October 20, 2025 • 29 mins
Part 2 of 2 - In this episode of “Inside the Oval,” Sarina Soriano and Aaron Sarmiento shared the inspiration behind the 49ers Latino Heritage Month campaign, offered a look inside the team’s global marketing efforts, and reflected on how culture connects fans around the world.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the forty nine ers inside the OVIL podcast.
I'm the forty nine ers team reporter Brionage.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Now with Noah Hammerman, and today.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
We have special guests Aaron and Serena with us. Aaron
and Serena, thank you so much for joining us today.
Could you give us a little description of your job
title and what you guys do here at the forty
nine ers.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Yeah, I can start, so thanks for having us today. Guys.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
My name is Serena Soriano. I am the senior producer
with the SAMs of Skill forty nine ers. I have
spent almost a decade with this team creating and shifting
the culture and content for the SAMAS Skill forty nine ers.
So i am part of forty and in our studios
forty nine, your studio forty nine, and I'm happy to
be here.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Awesome.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
Yeah, I'm Erin Sadamiento. I am the international video producer.
I've been here for three years now as the international
video producer and yeah, a little bit of what we
do is we push our international markets, which started with
Mexico but now is expanding to the UK and the UAE.
(01:04):
So yeah, it's been really cool.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That's so so cool to hear. Now when people here
or fans here that you guys are a part of
Studio forty nine, what do they think that means and
what does it actually mean.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
That's a really good question.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I feel like people think we just push a button,
and as a videographer, content creative photographer, that's absolutely insane
to say. Yeah, but what we really do is we
tell the stories of our athletes on and off the fields,
just so we're able to pull back the curtain for
fans to get a closer look at who they are
just besides the amazing, crazy athletes that they are. But
(01:41):
we also do a lot of game day storytelling as well.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
And what's your perspective so apart from just being videographers,
like Serena said, Yeah, we are storytellers, but we carry cameras,
we storyboard, we plan things, plan shoots, we.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
Do lighting, we do editing, We do all of it,
so we wear multiple hats all the time. So it's
not just like one single job. But you got to
be like jack of all trades and you know, you
need to learn every single part of production. So yeah,
that's like overall kind of what we do.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
You guys are athletes yourselves because you're extremely strong, extremely smart,
extremely strong, extremely creative. Those cameras are heavy, and they
are running up and down the field like right on
Chipe with your favorite receiver, with your favorite running back.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
So now one hundred percent, I mean even just the
cameras that we use a lot are ariamiras and those
are thirty three to five pounds in itself, so that's
on your shoulder for hours and hours on a game day.
So for me specifically and being like a five three
Latina showing up, people kind of when I first got
in the business looked at me and was like, is.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
That Are you sure you want to do this?
Speaker 4 (02:55):
And for me, it's always about having my work speak
for itself. So I straight up was like, you know what,
I got to work out for this. There's no way
that I'm going to be not getting the shot just
because I physically can't. So, yeah, those cameras are heavy,
and honestly though, it's kind of worth it to create art.
Speaker 5 (03:13):
Yeah, and it like it takes a while to get
used to it, Like in the beginning, you get really tired,
you are not comfortable, but it takes quite some reps
to get it in. I know that me and Serene
are some of the shortest in our team, and so
for us we always have to like look up or adjust,
But like Serena said, that's not something that will stop
(03:36):
us to get our shots in and get what we
want to get. So it's like it does get like
it takes a little bit of time to get used
to and a lot of practice. And honestly, what helped
me too was like getting fit, going through the gym
and really putting in the work, because then it translates
and you just feel more comfortable with a lot of
(03:57):
weight in your shoulder.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
I think that's like one of the cool things though
about being a creative videographer is that you never or
you never should think that you've arrived, honestly, So for me,
there's always things that I can consistently work at to
be the best you know, videographer, director, editor that I
could be, and there's no time limit on that, so
I can be doing this until whatever I'm a grandma,
(04:21):
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
No, I love that. Yeah, I know. You guys just
reference team and as a creative, you know, the teamwork
makes the dream work. And I'm just curious what it
means to be a part of this forty nine ers
production department. I know you put in a lot of
work and effort to be here, So yeah, personally, what
does it mean to be a part of this team?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, I think I could start that for me.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Actually, I was the first woman hired as a producer
for Studio forty nine, So just even that in itself,
there has been a lot of history of just women
maybe not being able to be a videographer, a producer
or a director in this field.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
So that meant a lot to just start.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
And I was kind of crawling to make a seat
at this table that was already made for years and years.
And it's really crazy that by following my passion and
being authentic to who I am in my culture, that
I actually was building a whole other table for people
that look like me in this industry.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
Yeah, and just kind of going off on that as well,
like I was the first international video producer. Of course
Serena had done a lot of the work and laid
the ground for what it is now, but just like
I mean, I'm from Hondudas and never did I think
that I was going to be working for an American
(05:46):
football team, and not only that, but also like showing
my own culture and also people that look like me
in a sport that's foreign. So it really means a lot.
And also just being able to like kind of melt
those two things together and really be showcasing how like
(06:07):
sports have really no boundaries and like there's no language,
there's nothing that really can stop that. And so for
us to be also in the forefront of showcasing that,
it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Noah and I are at the table with superstars. It's
really cool to hear I'm the first Latina at working
at Studio forty nine. I'm the first international producer working
at Studio forty nine. And we get to see all
of the beautiful work as we scroll through our social
media feed, as we scroll through the award winning Emmy's,
you know, going through and seeing your names and the
shining lights. But I want to know everything that happened
(06:44):
before that point. So what made you first start thinking
about this is something that you wanted to do, and
some of your background leading up to getting that Emmy
or getting those millions of views on those videos and
your work all the way up until this point.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Yeah, for me, sports has always been a huge part
of my life. I played soccer since the age of
three to high school. Yeah, college, even play a little
bit of my professionally, but to really connect with my
family and my dad. I'm part of generations of Serta
School Fortnitans fans, and when I wasn't playing soccer, I
really looked forward to watching Fortnitre's games with my dad,
(07:24):
and for me, I would watch the games and a
lot of times I would see Michelle Deafoye on my
screen and that was someone that I really looked up
to because she was only Latina that I saw on
the screen in football. So for me, I was like,
you know what, I really want to do that and
this is the way that I need to be going in.
So I actually took I broadcast Sorry, I majored in
(07:45):
broadcast journalism in college. And I took actually a lot
of classes though in film, cinema and editing, and I
started slowly starting I started to realize that, you know,
telling stories this way with the camera in my hand,
maybe like behind it actually is where where I'm feeling fulfilled.
I feel that this is different and it's not what
people are expecting of me. But I've never ever fit
(08:08):
in the box that anyone has ever tried to put
me in, So I was really lucky or it was
really hard work, but I became the Denise de Bardlo
York Fellowship Award winner, which hired a female who had
just graduated college and put them in six departments where
we were underrepresented. So in my head, I always knew
I wanted to be in the studio's marketing department, but
I was like, how cool I get to see in
(08:29):
organization from the inside out like this, And after the
year was over, I was very blessed to be hired
as an associate producer. And since then, like I said,
for the past decade now, I've been creating content in
English and Spanish. And what's really great is when we
started to see the potential, we started to see the
(08:50):
growth of Latinos really enjoying American football. I was one
of the people that really advocated for more resources, you know,
because it's not a one man show and it never
can be. And I was really blessed when I was
able to get Aaron on the team, And for me,
I just think that's just a great example of what
happens when you just let one of us in. I
(09:12):
think the core of what I really try to do
is I tried to bring more and more people into
this space. Maybe that wasn't really ready for us, but
sees the crazy growth and potential that we all have
as fans and as players.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
So yeah, yeah, And a little bit of where I
came from. So I'm originally from Mondudas, Central America, Theosia,
the Capitol. And for me, like ever since I was
really young, I had a little camera from my parents.
(09:46):
It was like one of those point and shoots, and
my dad had bought it for my sister when she
was going to turn sixteen. It was going to be
our first time coming to the US because she didn't
want Usually you could do looking signeda or you could
also do it when you're sixteen, but she wanted to
travel to Disney. So my dad bought that camera kind
(10:07):
of you know, like saying, Okay, when this moment comes,
we're going to use it. I opened it, and my
sister must have used to open it, but I opened
it and I started to play around with it a lot,
and that kind of just sparked that little interest in
me and like taking photos and videos and fast forward.
(10:29):
We went to the US and we had a fun time,
came back and then I just kept the camera with me.
So there's a big time where I was taking a
lot of like small videos with just my friends that
we would hang out like after school. They were very random,
there was like no storytelling, but I just felt like
it was so cool to walk around with this camera,
(10:50):
and so that started and afterwards on Dudas is one
of those countries where education is not something that comes
easy or like the government doesn't really provide those things publicly,
so you have to go to like a private school.
(11:11):
And my parents were like middle class working and they
were sacrificing a lot to have me in a private
bilingual school, which is where I learned English, and like
it was like an American school. The thing is that
it's very common in these schools for a lot of
(11:33):
these people to come to the US for college and
all these opportunities because they're trying to find opportunities outside
of our country. And for me is I never saw
that like coming for me, just because my parents weren't
from like a wealthy family. So I was sticking to
the norm of when I graduate, I need to go
(11:57):
on a career that can make me money my country,
and let's see where that goes. When I was going
to go on my junior year, my dad got a
job offer in here in the United States. My dad's
a clinical psychologist and he was working for a nonprofit
(12:18):
which offered him a job here working with Latino communities,
and so one summer he just told us, Hey, we're
all moving. I told my dad he had ruined my life. No, yeah,
because I was like, I do not want to move. Obviously,
I was going into my senior year and it's like,
you know, like you don't want to leave your friends,
(12:41):
and I thought that it was like the worst decision,
and we moved. I went to high school for my
senior year twice because a lot of my credits wouldn't
transfer from a different country. And when I came to
the Bay Area again, you come with that mentality of
I need to do something that will give me a
(13:03):
good future money and like I'll be able to be stable.
And so with that, obviously in the Bay Area, I
was like, I'm going to go for tech, and part
of me was really just trying to fulfill and give
back to my parents for the big opportunity they had
given me. I went to San Fransis State for three
(13:25):
years for computer science, and on my third year, I
really was not enjoying it. Like it was fine, but
I was not enjoying it. And I still had to
get an art class out of my ggas, and so
I decided to take film just for like I thought, Okay,
(13:47):
this is easy, I will probably enjoy this class. And
the moment that I sat in that class and we,
like the professor started talking, I just kind of fell
back in love with my passion, which was video. And
also during the time that I was here, I was
making a lot of little videos of skateboarding and stuff
(14:08):
like that. So that same day, I went home and
I literally told my parents I'm changing my major, which
they thought it was crazy because they were like, just
finish your like this one year and or maybe just
do another major, like just finish it off. But in
my head, I was like, either I'm going all in
(14:28):
or like I don't, I'm not going to do what
I want to do. And so I went and changed
my major, and yeah, it was like life changing. I
had to start college all over again. And while I
was doing that, I was working and trying to pay
for school also in the process of getting residency and stuff.
(14:52):
So for me college I was an international student, so
college was very expensive. I could only do like one
or two classes. But the one thing that I was
always doing was trying to use this like skill and
develop it and put into practice what I was learning.
And so long story short is that through college, I
(15:17):
felt like I really needed to work in my career
and needed to do something. And currently at that time,
I was working at Amazon, and I felt like I
really needed just this one chance. I was looking for
that one chance, looking for that one chance. Funny enough,
in Amazon, I had the route that delivers to Levi's.
(15:39):
So I would come here every morning to deliver and
I got really cool with one of the guards in
the gate. We would always say hi. And one day
I decided to start looking for jobs. And I thought,
you know what, like I have a portfolio, I have
something to show.
Speaker 7 (15:59):
Let's see what happened.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
And I started applying to a bunch of jobs and
I would get deny everywhere off like I didn't even
have my bachelor's. And so I saw this job at
the Niners and I decided to apply and Honestly, I
was like, there is no way that I'm ever going
to get anything close to this, especially in sports, Like
(16:21):
I had nothing to show for sports, and so yeah,
I sent that application and then like a couple of
I think it was like a week later, I'm getting
a message from HR and I'm like, what is going on?
Speaker 7 (16:37):
I was like, what is going on?
Speaker 5 (16:38):
And then did my couple of interviews, and I think
the last one was Serena, and I remember very well
that she just asked me, like, what is something different
than I would do? And like my main focus was
you know, honestly, I don't know much about the sport.
I don't know much about this, but it's the people.
(17:00):
It's the people that matter, and I just want like
a chance to you know, also show people and focus
on the fans.
Speaker 7 (17:09):
And so I guess that went well, extremely extremely So yeah,
that was my super long story.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Do you think if you never stole your sister's keen
say camera, you would have never chosen that film class
and then would have never apply.
Speaker 7 (17:27):
Probably not.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
So it was a good thing that I just opened
her present. And yeah, I think, like I said, I
think it was more of stick to your passion and
make it work, and like it might not seem like
the easiest road, but if you truly believe in yourself
and believe in what you're doing, like it will get
you somewhere.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Yeah, And so I feel like Aaron Story just wanted
to say a little bit about that, Like it it
still like brings and it's just some really proud it
brings like tears to my eyes because for me, like sorry,
like I think I've always wish that I was a
some like I had someone that you know, just like that.
So for me, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't
(18:11):
work hard. And like you said, he had told me
all of this too, like.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
We never shop football. I'm working at my dad's.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
Church, like and all of that was so great, right,
And there's hundreds and hundreds of applicants whenever they see
videographer or creative anything tied to that, especially for a
football team. But I mean, I just think that Aaron
is such a great person with such a resilient story,
and he is someone that embodies just the culture and
(18:41):
what we do just resilient people. So for me, it's
just been beautiful to see his growth and to be
able to have a small part in that. I just
feel really blessed to get to work with someone like him.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Yeah. No, it's so beautiful to hear your guys' stories
and how you guys help each other. It's all in teamwork.
If Serena you never set the ground for us and
advocated for those who are coming up, all the young creatives,
we would have never had that avenue to go through
and then to work on a team with everyone. When
it goes to design and video and just storytelling in general,
(19:17):
it could never come from one perspective storytelling. It takes
so many people, especially covering a team such as this,
So I absolutely love hearing your stories and it resonates.
I think with every story here at the forty nine Ers,
they all blend together, and Serena, you hit it right
on the nail. It's all about resiliency. I feel like
that word really defines this team, the people who work
(19:38):
for this team. So your stories mean absolutely the world.
As you guys have gotten your start here at the
forty nine Ers, Serena, you mentioned it's with your Denise
de Bartlow fellowship. Aaron, it's your connection with Serena and
getting in after the Amazon deliveries. Now, Carrie Camera, how
have your jobs grown since you first enter here with
(20:00):
the forty nine ers.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
Yeah, so I think that just from the moment that
I started, I remember that the workload was so high
and I was always telling Scerena like, I have no
idea how you did this by yourself? Seriously, Yeah, because
at some point Serno is also talent, you know in
our Spanish shows and not just recording them but also
(20:26):
being there in front of the camera and editing them,
and it was just crazy. But slowly it's been like
evolving into what honestly I believe it's a powerhouse. And
right now we are kind of setting the standard for
all of the thirty two teams of what we are
doing with the international content, not just in Spanish, but
(20:49):
also like in different countries, and we're being used as
an example of how to really engage with different countries
and to create fandom and you know, places where the
sport doesn't like it is not there, and again that
just goes back to the people.
Speaker 7 (21:08):
And so it's been like.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
Growing a lot, and like obviously it's taking a lot
of work, and like I said, it's been because from
the start of what Serena created, laid the ground and
then gave people just a chance to just run with it.
And so it's been really cool to see this past
(21:32):
year we finally want some Emmys for our Spanish content,
which we have been going two years in a row
getting nominated, which is still a huge, huge accomplishment, but
always coming in short and not being able to win.
And then this time we took five of them home,
which was like to me, just again. It goes back
(21:54):
to that resiliency of you know, we keep coming up,
we keep showing, and we're just going to bring something
bigger and better each year.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Yeah, Serena, from you know, starting out as a Denise
de Barbolofello to now leading an entire team of creatives.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
How you've also.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Mentioned that you've been here for almost like a decade.
Throughout that entire time, how have you seen the studios
team really evolve?
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Yeah, just the studios team in general. I mean it's
also crazy I started in twenty sixteen. It's also crazy
to see the explosion truly then, like of social media, Instagram,
YouTube is not what it was in twenty sixteen like
it is today, and so to even see that grow
on the international side absolutely insane. But I think, like
(22:39):
the word that I keep saying is people are finally
recognizing the potential, the talent and pouring in those resources
into all these teams and these creatives to truly, honestly
what I think we set the bar in the NFL
in whatever that we do on the international side, and
we also try to do it on the English side
as well. So for me, I'm truly the hybrid of
(22:59):
the team where I help lead and spearhead Spanish content,
and then Aaron's role also change by being now more
international where it's half Spanish and Dubai content in UK.
So it's pretty crazy that you have two people that
are technically like together one full Spanish team and like
what he just said, like this summer we got to
(23:20):
bring back five Emmys, And it never really was about
winning to me. But when I hired him, or when
I was I knew I was gonna hire him, but
when I was like talking to him, I was like,
I just have this drive in this mentality where yes,
I'm a competitive person, I've been an athlete my entire life,
but it's like I want to make a point here,
like I want to lead that there's no one in
(23:40):
the NFL doing this right now, but we can. And
it's just also a really tough, like a tough competition
that we're in in the Bay Area, where we have
the de la Mundos of the world, we have those
that are in Sacramento, and we also have the giants
that make really great Spanish content, the Warriors.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
So despite all that.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
I really would is like I just need help, and
you bring this unique aspect to videography and you have
this interesting creative passion and you know I do as well,
and I think together, like he had said, he had
mentioned powerhouse, it was really great to see this summer
just all of that coming to fruition after years of
just trying to like knock on the door and now
it's like, yeah, Sarasco forty nine or Spanish team is here.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yeah, that's amazing. I keep hearing we, which is great.
I think that's the team mentality and both of you
complementing each other multiple times up to this point, which
is fantastic. I think that just shows team culture and
the respect you have for yourselves in for the entire
Spanish team and international as well. So I think that's
really amazing. I'm just curious what this team looks like,
(24:43):
who is who is behind the people setting the bar.
So this is kind of your time to give any
shout outs to those people kind of on this team.
That's that's given you, you know, so much love.
Speaker 5 (24:54):
You can start, well, okay, we have a haa with
like you can ask the whole radio team.
Speaker 7 (25:03):
But right now, well I'll name the newer people. You
can name the the ogs.
Speaker 5 (25:09):
Yeah, but right now, since we are expanding into different regions,
we currently brought somebody to handle all our UAE content,
which is Ali.
Speaker 7 (25:23):
He was born in.
Speaker 5 (25:25):
Egypt, I believe, and he went to college in the
UK and worked at the Texans. So he was kind
of like this special unicorn that we were looking for,
especially for all the regions that we're working. He's really
great with what he's doing and obviously like we needed
(25:46):
somebody that knows his own culture and that can really
teach us about that.
Speaker 7 (25:51):
So that's Ali. Then we have Rocky. She is amazing.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
She is our activations coordinator and she is in charge
of like talking to all the fan groups, whether that's
in Mexico or locally, and also creating these huge watch
parties that we're having and like Mexico where he had one,
we're having one in Dubai. We're also gonna have one
(26:15):
in London and Glasgow this year. So she's the one
behind the scenes like creating this. She's very good at
like organizing everything, and she had also a huge role
on our film this year. Then we have Alex. Alex
is our current graphic designer. She came from the Vikings
and she's amazing. She also like I love that I
(26:38):
could just speak Spanish to her like all day and
we understand each other. But yeah, she is amazing, super
talented and has brought like that kind of glue that
we needed for the international team. And then we have
some people outside which he shout out to Memo and Diego.
(27:02):
They both run our esp accounts. They're both in Mexico
and they are literally like between both of them there
are a little powerhouse running everything in Mexico. And they
also have a graphic designer named Joan, which is also
super super helpful and he has brought his own little
(27:24):
taste to so that's kind of one of the core group.
Speaker 7 (27:28):
And last person is Harris.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
He is also the person that runs social with Ali
in Dubai period.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Okay, so that's like the international side, which is amazing,
and then you kind of mentioned it a little bit.
But besides Aaron have also been able to hire He's
at who's our Spanish Boydaner's insider, as well as our
play by play Carlos Eustas who's been here at least
five years now, as well as our color commentator and
the quezada Are spoder who's also done a lot lot
(28:00):
of social Spanish content for us. We have Matthias Guilianez
who is our Spanish engineer. But I'd also like to
say that it really takes a village in regards to
creating Spanish content, so I also want to give a
huge shout out to the English side as well. So
we have Jndres who is our director, Nick Sabetta. Every
(28:21):
time I go out a podcast, I always give him
the praise that he deserves. He's truly my co captain
and someone who has championed. He's always championed diverse voices
in sports, especially mine, and I really couldn't have been
the producer, the videographer or director, editor whatever that I
am today without people like him who maybe didn't understand
everything that was happening, but saw the vision and was like,
(28:43):
how can I be a part of that? How can
I help? So and he also has at least four.
He has Zabata. We have Nigel McWilliams. We have our
girl Cassie, who's also creating all of these podcasts for us, so.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
She's currently listening to us as her listening to.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Us as she's gonna cut this south that makes look
real good. But we also have Josh Connor, we have
Steven Garcia and these are just all the people that
have been a part of our Latino Heritage amunk campaigns.
They've been people that I relied on to be a
second shooter, editor, whatever it is. These people truly help
make the content special. So I'm very thankful for all
(29:21):
of them.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
This group is so strong and they're seriously the pros
and pros all right, faithful. That was part one of
Inside the Level with Serena and Aaron. We talked about
Latino Heritage Month and this year's campaign is now live
on the forty nine ers YouTube channel and all of
our social media behind the scenes videos are coming to
YouTube very soon, so be sure to check all of
those out Across the forty nine ers platforms, and be
(29:44):
sure to come back for Part two with Aaron and
Serena on Inside the Oval.
Welcome back to the forty nine ers inside the OVIL podcast.
I'm the forty nine ers team reporter Brionage.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Now with Noah Hammerman, and today.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
We have special guests Aaron and Serena with us. Aaron
and Serena, thank you so much for joining us today.
Could you give us a little description of your job
title and what you guys do here at the forty
nine ers.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Yeah, I can start, so thanks for having us today. Guys.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
My name is Serena Soriano. I am the senior producer
with the SAMs of Skill forty nine ers. I have
spent almost a decade with this team creating and shifting
the culture and content for the SAMAS Skill forty nine ers.
So i am part of forty and in our studios
forty nine, your studio forty nine, and I'm happy to
be here.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Awesome.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
Yeah, I'm Erin Sadamiento. I am the international video producer.
I've been here for three years now as the international
video producer and yeah, a little bit of what we
do is we push our international markets, which started with
Mexico but now is expanding to the UK and the UAE.
(01:04):
So yeah, it's been really cool.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
That's so so cool to hear. Now when people here
or fans here that you guys are a part of
Studio forty nine, what do they think that means and
what does it actually mean.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
That's a really good question.
Speaker 4 (01:19):
I feel like people think we just push a button,
and as a videographer, content creative photographer, that's absolutely insane
to say. Yeah, but what we really do is we
tell the stories of our athletes on and off the fields,
just so we're able to pull back the curtain for
fans to get a closer look at who they are
just besides the amazing, crazy athletes that they are. But
(01:41):
we also do a lot of game day storytelling as well.
Speaker 6 (01:44):
And what's your perspective so apart from just being videographers,
like Serena said, Yeah, we are storytellers, but we carry cameras,
we storyboard, we plan things, plan shoots, we.
Speaker 5 (02:01):
Do lighting, we do editing, We do all of it,
so we wear multiple hats all the time. So it's
not just like one single job. But you got to
be like jack of all trades and you know, you
need to learn every single part of production. So yeah,
that's like overall kind of what we do.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
You guys are athletes yourselves because you're extremely strong, extremely smart,
extremely strong, extremely creative. Those cameras are heavy, and they
are running up and down the field like right on
Chipe with your favorite receiver, with your favorite running back.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
So now one hundred percent, I mean even just the
cameras that we use a lot are ariamiras and those
are thirty three to five pounds in itself, so that's
on your shoulder for hours and hours on a game day.
So for me specifically and being like a five three
Latina showing up, people kind of when I first got
in the business looked at me and was like, is.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
That Are you sure you want to do this?
Speaker 4 (02:55):
And for me, it's always about having my work speak
for itself. So I straight up was like, you know what,
I got to work out for this. There's no way
that I'm going to be not getting the shot just
because I physically can't. So, yeah, those cameras are heavy,
and honestly though, it's kind of worth it to create art.
Speaker 5 (03:13):
Yeah, and it like it takes a while to get
used to it, Like in the beginning, you get really tired,
you are not comfortable, but it takes quite some reps
to get it in. I know that me and Serene
are some of the shortest in our team, and so
for us we always have to like look up or adjust,
But like Serena said, that's not something that will stop
(03:36):
us to get our shots in and get what we
want to get. So it's like it does get like
it takes a little bit of time to get used
to and a lot of practice. And honestly, what helped
me too was like getting fit, going through the gym
and really putting in the work, because then it translates
and you just feel more comfortable with a lot of
(03:57):
weight in your shoulder.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
I think that's like one of the cool things though
about being a creative videographer is that you never or
you never should think that you've arrived, honestly, So for me,
there's always things that I can consistently work at to
be the best you know, videographer, director, editor that I
could be, and there's no time limit on that, so
I can be doing this until whatever I'm a grandma,
(04:21):
you know.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
No, I love that. Yeah, I know. You guys just
reference team and as a creative, you know, the teamwork
makes the dream work. And I'm just curious what it
means to be a part of this forty nine ers
production department. I know you put in a lot of
work and effort to be here, So yeah, personally, what
does it mean to be a part of this team?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Yeah, I think I could start that for me.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
Actually, I was the first woman hired as a producer
for Studio forty nine, So just even that in itself,
there has been a lot of history of just women
maybe not being able to be a videographer, a producer
or a director in this field.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
So that meant a lot to just start.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
And I was kind of crawling to make a seat
at this table that was already made for years and years.
And it's really crazy that by following my passion and
being authentic to who I am in my culture, that
I actually was building a whole other table for people
that look like me in this industry.
Speaker 5 (05:23):
Yeah, and just kind of going off on that as well,
like I was the first international video producer. Of course
Serena had done a lot of the work and laid
the ground for what it is now, but just like
I mean, I'm from Hondudas and never did I think
that I was going to be working for an American
(05:46):
football team, and not only that, but also like showing
my own culture and also people that look like me
in a sport that's foreign. So it really means a lot.
And also just being able to like kind of melt
those two things together and really be showcasing how like
(06:07):
sports have really no boundaries and like there's no language,
there's nothing that really can stop that. And so for
us to be also in the forefront of showcasing that,
it's really cool.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Noah and I are at the table with superstars. It's
really cool to hear I'm the first Latina at working
at Studio forty nine. I'm the first international producer working
at Studio forty nine. And we get to see all
of the beautiful work as we scroll through our social
media feed, as we scroll through the award winning Emmy's,
you know, going through and seeing your names and the
shining lights. But I want to know everything that happened
(06:44):
before that point. So what made you first start thinking
about this is something that you wanted to do, and
some of your background leading up to getting that Emmy
or getting those millions of views on those videos and
your work all the way up until this point.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Yeah, for me, sports has always been a huge part
of my life. I played soccer since the age of
three to high school. Yeah, college, even play a little
bit of my professionally, but to really connect with my
family and my dad. I'm part of generations of Serta
School Fortnitans fans, and when I wasn't playing soccer, I
really looked forward to watching Fortnitre's games with my dad,
(07:24):
and for me, I would watch the games and a
lot of times I would see Michelle Deafoye on my
screen and that was someone that I really looked up
to because she was only Latina that I saw on
the screen in football. So for me, I was like,
you know what, I really want to do that and
this is the way that I need to be going in.
So I actually took I broadcast Sorry, I majored in
(07:45):
broadcast journalism in college. And I took actually a lot
of classes though in film, cinema and editing, and I
started slowly starting I started to realize that, you know,
telling stories this way with the camera in my hand,
maybe like behind it actually is where where I'm feeling fulfilled.
I feel that this is different and it's not what
people are expecting of me. But I've never ever fit
(08:08):
in the box that anyone has ever tried to put
me in, So I was really lucky or it was
really hard work, but I became the Denise de Bardlo
York Fellowship Award winner, which hired a female who had
just graduated college and put them in six departments where
we were underrepresented. So in my head, I always knew
I wanted to be in the studio's marketing department, but
I was like, how cool I get to see in
(08:29):
organization from the inside out like this, And after the
year was over, I was very blessed to be hired
as an associate producer. And since then, like I said,
for the past decade now, I've been creating content in
English and Spanish. And what's really great is when we
started to see the potential, we started to see the
(08:50):
growth of Latinos really enjoying American football. I was one
of the people that really advocated for more resources, you know,
because it's not a one man show and it never
can be. And I was really blessed when I was
able to get Aaron on the team, And for me,
I just think that's just a great example of what
happens when you just let one of us in. I
(09:12):
think the core of what I really try to do
is I tried to bring more and more people into
this space. Maybe that wasn't really ready for us, but
sees the crazy growth and potential that we all have
as fans and as players.
Speaker 5 (09:26):
So yeah, yeah, And a little bit of where I
came from. So I'm originally from Mondudas, Central America, Theosia,
the Capitol. And for me, like ever since I was
really young, I had a little camera from my parents.
(09:46):
It was like one of those point and shoots, and
my dad had bought it for my sister when she
was going to turn sixteen. It was going to be
our first time coming to the US because she didn't
want Usually you could do looking signeda or you could
also do it when you're sixteen, but she wanted to
travel to Disney. So my dad bought that camera kind
(10:07):
of you know, like saying, Okay, when this moment comes,
we're going to use it. I opened it, and my
sister must have used to open it, but I opened
it and I started to play around with it a lot,
and that kind of just sparked that little interest in
me and like taking photos and videos and fast forward.
(10:29):
We went to the US and we had a fun time,
came back and then I just kept the camera with me.
So there's a big time where I was taking a
lot of like small videos with just my friends that
we would hang out like after school. They were very random,
there was like no storytelling, but I just felt like
it was so cool to walk around with this camera,
(10:50):
and so that started and afterwards on Dudas is one
of those countries where education is not something that comes
easy or like the government doesn't really provide those things publicly,
so you have to go to like a private school.
(11:11):
And my parents were like middle class working and they
were sacrificing a lot to have me in a private
bilingual school, which is where I learned English, and like
it was like an American school. The thing is that
it's very common in these schools for a lot of
(11:33):
these people to come to the US for college and
all these opportunities because they're trying to find opportunities outside
of our country. And for me is I never saw
that like coming for me, just because my parents weren't
from like a wealthy family. So I was sticking to
the norm of when I graduate, I need to go
(11:57):
on a career that can make me money my country,
and let's see where that goes. When I was going
to go on my junior year, my dad got a
job offer in here in the United States. My dad's
a clinical psychologist and he was working for a nonprofit
(12:18):
which offered him a job here working with Latino communities,
and so one summer he just told us, Hey, we're
all moving. I told my dad he had ruined my life. No, yeah,
because I was like, I do not want to move. Obviously,
I was going into my senior year and it's like,
you know, like you don't want to leave your friends,
(12:41):
and I thought that it was like the worst decision,
and we moved. I went to high school for my
senior year twice because a lot of my credits wouldn't
transfer from a different country. And when I came to
the Bay Area again, you come with that mentality of
I need to do something that will give me a
(13:03):
good future money and like I'll be able to be stable.
And so with that, obviously in the Bay Area, I
was like, I'm going to go for tech, and part
of me was really just trying to fulfill and give
back to my parents for the big opportunity they had
given me. I went to San Fransis State for three
(13:25):
years for computer science, and on my third year, I
really was not enjoying it. Like it was fine, but
I was not enjoying it. And I still had to
get an art class out of my ggas, and so
I decided to take film just for like I thought, Okay,
(13:47):
this is easy, I will probably enjoy this class. And
the moment that I sat in that class and we,
like the professor started talking, I just kind of fell
back in love with my passion, which was video. And
also during the time that I was here, I was
making a lot of little videos of skateboarding and stuff
(14:08):
like that. So that same day, I went home and
I literally told my parents I'm changing my major, which
they thought it was crazy because they were like, just
finish your like this one year and or maybe just
do another major, like just finish it off. But in
my head, I was like, either I'm going all in
(14:28):
or like I don't, I'm not going to do what
I want to do. And so I went and changed
my major, and yeah, it was like life changing. I
had to start college all over again. And while I
was doing that, I was working and trying to pay
for school also in the process of getting residency and stuff.
(14:52):
So for me college I was an international student, so
college was very expensive. I could only do like one
or two classes. But the one thing that I was
always doing was trying to use this like skill and
develop it and put into practice what I was learning.
And so long story short is that through college, I
(15:17):
felt like I really needed to work in my career
and needed to do something. And currently at that time,
I was working at Amazon, and I felt like I
really needed just this one chance. I was looking for
that one chance, looking for that one chance. Funny enough,
in Amazon, I had the route that delivers to Levi's.
(15:39):
So I would come here every morning to deliver and
I got really cool with one of the guards in
the gate. We would always say hi. And one day
I decided to start looking for jobs. And I thought,
you know what, like I have a portfolio, I have
something to show.
Speaker 7 (15:59):
Let's see what happened.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
And I started applying to a bunch of jobs and
I would get deny everywhere off like I didn't even
have my bachelor's. And so I saw this job at
the Niners and I decided to apply and Honestly, I
was like, there is no way that I'm ever going
to get anything close to this, especially in sports, Like
(16:21):
I had nothing to show for sports, and so yeah,
I sent that application and then like a couple of
I think it was like a week later, I'm getting
a message from HR and I'm like, what is going on?
Speaker 7 (16:37):
I was like, what is going on?
Speaker 5 (16:38):
And then did my couple of interviews, and I think
the last one was Serena, and I remember very well
that she just asked me, like, what is something different
than I would do? And like my main focus was
you know, honestly, I don't know much about the sport.
I don't know much about this, but it's the people.
(17:00):
It's the people that matter, and I just want like
a chance to you know, also show people and focus
on the fans.
Speaker 7 (17:09):
And so I guess that went well, extremely extremely So yeah,
that was my super long story.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Do you think if you never stole your sister's keen
say camera, you would have never chosen that film class
and then would have never apply.
Speaker 7 (17:27):
Probably not.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
So it was a good thing that I just opened
her present. And yeah, I think, like I said, I
think it was more of stick to your passion and
make it work, and like it might not seem like
the easiest road, but if you truly believe in yourself
and believe in what you're doing, like it will get
you somewhere.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
Yeah, And so I feel like Aaron Story just wanted
to say a little bit about that, Like it it
still like brings and it's just some really proud it
brings like tears to my eyes because for me, like sorry,
like I think I've always wish that I was a
some like I had someone that you know, just like that.
So for me, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't
(18:11):
work hard. And like you said, he had told me
all of this too, like.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
We never shop football. I'm working at my dad's.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
Church, like and all of that was so great, right,
And there's hundreds and hundreds of applicants whenever they see
videographer or creative anything tied to that, especially for a
football team. But I mean, I just think that Aaron
is such a great person with such a resilient story,
and he is someone that embodies just the culture and
(18:41):
what we do just resilient people. So for me, it's
just been beautiful to see his growth and to be
able to have a small part in that. I just
feel really blessed to get to work with someone like him.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Yeah. No, it's so beautiful to hear your guys' stories
and how you guys help each other. It's all in teamwork.
If Serena you never set the ground for us and
advocated for those who are coming up, all the young creatives,
we would have never had that avenue to go through
and then to work on a team with everyone. When
it goes to design and video and just storytelling in general,
(19:17):
it could never come from one perspective storytelling. It takes
so many people, especially covering a team such as this,
So I absolutely love hearing your stories and it resonates.
I think with every story here at the forty nine Ers,
they all blend together, and Serena, you hit it right
on the nail. It's all about resiliency. I feel like
that word really defines this team, the people who work
(19:38):
for this team. So your stories mean absolutely the world.
As you guys have gotten your start here at the
forty nine Ers, Serena, you mentioned it's with your Denise
de Bartlow fellowship. Aaron, it's your connection with Serena and
getting in after the Amazon deliveries. Now, Carrie Camera, how
have your jobs grown since you first enter here with
(20:00):
the forty nine ers.
Speaker 5 (20:02):
Yeah, so I think that just from the moment that
I started, I remember that the workload was so high
and I was always telling Scerena like, I have no
idea how you did this by yourself? Seriously, Yeah, because
at some point Serno is also talent, you know in
our Spanish shows and not just recording them but also
(20:26):
being there in front of the camera and editing them,
and it was just crazy. But slowly it's been like
evolving into what honestly I believe it's a powerhouse. And
right now we are kind of setting the standard for
all of the thirty two teams of what we are
doing with the international content, not just in Spanish, but
(20:49):
also like in different countries, and we're being used as
an example of how to really engage with different countries
and to create fandom and you know, places where the
sport doesn't like it is not there, and again that
just goes back to the people.
Speaker 7 (21:08):
And so it's been like.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
Growing a lot, and like obviously it's taking a lot
of work, and like I said, it's been because from
the start of what Serena created, laid the ground and
then gave people just a chance to just run with it.
And so it's been really cool to see this past
(21:32):
year we finally want some Emmys for our Spanish content,
which we have been going two years in a row
getting nominated, which is still a huge, huge accomplishment, but
always coming in short and not being able to win.
And then this time we took five of them home,
which was like to me, just again. It goes back
(21:54):
to that resiliency of you know, we keep coming up,
we keep showing, and we're just going to bring something
bigger and better each year.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Yeah, Serena, from you know, starting out as a Denise
de Barbolofello to now leading an entire team of creatives.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
How you've also.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Mentioned that you've been here for almost like a decade.
Throughout that entire time, how have you seen the studios
team really evolve?
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Yeah, just the studios team in general. I mean it's
also crazy I started in twenty sixteen. It's also crazy
to see the explosion truly then, like of social media, Instagram,
YouTube is not what it was in twenty sixteen like
it is today, and so to even see that grow
on the international side absolutely insane. But I think, like
(22:39):
the word that I keep saying is people are finally
recognizing the potential, the talent and pouring in those resources
into all these teams and these creatives to truly, honestly
what I think we set the bar in the NFL
in whatever that we do on the international side, and
we also try to do it on the English side
as well. So for me, I'm truly the hybrid of
(22:59):
the team where I help lead and spearhead Spanish content,
and then Aaron's role also change by being now more
international where it's half Spanish and Dubai content in UK.
So it's pretty crazy that you have two people that
are technically like together one full Spanish team and like
what he just said, like this summer we got to
(23:20):
bring back five Emmys, And it never really was about
winning to me. But when I hired him, or when
I was I knew I was gonna hire him, but
when I was like talking to him, I was like,
I just have this drive in this mentality where yes,
I'm a competitive person, I've been an athlete my entire life,
but it's like I want to make a point here,
like I want to lead that there's no one in
(23:40):
the NFL doing this right now, but we can. And
it's just also a really tough, like a tough competition
that we're in in the Bay Area, where we have
the de la Mundos of the world, we have those
that are in Sacramento, and we also have the giants
that make really great Spanish content, the Warriors.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
So despite all that.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
I really would is like I just need help, and
you bring this unique aspect to videography and you have
this interesting creative passion and you know I do as well,
and I think together, like he had said, he had
mentioned powerhouse, it was really great to see this summer
just all of that coming to fruition after years of
just trying to like knock on the door and now
it's like, yeah, Sarasco forty nine or Spanish team is here.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
Yeah, that's amazing. I keep hearing we, which is great.
I think that's the team mentality and both of you
complementing each other multiple times up to this point, which
is fantastic. I think that just shows team culture and
the respect you have for yourselves in for the entire
Spanish team and international as well. So I think that's
really amazing. I'm just curious what this team looks like,
(24:43):
who is who is behind the people setting the bar.
So this is kind of your time to give any
shout outs to those people kind of on this team.
That's that's given you, you know, so much love.
Speaker 5 (24:54):
You can start, well, okay, we have a haa with
like you can ask the whole radio team.
Speaker 7 (25:03):
But right now, well I'll name the newer people. You
can name the the ogs.
Speaker 5 (25:09):
Yeah, but right now, since we are expanding into different regions,
we currently brought somebody to handle all our UAE content,
which is Ali.
Speaker 7 (25:23):
He was born in.
Speaker 5 (25:25):
Egypt, I believe, and he went to college in the
UK and worked at the Texans. So he was kind
of like this special unicorn that we were looking for,
especially for all the regions that we're working. He's really
great with what he's doing and obviously like we needed
(25:46):
somebody that knows his own culture and that can really
teach us about that.
Speaker 7 (25:51):
So that's Ali. Then we have Rocky. She is amazing.
Speaker 5 (25:55):
She is our activations coordinator and she is in charge
of like talking to all the fan groups, whether that's
in Mexico or locally, and also creating these huge watch
parties that we're having and like Mexico where he had one,
we're having one in Dubai. We're also gonna have one
(26:15):
in London and Glasgow this year. So she's the one
behind the scenes like creating this. She's very good at
like organizing everything, and she had also a huge role
on our film this year. Then we have Alex. Alex
is our current graphic designer. She came from the Vikings
and she's amazing. She also like I love that I
(26:38):
could just speak Spanish to her like all day and
we understand each other. But yeah, she is amazing, super
talented and has brought like that kind of glue that
we needed for the international team. And then we have
some people outside which he shout out to Memo and Diego.
(27:02):
They both run our esp accounts. They're both in Mexico
and they are literally like between both of them there
are a little powerhouse running everything in Mexico. And they
also have a graphic designer named Joan, which is also
super super helpful and he has brought his own little
(27:24):
taste to so that's kind of one of the core group.
Speaker 7 (27:28):
And last person is Harris.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
He is also the person that runs social with Ali
in Dubai period.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Okay, so that's like the international side, which is amazing,
and then you kind of mentioned it a little bit.
But besides Aaron have also been able to hire He's
at who's our Spanish Boydaner's insider, as well as our
play by play Carlos Eustas who's been here at least
five years now, as well as our color commentator and
the quezada Are spoder who's also done a lot lot
(28:00):
of social Spanish content for us. We have Matthias Guilianez
who is our Spanish engineer. But I'd also like to
say that it really takes a village in regards to
creating Spanish content, so I also want to give a
huge shout out to the English side as well. So
we have Jndres who is our director, Nick Sabetta. Every
(28:21):
time I go out a podcast, I always give him
the praise that he deserves. He's truly my co captain
and someone who has championed. He's always championed diverse voices
in sports, especially mine, and I really couldn't have been
the producer, the videographer or director, editor whatever that I
am today without people like him who maybe didn't understand
everything that was happening, but saw the vision and was like,
(28:43):
how can I be a part of that? How can
I help? So and he also has at least four.
He has Zabata. We have Nigel McWilliams. We have our
girl Cassie, who's also creating all of these podcasts for us, so.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
She's currently listening to us as her listening to.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Us as she's gonna cut this south that makes look
real good. But we also have Josh Connor, we have
Steven Garcia and these are just all the people that
have been a part of our Latino Heritage amunk campaigns.
They've been people that I relied on to be a
second shooter, editor, whatever it is. These people truly help
make the content special. So I'm very thankful for all
(29:21):
of them.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
This group is so strong and they're seriously the pros
and pros all right, faithful. That was part one of
Inside the Level with Serena and Aaron. We talked about
Latino Heritage Month and this year's campaign is now live
on the forty nine ers YouTube channel and all of
our social media behind the scenes videos are coming to
YouTube very soon, so be sure to check all of
those out Across the forty nine ers platforms, and be
(29:44):
sure to come back for Part two with Aaron and
Serena on Inside the Oval.
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