive. They also had questions and our collaborative partnership began. KM: For Flavio and I, this project was an opportunity to share our blend of developer and broadcast knowledge with Sarah’s expertise in those areas. For us, it was: ‘How can we come together from both sides to finalise these workflows and solutions?’
I’VE HAD SO MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE IN MY CORNER PUSHING ME, TRUSTING ME, EMPOWERING ME, TELLINGME TO SPEAK UP INMEETINGS
SN : Experienced broadcasters have a deep understanding of fundamentals and they know the reason why standards and protocols evolved to where they are today. They were there for the analogue to digital to HD to IP transitions. They should be looked at as sources of useful information. The new generation of video developers understand the latest tools and tech, and know how to apply them. Additionally, they are always thinking about how to streamline processes. By combining both, they are able to solve problems and create new solutions together faster and more efficiently. There are lessons we’ve learned from the past about things that worked or didn’t in traditional broadcast workflows. We need to share that information with developer teams, so we can make things better. KM: Whereas my focus has always been in digital and streaming, so I’m not as familiar with all those differences.
solve. Someone recommended we do it a certain way, but when Krystal and I looked, it wasn’t that simple. Krystal needed to write code. KM: I was working on a test application. I reached out to Sarah and said, ‘I need some perspective about how you have handled this in the past.’ She sent me some docs and I tried to build out the application. SN: Whenever you asked a question, I would send you information; some you found on your own, and sometimes we reviewed it together and I tried to explain how these standards applied to ad tracking in broadcast workflows. I didn’t know how to write the code or develop the application, but I did know how the end solution needed to function and how it needed to be tested.
Is there still a communications gap between these two worlds?
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Sarah Nagata believes networking should never be underestimated when forging your career
What was educating each other like?
SN: There was one ad tracking problem that CBS Interactive Sports asked AWS to
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