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Cinematographer and production whiz tells TheJ.ca about his journeys, from Olympic Games to getting a Toronto Raptors championship ring
- 03 December 2020
- 12:45 am
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- 03 December 2020
- 12:45 am
Daniel Kasman, a self-described “nice Jewish boy from Thornhill”, has forged an award winning career in broadcasting (Photo: Supplied)
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Daniel Kasman, a self-described “nice Jewish boy from Thornhill” gave TheJ.ca an exclusive interview about his journey to the Olympic Games and his experience winning an Emmy. This fun-loving and comical father of two has had a very interesting and entertaining career path which has led to experiences that he will remember for a lifetime.
Graduating from Ryerson University in the Radio and Television Arts program in 2008, Kasman began his career working for CBC Sports, beginning an internship at the very end of his undergraduate program and working part-time after graduating. He was actually hired just four hours after his last official exam as a Production Assistant. Danny started this first job moving an 8500 Beta tape library at the CBC, not a very fun task. However, he made the best of the opportunity by getting to know his coworkers and letting his colleagues get to know him. If you ever get a chance to speak to Danny, you will know why this led to many more opportunities for him!
As a big sports and television fan, CBC Sports was an incredible place to work, including Blue Jays baseball, World Figure Skating, Hockey Night in Canada, and the Beijing Olympics. For the 2008 Olympic Games, he worked from Toronto as a Shot-lister and his job was to provide a comprehensive shot list that gave the production team a sense of direction on what and how to edit footage for the games
As a freelancer, moving around was part of the game. At Dome Productions, he gained experience setting up big events like Leafs and Raptors games as well as the 100th Grey Cup in 2012.
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Kasman found himself as part of the local crew as a Production Assistant in the Vancouver Olympics for Primetime NBC in 2010 covering figure skating and short track speed skating. This ended up being the first of four Olympic Games he worked on-site and each has had a unique atmosphere, group of people, and its own adventure.
He told me that “not many Canadians have made the transition to NBC without knowing someone on the inside”. He did a little bit of everything in this job, “Getting footage, helping cameras, statistics, research. It was a lot!”
Kasman shared some of his experiences that he will never forget.
“One of the first amazing experiences I had was working Figure Skating in Vancouver and Evan Lysacek (USA) was waiting to hear his score while Russian figure skater Yevgeny Plushenko skated. Lysacek edged Plushenko out by 1.31 points to win the Olympic gold medal, becoming the first American man to win it in 22 years. I was assisting camera, standing in front of him when he found out he won. It was pretty phenomenal being in that moment.”
He also was working as a Production Assistant during the dramatic moment when Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette skated only days after her mother had passed away suddenly from a heart attack. He said, “You could hear a pin drop in the stadium”.
How did he ensure he continued his work with the Olympics? “The trick is to be really likeable! You work with such a small group of people, if they meld together well and you’ve got a good crew, you’ve got a good product.”
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In between the Olympic Games, Kasman was balancing his life between the part-time work with TSN, CTV, and freelance gigs. He worked at the NHL Network as a scheduler and part-job with major TV channels CTV and TSN as a studio camera operator. In 2012, Kasman returned to the Olympic scene in London with the Olympic Broadcast Services, working as a Logger.
Kasman took an opportunity to complete a Masters of Media Production at his old stomping grounds, Ryerson University in 2015. “One of the major factors was that I would never get the chance to do it again. My wife and I wanted to start a family soon and I figured this was my only chance to do the Masters program.”
His hard work at the Rio Olympics in 2016 paid off for Danny Kasman, pictured with his Emmy in recognition of his part of the award-winning NBC technical team. (Photo: Supplied)
Just his luck, the Blue Jays did rather well that 2015 season (it was the year of the Bautista bat flip) and he was working on the games while doing his Masters. Kasman was managing 70 hours with the Blue Jays and 16 hours of classes, homework assignments, commuting to and from work/school, not to mention his wife, family, and countless other social obligations.
He finished his masters just in time to go to the Rio Olympics in 2016 as a Camera Operator for NBC’s crew on Tennis and Water Polo. Eighteen hour days were “a hard grind with a good crew.” A few months later Kasman found out that he had won an Emmy as an Electronic Camera Person for Outstanding Technical Team Remote with NBC for the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, which he called “unbelievable”.
He had previously worked on shows that won Gemini awards and Canadian Screen Awards, but this was the first time he was able to get a trophy with his name on it. “It was a shock, I found out that I had won the Emmy but didn’t tell anyone until contacted by the Academy to let me know that it was real. A few months later it arrived.”
The Outstanding Technical Team Remote includes a team of about 150 people. He continued his work with the Olympics, going to PyeongChang in 2018 with NBC. Here he worked as a Camera Operator again, working opening and closing ceremonies, skiing events, and the medals plaza. “It was nuts”, Kasman said, “-40 degree weather at night plus windchill”.
Aside from his Olympic gigs, he found work at CTV, shooting the Marilyn Dennis show, CP24, and The Social. He also began at a new company called Media Pro, doing everything from Canadian Premier League soccer to hospital angioplasties, “which was phenomenally interesting, by the way”. Kasman also worked on Raptors 905, Raptors Playoffs with MLSE, and ended up getting a Raptors Championship ring for his work!
Broadcasting national and international athletic events has given Danny Kasman the chance to rub shoulders with the biggest sports legends, such as Wayne Gretzky (Photo: Supplied)
Kasman produced his own projects alongside his camera work with Kasman Media and at the Daily Planet as a Director of Photography. Although only working there a handful of times a month, Danny recalls, “Working as a DOP, you were in the action and had to make snap decisions and work like I’ve never worked before.” He had to ensure lighting, shooting, producing and mics were good to go for the entire production. “A lot of stress on one person, but I got the hang of it quickly” he said.
Before COVID-19 hit, Kasman had plans to work the next set of Olympic Games in Tokyo. When COVID-19 started locking down the world, Team Canada was one of the first nations to say they were not attending the games. “I was one of only a handful of Canadians who was still going! That is until the games were cancelled and NBC sent out our letters of cancellation three days later.” He said he is still on the roster for when they return. He went to Prince Edward Island in August to cover the Canadian Premier League season. Strict restrictions meant the entire crew was in a bubble for the entire six weeks. No touring, dining, or socially distanced visits with friends.
Kasman is currently working as a Technical Producer at Channel Zero (CHCH). He also works with Comedies Never Win Inc, a company he co-founded with a close friend back in 2016. They’ve produced lots of content such as “America Virus” to the tune of American Woman and their very own “Take Off That Mask (In Your Car)”.
Daniel is father to two young boys, Jake (2 and a half years) and Ben (almost one month), and is married to Jenna, a very patient and supportive wife! Learn more about him and see some of his featured work by checking out his LinkedIn profile. Feel free to reach out to him, you will be glad you met him.
Lisa Charow-Jay is the founder of Tech Tutoring With Lisa, a training company helping individuals and businesses brush up on their tech skills to increase computer efficiency.
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Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
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