COVID Impact Behind the Scenes

With a large number of Las Vegans attending the University of Nevada, Reno, many know the tremendous impact COVID-19 has had on their hometown including the shutdown of many famous entertainment venues.

The phases in Nevada forced Ron Paul Gavino out of his job and out of the Luxor casino because everything was shutting down.

Ron Paul Gavino, a Producer and Technical Director for HyperX Esports Arena, says that the entertainment industry and his job were heavily affected.

Q: How did COVID affect your job?

A: My job was affected by COVID in many different ways. Several positions within the control room were moved to different locations within the building to avoid contact. There are now several plastic barricades separating those that need to sit next to each other. Guest segments are no longer allowed and many of the anchors work from home. Obviously, everyone also needs to wear a mask and frequently sanitize their hands.

Q: What has dramatically changed in the entertainment industry since COVID?

A: The entertainment industry has changed quite drastically since COVID. The most notable change is the loss of having guests in studio. Instead, we’ve had to rely mainly on remote interviews, which presents many technical issues. Many of the staff have also opted to work from home, including talent and producers. Most of the actual production staff need to still be in the studio or in the control room, but with masks and social distancing measures in place.

Q: Is having anchors on-site/having guests be interviewed crucial for a good show?

A: I wouldn’t say it’s crucial, but it’s important to be able to have that connection with someone in front of you. It makes the anchors’ jobs much easier when they can talk with each other, in front of each other, and that is especially true with having a guest. Guests are usually people that can add a lot of value to a news story or segment, so not being able to have them in-person can make the connection fade a bit.

Q: What did you have to do when COVID originally hit?

A: When COVID originally hit the United States, it was the biggest news story, so the shows and daily procedures were heavily focused around it. There wasn’t much we knew about what to do in this situation, because something like this has never happened.

Q: Did your daily planning heavily involve COVID?

A: I would say it would because it was one of the major developing stories we had at all times. It could develop into breaking news depending on if an outbreak happened somewhere in Las Vegas or there was a cure. Obviously it affected the workplace too because, especially in Nevada, the phases didn’t allow group gatherings which meant a lot of the staff had to work from home.

Q: How did everything work at the HyperX Esports Arena, considering the whole Luxor hotel had to close?

A: We had to move shop and essentially bring our million-dollar production studio into one of the tournament organizer’s house. This was obviously a big change because we had a lot more opportunity to mess up as we had to move all our broadcasts online. We went from a production group of 8–10 to 4 and made it a challenge for us to adapt with less people but COVID causes many unexpected changes.

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