Zackary Brames. Photo courtesy of Zackary Brames.
In search of a school with rich traditions and school spirit, Zackary Brames, Austin, Texas native, and Tech alum found inspiration and the career of his dreams after transferring from UTSA to Tech in 2013.
Brames, a graduate of the College of Media and Communication, said it was at a Texas Tech football game that he felt school spirit and a sense of belonging that pushed him to transfer to Texas Tech.
“I went to like a random Texas Tech football game and like halfway through I like talked to my aunt about it and I was like ‘I kinda want to like know more about this place and check it out,’” Brames said. “There was just something about like the architecture…the buildings…it just kind of felt like right, before I even got there, and I was just kind of like you know like ‘I should go here.’”
Unsure of what career he wanted at the time, Brames said he transferred to Tech to pursue a business degree.
“Like any 18 or 19-year-old I didn’t exactly know what I really wanted to do, but I was kind of in this position where it was like it’s time to you know prepare for your future and all that,” Brames said.
He soon discovered his love of photography after his friend lent him their Canon Rebel camera and he began to mess with the camera in manual mode.
“I actually very rarely did video at all until probably like my last year of college, and then I kinda switched over and started doing video and it was always kind of like a backup thing,” Brames said. “I always just thought I was gonna just you know do like communication work or PR [public relations] work and stuff like that.”
It wasn’t until he began working in a non-sports related video job, that Brames realized he wanted a career that would put him in a position to create more. He found all this and more through his job with Texas Tech Athletics.
“There were two guys that I worked under that really taught me everything I needed to know from shooting, producing, directing, editing – like all of it, and that’s kind of when I really just kinda like took off and knew that like this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Brames said.
After graduating with a degree in Electronic Media and Communication in Dec. 2015, Brames became a digital content producer for the Carolina Hurricanes.
“I do the simple things like you know filming, filming games and things of that sort but also do in-house broadcast production as well; so we’re a small market hockey team I guess by definition so a lot of us like wear a lot of hats,” Brames said.
As a digital content producer, Brames produces content for arenas and broadcast partners such as Valley Sports, ESPN, Sportsnet, TSN, and other Canadian sports channels.
“Instead of like a production department, and then like a broadcast department, like it’s all kind of one, so there could be a day where I’m up against the boards shooting a game or there could be other days where I’m like running a broadcast camera from the upper level or in the broadcast room like running replay or like co-producing shows and stuff like that,” Brames said. “I think just…being there to like witness crazy things that happen is just kind of like [an] adrenaline and like addiction that just no other job is gonna give you and like it’s that kind of thing that made me wanna…stay in this industry.”
Brames credits his Tech professors and mentors as the reason he is as successful as he is today.
“Chambers and Peaslee honestly just did a really good job of helping me like stay on track to like basically learn the skills to do the profession that I do now like those two guys were like always in my corner I mean they still are,” Brames said. “Those people were just super influential in pretty much everything.”
Robert Peaslee, associate professor and chairperson of Journalism and Creative Media Industries at Texas Tech, said Brames was a positive person enthusiastic to produce during his time as a student.
“He had a pretty solid skill set at that time, but I think he also learned a lot through…working with Dr. Foster in terms of understanding better what he…didn’t know yet,” Peaslee said. “He was one of those students that kind of came to us with a skill set already in terms of production and photography and things like that.”
Todd Chambers, associate dean for undergraduate affairs in the College of Media and Communications, said that Brames always brought professionalism and a positive attitude to the workplace every day.
“His work from basically a photography and videography perspective is fantastic, we actually hired him as part of our marketing department in the college of media and communication,” Chambers said.
Chambers said Brames did a great job at taking advantage of the opportunities that were presented to him.
“He’s got that personality that is a red raider, kind of like that grit and determination; I think he had a passion for Texas Tech, and I think that he kind of embodied the red raider spirit,” Chambers said. “Not only did he study, and he practice the professionalism, the professional sides of sports, for example, he lived it you know, and I think that that’s how he approached his life.”
Chambers said he really appreciated Brames’ attitude and determination to put in effort every single day.
“He jumped in with a 110% every single day and that’s one of the things that made him very special and made him stand out,” Chambers said.
Brames will be one of four Tech alumni serving as guest judges for JCMI Fest on May 3, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. at the Alamo Drafthouse.
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