It’s a case of like father, like son for Brisbane student Tom Panitz, who is working behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, 24 years after his father was part of the Sydney Games.
Tom, a QUT game design student, is working as a broadcast technician, producing live graphics and statistics that pop up on LED screens in venues.
In 2000, Tom’s dad, Tim, worked for NBC at the Sydney Olympics, and it was his keen eye which helped Tom land the Paris gig.
“My dad is the technical manager at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba and he heard about (the job) through the theatre network and told me about it,” Tom said.
The 24-year-old, who alongside his studies, also works streaming esports events at QUT, applied for the Paris role based on his experience at the Brisbane university.
“I applied based on my experience doing broadcasts for QUT and about a month after my application I got a reply to say I had been offered a job.”
Tom said working at the Olympics was an opportunity his dad had when he was roughly the same age.
“He was 26 at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and he worked for the NBC as a lighting operator/gaffer at the international broadcasting centre.
“I’m now living in Paris for seven weeks, learning and working with some of the best sports production people in the world.”
Tom said he used a Pv4 system for live events to create graphics in real-time to provide facts and stats on athletes and teams.
“It’s not the same software that we use at QUT, but we do use a similar software called vMix to produce our streams,” he said.
QUT Sports’ esport and technology manager Steve Window and said Tom’s impressive array of talents and “unwavering commitment” had earned him the opportunity in Paris.
“Tom was first given the opportunity to help produce the QUT esports intervarsity competition (for Australian and New Zealand unis) from 2021, after being a volunteer from 2020,” Mr Window said.
“He is currently an interactive games design student and is now an integral part of the QUT Sport esports production team.”
Tom is studying a Bachelor of Games and Interactive Environments with the QUT School of Computer Science.
“I spent an early portion of my life isolated and couldn’t be very physical because of illness. I wasn’t able to do as much as other kids, but I found a social connection through playing games that I wouldn’t have otherwise had,” he said.
“When I started considering university, I started looking at the games and interactive environments degree.
“The reason I chose QUT was because of the esports program and esports community. It had that games environment where I could meet new people and gain experience in esports.”
