Last week’s episode of THE rAVe Esports Show was a special one for me. Not only did we take viewers behind the scenes of our student-led broadcast studio at the College of Esports in London, but I also got to reflect on how surreal it’s been teaching esports on Olympic grounds. Yep, we’re talking about Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, home to venues like the Velodrome and West Ham’s stadium. Being able to run classes in this environment? Still blows my mind.

A Studio Built by Students, for Students

We gave a full tour of our AV setup, starting with the green screen studio and walking through the equipment and platforms our students use to power live esports broadcasts. Everything (from the lighting and jib cameras to the Unreal Engine-powered virtual set and vMix workflows) was assembled and run by our students. These aren’t just learners; they’re hands-on creators, producers and storytellers.

And can we talk about our match last week? Our team, Legion, faced off against the Royal Navy esports team in League of Legends, with our students operating every piece of the production. Shoutout to Storm Broadcast for supporting the student studio build. Watching our learners execute a full-on broadcast from pre-show podcasts to match commentary — it’s a proud moment.

Tools of the Trade

A few highlights from the tech side:

• Yamaha X32 Producer running mostly on Dante (34 channels!)

• Glen Sound Beatrice and wireless headsets for seamless comms

• JVC Connected Cams, Canon 4K PTZs, and a rock-solid camera jib

• Stream Decks everywhere (because, well, we need them)

• And of course, Shure mics for top-tier audio on our podcasts

I’m incredibly grateful to be doing this work, and even more grateful to share it with all of you. Until next time — thanks for watching, and keep leveling up.

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