Brotherhood formed in college continues for JDM grads as camera operators covering Ohio sports
After working together as camera operators for Ashland University games and now the past several years at Ohio sporting events, Trae Coopwood, Erich Metze and Zach Portner have formed a brotherly bond.
“I’m like the annoying older brother they can’t get rid of,” said a laughing Metze, who is in his 40s while Coopwood and Portner are in their 20s.
Joking is common with these “brothers,” whose relationship started in the AU classrooms almost 10 years ago taking Journalism and Digital Media (JDM) courses together.
“I had to be in charge of waking Trae up in class,” Metze said jokingly.
Then like a proud older brother, Metze added: “Trae would work a full-time job at night and then came to school and was on the wrestling team.”
Still full of pride, Metze said their fellow camera operators at Cleveland Browns, Cavs and Guardians games all love Trae.
“It’s his magic behind the camera,” Metze said. “When I work games with him, I like to look up and see if they use his shots for replays and I’m like ‘Wow, why can’t I be that good?’ ”
“Trae gets a lot of camera work,” Portner added proudly.
While being a camera operator is the prized duty, other responsibilities, such as being a runner for a camera operator, can be just as fun because, as Metze puts it, “you’re getting to be on the field standing next to all of the players.”
This past Cavs’ season, Metze even trained for a new responsibility – a robo-camera.
“It’s like a video game,” Metze said. “You sit in this small room with a joystick. The robo-cam is on the shot clock. It’s definitely a new experience. I tell Trae and Zach once I learn it, I will teach them how to run it.”
Coopwood, Metze and Portner look out for each other
Looking out for each other – that’s what these “brothers” do for each other.
“I sometimes try to do some dumb things and Trae and Zach will stop me,” said a thankful Metze.
“We reach out to each other if we need someone to fill in for us,” Coopwood said. “And we teach each other about things in life.
“Once when I was driving with Erich, he told me I need to put windshield washer fluid in my car,” Coopwood added with a laugh about one of the “funny” life lessons he learned from Metze, who admitted that he has no problem taking advice from Coopwood and Portner even though they are younger.
Like many brothers, the trio has created some good memories over the years. One of those was working the NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland in 2022. While they didn’t do any camera work for that event, they did behind-the-scenes jobs for 10 days.
“We got to use the bathroom with 2 Chainz,” Metze remembered fondly about meeting the rapper. “Trae was over washing his hands talking with him.”
“He was having trouble with the soap dispenser,” Coopwood added with a laugh.
“Then we all walk out and there was Bill Murray,” Metze said. “There were celebrities everywhere.”
They spend long hours together at both sports and non-sports events
As with all brothers, Coopwood, Metze and Portner can get on each other’s nerves sometimes, especially when they are around each other for 10 or 12 hours a day at an event (“Sometimes longer,” Porter said) – or in a long car ride without windshield washer fluid.
“There are times Trae and I are in the car together for long stretches and I think Trae must be getting tired of me yelling at other drivers,” Metze said with a laugh. “He’s probably thinking ‘Get me out of this car!’ ”
One long event they all covered was on Fourth of July in 2021 at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that included a real set of brothers performing – the Jonas Brothers.
These AU Brothers have covered a number of other non-sports events, including a presidential debate, live streams at the Cleveland Zoo for Netflix and even their own college graduation – well, only Metze did that.
“I worked the commencement,” said Metze, who helped video his spring 2019 graduation that included Coopwood. “I was like, ‘I would rather make some money.’ ”
Coopwood also wanted to make money that day, too, and cover a NASCAR event instead, but his mother wanted him to walk at his commencement, so he walked.
Portner, who graduated in spring 2018, will be doing a different kind of walking in October when he walks down the aisle to get married.
“I’m still waiting on my invitation,” Coopwood said jokingly with a big smile at Portner.
“I have joked with him to not invite me,” Metze said, then looking at Portner added with a big laugh: “I bless your wedding and I hope everything with it is great, but I don’t want to have to wear a suit.”
Portner’s fiancée works as a receptionist at AU, where Portner, Metze and Coopwood agree they learned a lot about working on a camera crew and gained valuable hands-on experience.
Connections from Ashland University helped them break into the business
Having one of the co-owners of S&S Video Productions, John Skrada, as a JDM instructor also helped them greatly. S&S Video Productions covers AU sports and is also co-owned by Dan Sevic, director of Cavs basketball for Bally Sports, which also does Guardians games and other Ohio sports.
Through their connections with S (Skrada) & S (Sevic) and other JDM faculty members, Coopwood, Metze and Portner were able to not only work AU games as students, but also some Cavs, Guardians and other Ohio sports games, as well as network with professionals in the business.
Still, it wasn’t easy for them to break into the business.
Because they didn’t receive as much work when they started out as they do now, they all had to have other part-time jobs for a few years after leaving AU.
They all also had other plans before discovering camera work at Ashland.
Coopwood came to AU to wrestle and was undecided on a major until he gave JDM a try and fell in love with the Digital Media part of JDM, but not as much with the Journalism part.
Portner was torn between computer science and JDM, so he double majored. He quickly realized, though, that he didn’t want to do all the math involved with computer science and JDM was the best route for him.
Metze worked several years as a STNA and even started at AU in the nursing program. But, after taking an elective in the JDM Department (audio visual aesthetics), he decided to change majors and make a career change.
Coopwood, Portner and Metze are all thankful their different paths brought them together at AU and led to their brotherhood, which doesn’t appear will end anytime soon with all their professional success in the same career and all the respect they have for each other.
“We’re forced to be a family now,” Metze said jokingly. Then in a serious tone added: “It really is a family thing.”