Culture

When Gaming and Video Editing Collide

Meet Mike!

Day Job: Lead Video Editor

Once the kids are in bed: Streaming on Twitch and making some extra cash!

Mike has been with Cross & Crown for (going on) four years now and to be honest, it’s hard to remember what life around here was like before him! Not only is he skilled with a camera and editing software, but he’s also an excellent human who is easy to talk to and usually gets you laughing by the end of a conversation.

In between shoots and editing sessions, there’s a lot of shooting the breeze around the office – or as we like to call them, “creative breaks.” In one of those breaks, we found out that Mike is a big gamer—and it literally pays off. It felt a little bit like learning you were in a room with a celebrity and you didn’t know it.

Fast forward a few years and we were sitting around a conference brainstorming ways to give our audience a chance to get to know the members of our creative team. We value our team so highly and love getting to tell their stories.  The idea to highlight our team members’ hobbies and how they interact and impact their work-life came up, and naturally, Mike was top of mind to interview! Join us for a few moments as we pick his brain and learn more about him!

Okay first of all, for those of us who don’t know, what is Twitch?

Twitch is a streaming platform to watch people live doing things like playing games, building things, just chatting, etc.

How did you get started on Twitch?

I got started on Twitch by watching it when my friends recommended I watch a few really entertaining streamers. When I saw the communities they had built on the platform, I knew I wanted to make something similar.

My main game is Rocket League; a vehicular soccer game. What makes this game so appealing is the skill ceiling. No matter who you are, it takes time to get good at this game because no other big name games are like it. My goal when streaming Rocket league is to entertain, get better at the game, but also talk to those that attend the stream. Chat interaction is a very big part of what I do. I am starting to get into stream coaching/tips to help others with their streams so I get those questions while I am playing as well. 

What do you love about video games/streaming?

Community is 100% my favorite thing about streaming and games. Having the opportunity to help others doing something I love is a feeling I can’t describe.

How quickly did your streaming become popular enough to be sponsored? (and what did that process of growth look like?)

As of this past month, I have been on Twitch for 2 years. For the first few months of streaming, I didn’t see much growth at all. I didn’t know the best ways to grow and didn’t really have anyone to guide me. Learned from trial and error. In September of last year, I become sponsored by GFUEL, and energy drink company. I don’t think the sponsor necessarily came from Twitch popularity but from my sense of community on places like Twitter and Discord. Companies want to know that the brand will be represented well.

What do those sponsorships look like for you?

The sponsorship gives me opportunity to connect with other content creators that are sponsored and I also get a discount code to share with others for a discount on the product. I also have the opportunity soon to stream directly on their Twitch channel.

Do video games/streaming have a hand in how you approach video editing at all? If so, how?

The editing I do for my Twitch clips that I post on social media help me become inspired to get creative and helps me practice techniques that I can use at Cross & Crown.