Paul Schneider learned how to manage a media team at Ohio University and WOUB

When Paul Schneider went on a tour of Ohio University and saw the TV studios at WOUB Public Media, he knew he was going to college in Athens.

“I was really impressed,” said Schneider. “It cemented my desire to go to Ohio University. And then as soon as I got on campus, I signed up to be involved at WOUB.”

Schneider, who grew up in Youngstown and Pittsburgh, was excited to study video production at a place that had a communications program with such a great reputation and work at a professional TV and radio station where he could gain hands-on experience.

“I started working at WOUB in Telecine, which was the process of transferring film into video, and then worked my way up,” said Schneider. “I worked at the station all four years of my college career. I became a director and was the assistant operations manager, where I was in charge of scheduling the students for different positions and making sure the crew was set for all of WOUB’s productions.”

When Schneider graduated in 1986, he was offered a video tech position at Cranston/Csuri Productions, in Columbus. Cranston/Csuri was one of the first 3D animation companies.

“I lucked out. I got to work with top animators and designers,” said Schneider. “I was working on national TV spots right after I got out of school.”

After a little over a year, Cranston/Csuri closed. But having the company’s name on his resume helped Schneider to get a job at another animation company. This one was based in New York City.

“I accepted a producer job at Telezign,” said Schneider. “It was so exciting to be working in New York City.”

Schneider’s career in New York involved working for seven years at Telezign. He also worked for a visual effects and animation house called Post Perfect. Schneider was an executive producer there. Then he got into freelance work where he did things like manage the in-house production group for BMW North America and work as a Post Production Supervisor for Viacom on numerous MTV series. The vast experience Schneider gained as a freelancer prepared him for the position he has today - Executive Producer at SimpleCloud.

“When COVID hit, the industry had to transition to remote work. We had to take everything we were doing in our edit facilities and work from home,” said Schneider. “SimpleCloud is a company that helps media teams transition from their on-site edit facilities to the cloud, so they can work remotely.”

Schneider says the skills he gained working at WOUB as a student helped get him where he is today.

“I learned all the basics of organizing and managing people, teams and crew at WOUB. I really got a great background. Any producer has to be able to organize and manage people. I learned that I had to have a plan B, C and D because you never know what’s going to happen,” said Schneider with a laugh. “I also made lifelong friends and industry connections at WOUB. It was such an important experience.”