Building a university media production team from scratch
Building an in-house university production studio isn’t just about cameras and equipment—it’s about people.
When we started at Western Governors University (WGU Studios), we had three core team members and a mission: create a high-quality, scalable media operation that could support the university’s growing in-house media needs.
Two years later, we had a 15-person team producing 50+ videos per month—without sacrificing quality or burning out. Projects spanned the spectrum of media production (videos, live streaming, YouTube & LinkedIn Live shows/productions, podcasts, training, president’s weekly messages, town hall, etc.)
Here’s how we scaled:
1️⃣ Identify Key Roles & Skills Gaps
We didn’t just hire for headcount—we hired to fill gaps. We had no real budget (yet). We had to prove ourselves and grow organically. So, every new position solved a specific bottleneck:
✅ Producer/Manager (me), to acquire internal clients and stakeholders (C-Level executives), create workflows, establish KPIs and generate reports, and interface with other departments.
✅ Studio Technical Director to create a live, broadcasting solution and a place to film.
✅ Videographer(s) who could edit fast - to not only handle postproduction for the existing workload, but who could run camera for broadcasts and film other video. Also, had to know basic, 3-point lighting and how to mic someone up for professional sound recording.
2️⃣ Build a Strong Freelancer Network
Scaling fast doesn’t always mean hiring full-time. Once things got moving, we developed a trusted freelancer pool that could flex up or down based on workload. This gave us:
✔️ Access to specialized skills (without long-term overhead).
✔️ Faster turnaround times during peak production times.
✔️ The ability to test roles before committing to full-time hires.
3️⃣ Create Systems That Scale
A growing team without structure = chaos. To keep operations smooth, we built repeatable systems and workflows:
📌 Project management tools (we tried them all - Asana, Trello, Monday, ClickUp) for tracking deadlines. (I'll do a separate post just on the tools and software we used - but that's later).
📌 Standardized templates & forms for project intake requests, creative briefs, scripts, DIT, editing workflow, and approvals/change request management.
📌 ADA and branding guides for captions, graphics, content, legal uses, etc.
Scaling creative teams doesn't simply mean hiring—it’s about building a system of processes and structure that runs efficiently, even as the team grows.
🚀 What’s your biggest challenge when scaling a creative team? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear your experience.
Visit my website: sheimdal.com and other articles
#CreativeLeadership #ScalingTeams #VideoProduction #HigherEdMedia #ContentStrategy
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