If you've been to a Minnesota State hockey game this season, you've probably seen the hype video that played before the starters were announced.
While the final product played on the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center video board only lasted about a minute, more than 100 hours of work went into creating that staple of the gameday experience.
The Bethany Lutheran students who created the video were recognized for their creativity and hard work. Ben Stelter, the project's director and producer, received a Best of Festival award from the Broadcast Education Association as the video was chosen from a selection of 1,885 entries.
Stelter worked on the project with, among others, director of photography Colin Neville and first assistant camera Aaron Kabangele.
Stelter and Neville were in Las Vegas earlier this week, where they accepted their award at the annual BEA festival.
There was no template, there was no shape for how to get the look we wanted, Stelter said. Thanks to that and executing it, we were able to really have a unique set, for a unique video.
Stelter estimates that he spent 60 to 70 hours preparing, ultimately culminating in an eight-hour shooting day. After the shooting there was 15 to 20 hours of editing work. That doesn't include the countless hours Neville, Kabangele and others put into the project.
The most time-consuming part of the production was the design and construction of the illuminated cage that can be seen in several shots. Several players are filmed standing or posing in the cage, while the LED lights flicker. Stelter explained that all the cage lights were linked to different switches, and people on set made the switches flicker at different rates to give the desired effect.
As director of photography, Neville played a major role in lighting. The cage provided some light, but it wouldn't be enough.
We lit the cage ourselves, but we also needed some artificial lighting there to make the faces look nice and get the colors we want, Neville said. It was a challenge to get (the lights) to hit the subject without it being in the frame.
Making the cage was not easy. After using some image creation software to get a concept, there was some trial and error involved in the building process.
I ended up using a lot of cheap materials from Home Depot, Stelter said with a laugh. It was definitely a (do it yourself) project with some failures along the way, but the results were amazing.
It was rewarding to see the video play out during games, and Stelter and Neville were both proud of the project. However, getting the recognition with the award made it even more special.
It really touched us when it played at the event, Neville said. Then we step outside and like, the entire Vegas skyline is before us. We feel like the work has really paid off.
Stelter and Neville study media arts at Bethany Lutheran, which has produced and broadcast MSU hockey since 2001. Both hope to make a career in video production. Stelter completed his studies in December, while Neville will graduate next month.
Neville moves to Thailand, where he will spend the next two years making documentaries for a missionary organization. After joining Martin Luther's school to become a teacher, Marcel transferred to Bethany to continue working in video.
He is glad he made the change.
I'm 1000% sure this is what I wanted to do, Marcel said. The job I will be doing in Thailand in August feels like my exact dream job.
For Stelter, a Mankato native and Immanuel Lutheran graduate, the plan is to continue playing sports as he currently has his own company, Sedulo Media. Stelter started doing video work for MSU athletics when he was in high school, and his biggest project is currently in the works.
Stelter spent the winter following the MSU men's basketball team and collected footage for a documentary titled Be GrEAT about MSU All-American guard Malik Willingham. He has been working with Willingham on the project for almost a year.
The feature film features footage of Willingham at home, including the park in Waseca where he and his brother Kyreese honed their skills. It will also be filled with exclusive MSU content from last season, which culminated in the Mavericks winning their first national championship.
Stelter estimated the film would be finished sometime later this summer.
It is truly the most ambitious project I have ever been a part of, Stelter said. It will last 40 minutes to an hour… it's such a great project to be a part of.
Follow Kevin Dudley on Twitter @Dudley7Kevin
