Ethan Runstadler was one of the many college students who were forced to abruptly return home to Swampscott when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

However, returning home presented an opportunity to Runstadler, who was involved with the media arts programming throughout his four years as a Swampscott High School student.

Runstalder started helping Swampscott TV Coordinator and Media Arts Instructor JoE Douillette with the production of public town official meetings, as the country shifted to using Zoom and other webinar platforms to still have some semblance of being face-to-face. In 2021, he joined Douillette on a full-time basis, and today Runstalder serves as the assistant cable TV coordinator.

“I’ve really liked being part of innovating and finding new things to produce,” said Runstadler.

One of Runstadler’s main focuses throughout his time with the town and school district has been the production of Big Blue athletic events. He also helps produce events and celebrations around town as well as meetings.

Some of Runstadler’s innovation can be seen in Swampscott sports games streamed online. New on-screen graphics, equipment and camera techniques have made more sports available while also elevating the quality of broadcasts.

“It’s been a really great time helping improve production quality,” said Runstadler. “One of my favorite parts of the job is hearing from parents or grandparents that might be across the country but can still watch their grandchildren play.”

Broadcasts for games held at Blocksidge Field and the Swampscott High School gym feature a digital scoreboard that is in sync with the physical scoreboards on-site.

Behind the scenes, Runstadler said people might not imagine the physical labor it takes to air events and games that are off-site, away from the main high school campus. Runstadler spends the bulk of the day of an event carrying heavy equipment from place to place and setting up the machines.

Along with making his mark in athletics, Runstadler has also been trying to branch out. He hosts a public access program every Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m.

“It allows people to come in, see the studio and talk about what productions they are interested in seeing,” said Runstadler.

Runstadler welcomes anyone who might be interested in producing something themselves.

He said that producing local events around the community not only allows them to be viewed by a wider audience but also provides the town with archived videos of events.

“This has been my passion for ten years now,” said Runstadler. “We want to produce as many things as we can in town.”