Before Alex Elnicki came to work at Point Park, he was living in Los Angeles doing video production work.

There, Elnicki worked for a production house that edited old movies for the internet so people could purchase a subscription to watch them.

“The company I worked for, we would go through and pull them [the movies] out around the time of their birthdays or if they won an Oscar or something like that,” Elnicki said. “We’d blast over social media and make it look nice and HD and color corrected, and if there’s a scene they just didn’t want from like a director’s cut we’d cut it out and pretty much just make it internet friendly.”

Elnicki, originally from Pittsburgh, decided to return because it was expensive to live in Los Angeles.He came to Point Park to work as a studio technician in the Center for Media Innovation (CMI). He has been working here for just over a year.

“I had never worked in academics before,” Elnicki said. “I had never worked at a university…It’s a different side of production for me, a different facet and a different skill set that I had never used before. It wasn’t just creative work, it was half business, half creative and social interaction with students.”

Elnicki said his job changes every day. Sometimes he helps students working on projects, making sure that microphones and other equipment are working. Other days he helps with outside productions that book the CMI.

One of Elnicki’s favorite clients to work with was a New York City-based production company called Spacestation, which had booked the CMI to interview T.J. Watt, a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Just seeing him come in here, he was really impressed with the space and got some photos taken,” Elnicki said. “We all just got to sort of talk with him for a little bit and he was just so down to earth.”

Elnicki said the production company welcomed their involvement.

“It was a production company from Manhattan just renting the space to do the interview,” Elnicki said. “They wanted us involved, they wanted us to feel like they weren’t just renting the space and leaving. They really wanted to work with us, so it was cool to set up with them in the photography studio and I just worked with them.”

Elnicki said he enjoys working at the CMI because of the uniqueness of the space, which attracts different students and clients.

“It’s been cool to see who all has used the space,” Elnicki said. “Just the last couple of months even it’s become really vibrant.”