SCOM Alumnus J. Marty Dormany Shares the Path to his Emmy Wins

J. Marty Dormany earned two Sports Emmys in 2025 as a part of the NBC team’s work in Outstanding Graphic Design in Event at the Paris Olympics and another in Outstanding Technical Team in Studio, also for his work at the Paris Olympics.

“I was sitting there that night wondering how could we possibly lose this one, and then we won and I just started crying… it was really a rewarding moment,” Dormany said.

Dormany received a BA in Media Production in 1993 at Florida State University (FSU) and was highly invested in television production and graphics. His passions for television and graphics extended throughout his career to one of his most prominent career positions, being a Director of Freelance Relations with Chyron Corporation. Chyron was one of the first and most prominent graphics companies for television, where Dormany developed a name for himself as the face of the company’s product line. After being laid off from the corporation, Marty only spent a weekend unemployed as he became an “unwilling” entrepreneur.

As a known figure in the industry, clients gravitated towards Dormany for freelance work. After having a conversation with a friend, he took his severance and in October of 2012 started his own company, the Academy of Lower Thirds, to handle larger scale jobs.

However, as his business found success his position in the company shifted to taking on a managerial role out of necessity for the growth of clientele.

Every project that Dormany pursues usually runs through his company, however, every other year, Marty takes a month off from his role at The Academy of Lower Thirds to become a freelancer for NBC working on the Olympics.

“People don’t appreciate how much is put into producing a show as large as the Olympics… the scope of it is massive,” Dormany said.

The creative process encompasses around 3,000 people who oversee work on the Olympics. There are multiple teams that make the graphics and ensure these graphics have their time on air. Dormany emphasized how teams collaborate and make sure to check on each other’s work.

“It feels cooperative because every group performs an absolutely necessary function that the others don’t. Without artists there’s no look, without integrators that look doesn’t work, without operators that look doesn’t ever make air. They’re all equally valuable,” Dormany said.

Dormany’s two Emmy awards are a repeat of his 2022 and 2023 success, winning the same category awards with NBC’s respective teams.

At FSU, Dormany learned both how to become a storyteller and how to engage an audience.

“I was fortunate to have some amazing professors with a lot of real-world experience. They taught me not only storytelling and technology but how to learn and how to adapt to changes,” Dormany said.

Dormany also discussed the importance of gaining experience through internships. “I’m still friends with the person for whom I interned in my last semester. She helped me write my first résumé and is a fellow Florida State alum, still based in Tallahassee and is incredibly accomplished,” Dormany said.

Dormany still implements these storytelling skills in his company, especially when supporting sports teams in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). For the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dormany ’s company developed software to gain a more in-depth understanding of the data that is collected through chips that are placed on jerseys and pucks. This data, which is utilized for storytelling elements and can be sponsored, is now being utilized by six additional hockey teams.

“Part of the storytelling for me is, ‘Can somebody in a bar who has the audio turned down look at what’s happening on-screen and get the gist of what’s happening based on my graphics?’” Dormany said.

From turning a layoff into an opportunity and winning Emmy awards, Dormany’s success represents the significance of storytelling.