Meet Ian Wells | Video Systems Engineer for Broadcasts & Productions

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ian Wells and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ian, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
Habits are everything. When you can develop strong, beneficial habits in your day to day life, your life will evolve into something beautiful.

Some really strong habits that I have developed through my 33 years, whether intentionally or unintentionally, are related to the basic needs of all humans. The foundation on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; sleep and water.

Sleep is #1 in my life, which is sometimes very challenging working in production! Nevertheless, sleep is always what needs to be priority number 1 when you’re trying to operate at a high level. It has so many positive proven scientific benefits, and this is one of those habits that I’ve had in my brain since I was a young teenager. I attribute most of my success to my good sleeping habits.

Water is up there with the sleep. I think of it as lubrication for the brain and body, and very much a necessity for anyone trying to do as much as I am with this life, we only got one of them!

Other habits that I have formed over time that have helped me succeed include getting outside and staying active every day, having a creative outlet that you are passionate about, and lastly journaling, reading and writing.

Move your body, move your mind, eat good, drink water, and then go to sleep!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Throughout my life and career, I have always had a fondness for computers and technology. I was always the kid taking apart my parents old VCR or whatever hardware I could get my hands on to see what was going on inside. I was also always exploring software and computer technology, as we had a family computer in the living room. For example, this punk rock band I was a part of in Middle School needed CD covers designed and printed for our new recording. No one else even knew where to start with this, and I figured out how to print designs onto a CD cover that we could then stick to a burned CD, and put in cases with booklets that I also designed a printed. I jumped on that opportunity without hesitation!

Going to Drake University and getting a B.A. from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, I learned to tell stories with these technologies that were emerging at the time. These were smaller form digital cameras that did not require tapes or a ton of gear. All you needed to tell a story was an SD card and a DSLR, so I was out and about town shooting videos and telling visual stories. This got me familiar with editing software’s and camera equipment.

As we move through time into Colorado, I still have a strong love for technologies, computers and broadcast journalism. I was moving towards the area of Live Events which is similar to broadcast and productions, so I assimilated pretty easily into the culture. All I really needed to do was pick a specialty and dive in to learning everything and anything I could, and you can bet your butt I picked the life of a Video Engineer! It made sense from everything I did in my life up until this point. I knew about videos, cameras, projectors and how they connect to display devices and computers, I just needed to learn the industry and workflows to be the best I could be.

I did learn some hard lessons as we all learn moving through life, but they have not torn me down completely, and I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t make those mistakes loading trucks, setting up a piece of gear incorrectly, or saying the wrong thing to a client. Now I take pride in having the experience of knowing what and what not to do in certain scenarios, and how to effectively work in this AV Live Events space!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First we would spend a day or two acclimating! I get hit with altitude sickness pretty bad sometimes, and I know how bad it can be. We would stay in Denver, seeing some local street art and galleries around RiNo, and checking out the Denver Central Market, Milk Market, Larimer Square, South Broadway. and visiting places to eat like Black Shirt Brewing (really good pizza and vibes), Machete, Adelitas, the Dive Inn (I love a good dive bar). We would stick to walkable areas and just bop around because there is a lot of good places to eat and drink in Denver and the surrounding areas.

We would also most likely travel out to Golden, Boulder, Morrison, Evergreen, Kitteridge during those first few days. Exploring the front range and what these mountain towns have to offer is what makes Denver an amazing place to be.

Since I live in the woods of Morrison, we love Mac Nation Cafe, Amano Plant Cafe, Sa Bella, and all the other local restaurants in the foothills.

After acclimation, we would go to the top. Loveland pass, Berthoud pass, Guanella Pass Leadville, anywhere into the mountains that is within 2 hours or so! I’m a big hiker and explorer so we would most likely find a trail, explore, and then end at a brewery or cafe that serves food before visiting a local dispensary, heading home and calling it a night around a campfire or spooky movie.

At the end of the trip I would take this guest out to see a play in the performing arts center. That space is beautiful, and there are so many theatres. Either that, or a comedy show to wrap up the trip and land on a good note.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have to give shoutouts to my family, friends and teammates, who always supported my through my athletic journey back in the Midwest. That journey and support got me working harder in school and athletics, which got me into an amazing University, which then fueled my passion down the path that I walk today.

In Colorado, I have to shoutout the AV community! We have such a great collective of technicians and gig workers here in Colorado. Everyone is so helpful and positive, always trying to lift each other up. Everyone always wants the best for one another, and I think that is amazing. Shoutout to the great folks at AVFX, Johnny at Button Pusher Media, the Encompass Event Group guys, John with Spot On Sound Productions, and so many more people and organizations!

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Image Credits
Creative Technical Media Services