ELITE FOCUS: Canton man thriving at one of coolest jobs in Detroit
Chad Schwartzenberger follows Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff out of the tunnel while shooting for NFL Films.
On any given Sunday, Chad Schwartzenberger shares NFL sidelines with many of the greatest athletes in the world.
The Canton man is a cinematographer for NFL Films — the undisputed gold-standard production company for sports cinematography.
If that’s not impressive enough, Schwartzenberger, an independent contractor, creates compelling content viewed by millions of people for ESPN, Fox Sports and multiple metro-Detroit media outlets.
In the past few weeks alone, the Chelsea, Mich. native has visited Pittsburgh to shoot video and film for an HBO “Hard Knocks” segment featuring the Steelers, and produced an interview with Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell for ESPN.
Last but not least, he shoots video for his daughter Cali’s Salem soccer team.
Recipe for success
The recipe for Schwartzenberger’s success is multi-layered. His 20-plus years of experience have sharpened his cinematography skills and instincts to an elite level.
Just as importantly, Schwartzenberger — similar to the athletes he covers — attacks every assignment with equal ferocity.
“Whether I’m shooting one of my daughter’s soccer games or a Detroit Lions game for NFL Films, I treat it like it’s the Super Bowl,” Schwartzenberger acknowledged.
“Once the game starts, I’m locked in.”
Schwartzenberger’s journey to almost every sports videographer’s dream job has been paved with sweat equity, perseverance and sacrifice.
It all started at MSU
He got his first break while a student at Michigan State University.
A cinematography internship with WLNS-TV Channel 6 in Lansing helped him advance his craft, as he shot everything from high school football games to MSU basketball games.
“I started out at Channel 6 covering overnight news, like car accidents and things like that,” Schwartzenberger said. “After a while, I told them it was too difficult doing the overnight coverage and being a college student at the same time.”
Channel 6 decision-makers liked Schwartzenberger’s work so much, they created a sports videographer position for him — with more accommodating hours.
Fred Heumann, the sports director at Channel 6 and a former WXYZ sports reporter/anchor, admired Schwartzenberger’s work and connected him with executives at Fox Sports Detroit, which hired him to shoot a variety of Michigan sporting events and feature stories.
Schwartzenberger’s initial career plans focused on an in-front-of-the-camera role.
He pivoted following a discussion with former Channel 6 colleague Lisa Byington, who ascended to secure a position as the current play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Lisa and I were discussing my on-air ambitions and she told me, ‘Yeah, I started in Alpena’,” Schwartzenberger explained.
“I thought to myself, ‘I am not moving to a small town like Alpena’,” he said, chuckling.
The decision to adjust his focus to behind-the-camera work turned out to be golden.
After working for Channel 6 and Fox Sports Detroit for a stretch, Schwartzenberger’s workload in Detroit grew quickly, fueling he and wife Julia’s decision to relocate to Ypsilanti in 2006.
They moved to Canton in 2012.
In 2010, Schwartzenberger learned from a FSD colleague of a potential opportunity with NFL Films.
“He told me a friend of his had just landed a job with NFL Films,” Schwartzenberger reflected. “I called my colleague’s friend and he gave me the email for NFL Films’ (Executive in Charge of Cinematography) Hank McElwee.”
Patience is a virtue
Schwartzenberger was temporarily disheartened when McElwee did not reply to multiple emails.
“Finally, one week I emailed him every day and he got back to me,” Schwartzenberger said. “He said send me some tape of your work in the mail and we’ll look it over.”
McElwee loved the tape of Schwartzenberger, who was ultimately invited to the company’s Mount Laurel, New Jersey headquarters in 2011.
“I did a couple tryouts and they said they loved my stuff,” he said. “Hank told me they just needed to find an opportunity for me.”
One night in 2013 while eating dinner with his family, Schwartzenberger received a call from someone with a New Jersey address.
“I excused myself from dinner, stepped away from the table and answered the phone,” Schwartzenberger recalled. “It was Hank. He said, ‘Hey, our you available to shoot the Dallas-Detroit game Sunday?’ I told him, ‘Yes, for sure’.
“The second I hung up the phone, I screamed, ‘YES!'”
Schwartzenberger has worked just about every NFL Sunday since for NFL Films — including the 2014 Super Bowl, which was a first for an NFL Films rookie.
A free-lance cinematographer for Ilitch Holdings, Schwartzenberger shot a commercial that featured Detroit Lions star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, whom he had befriended while following around St. Brown for a Netflix show called “Receiver”.
“After the shoot, Amon-Ra was getting into his Tesla Cybertruck and said, ‘Hop in. I’ll take you for a ride,'” Schwartzenberger said. “I’ve gotten to know quite a few big-name athletes like Amon-Ra. To me, they’re just normal people who do extraordinary things. They like to be treated like everybody else.”
Finely-tuned skills
The instincts Schwartzenberger has developed while shooting countless NFL games over the years have gone a long way toward self-preservation.
“I’ve learned when to move back when a play is heading toward me so I don’t get rolled up,” he said. “Knock on wood, but the only time I’ve come close to being injured was when a 350-pound linebacker stepped on my foot.”
A small price to pay, Schwartzenberger admits, when you have one of the coolest jobs around.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
