Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

How Austin Hansen - Loyola Chicago's One-Man Video Band - Stepped Up During the Ramblers' Improbable Final Four Run

26/04/2018

How Austin Hansen - Loyola Chicago's One-Man Video Band - Stepped Up During the Ramblers' Improbable Final Four Run In his first year at the school, the video-production pro faced a wild March By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Thursday, April 26, 2018 - 2:55 pm

Print This Story

Story Highlights

It has been a month since Loyola Chicago captivated the sports world with its incredible trip to the Final Four, and Austin Hansen is still glowing (now that he has finally caught up on some sleep, that is). The Ramblers' director of video production hasn't even completed his first year on the job, and he has already experienced a lifetime of memories captured through his camera lens.

Loyola Chicago's Austin Hansen was a one-man band covering the Ramblers' run to the Final Four with outstanding video content.

Telling the story of the men's basketball team's Cinderella run was a unique and captivating challenge for the Iowa native, but he more than delivered on the sport's biggest stage, producing content that took Ramblers fans behind the scenes of the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The incredible part of it all? He did it, largely, on his own.

In fact, his role didn't even exist prior to his arrival at the university last June. Unlike his colleagues at, say, Kansas or Michigan, Hansen didn't have a team that he worked with on the Final Four in San Antonio. He did it all: shooting, editing, archiving, posting. The works.

Others who work at mid-major schools can certainly relate. So how in the world did he pull it off?

It's a game-by-game thing, says Hansen. It was such a big deal for us to even win the conference this year. This team hadn't been to the NCAA tournament for 33 years. You can never plan for something like this. Like the team, you take it game by game.

When it comes to producing content during a historic moment like this for his school, Hansen acknowledged that it can be easy to be sucked in to biting off more than you can chew. With limited resources, he says it was important to pick his battles and not to lose focus on what he's done best up to this point.

Always keep in check with your style, says Hansen. It can be tempting as you get deeper in a run like this to want to do something new and big. Stick with your style. Trust yourself. Really create what you think people would want to watch. Make it your own. You know what your fans want. At the end of the day, see what's going to make your content unique.

That was a common trend seen across the other schools [Villanova, Kansas, and Michigan] at the Final Four. With such a massive media presence, there to tell their versions of the most popular storylines, the most important thing an athletic department team can do is leverage its relationships with the team, the access they receive and use that to differentiate themselves through their content.

You don't want to leave anything out or miss anything, he says. But you have to focus yourself. I tried to take five or so things that happened in a given day and crunch it down. What I can produce that ESPN, CBS, or WGN aren't seeing? What can our fans see that's total inside access?

One of his favorite pieces was one where he told the story of the Ramblers' players seeing the Final Four court inside the Alamodome for the first time. It perfectly reflected the type of highly personal content he hoped to create.

It felt like the Hoosiers moment stepping onto a big court, he says. This wasn't any beautiful crazy footage but it was authentic reactions that no one was going to be able to see on the news or during the game broadcast.

His strategy clearly worked as the Ramblers' YouTube channel and athletic department website saw huge spikes in viewership. The team also saw its Twitter followers balloon by 20,000 in a 24-hour time frame after it qualified for the Final Four.

Typically (when the men's basketball team isn't shocking world), Hansen serves as the chief liaison for all of the Ramblers live event productions for ESPN3 and any nationally televised games. The department expects to produce somewhere near 80 live events this academic year. He also oversees all in-venue videoboard entertainment, which this year included a new set of videoboards at the school's basketball and volleyball building, Gentile Arena. He also is responsible for creating all of the video content that appears on the school's various social platforms.

During the NCAA Tournament experience, Hansen shot with a couple of different cameras. He has two Panasonic LUMIX G DMC GH4 cameras that can shoot both in 4K and at up to 96fps (frames-per-second) for slow motion. He also has a shoulder-mount Sony camera that he uses to capture traditional game highlights.

I couldn't have done it without the technology, Hansen says. I don't have cutting edge equipment or anything crazy but its just enough to get the job done. I'm super thankful for that. That made my life really smooth knowing that I could trust my equipment.

Hansen admitted that tackling a project like the Final Four by yourself can be extremely scary and overwhelming. Loyola Chicago now joins the ranks of the George Mason's and the Virginia Commonwealths as mid-majors to go this deep into the tournament. So for the next school that may experience this, Hansen would offer this advice to their video director: have a responsible plan and take your cameras with you literally everywhere you go.

Get as much footage as possible, he advises another video director in his position, I carried my camera absolutely everywhere. Even if I wasn't going to a shoot or an event, I'd bring it. I was getting shots of the Riverwalk, outside the Dome, the exterior of the Alamo. There were Rambler flags hanging outside
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2018/04/26/how-austin-hansen-loyola-chicag...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

01/07/2025

Sinclair Pays $500,000 to Settle FCC Investigations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a consent decree with Sinclair to resolve a variety of in...

01/07/2025

LPTV Broadcasters Association to Hold Webinar on Station Sales

DENVER Low-power television (LPTV) station owners looking to navigate the complexities of selling their assets in todays dynamic media environment are invited t...

01/07/2025

Netflix to Carry Live Programming from NASA+

NASA announced today that live programming from its NASA+ channel will be available on Netflix starting sometime this summer....

01/07/2025

FCC Chair Carr Hires Katie McAuliffe as Policy Advisor

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has appointed Katie McAuliffe to serve as policy advisor in his office....

01/07/2025

GFiber Demonstrates Network Slicing to Improve Home Internet Performance

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Alphabet's GFiber pay TV and broadband provider has announced that it recently worked with Nokia to demonstrate network slicing....

01/07/2025

DoubleVerify Debuts Attention Measurement for Social Media

NEW YORK, N.Y. DoubleVerify (DV) has announced the launch of DV Authentic Attention for Social. The product will first launch with Snap, the owner of Snapchat....

01/07/2025

FCC Rejects License Challenges to Three Baltimore TV Stations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations and agreed to renew the license for C...

01/07/2025

Magewell Brings NDI into Conferencing Software and More w...

Compact new converter lets users capture live NDI and streaming sources into software over a USB interface Video interface and IP workflow innovator Magewell ...

01/07/2025

Disneys Hercules Brings Mosaic Visuals To Life On Stage W...

Disguise, the award-winning tech company driving visuals for Broadway and West End hits including Redwood, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Disney's Fr...

01/07/2025

KIT Plugins release NOIZ One Vox

Vocal-processing plug-in joins NOIZ Hub series Launched in 2024, KIT Plugins' NOIZ Hub series was created with the aim of providing a range of professio...

01/07/2025

7 Day Mastering: New course from Mastering.com

New self-paced learning programme announced Mastering.com have announced the availability of a new online course designed to cover the fundamentals of maste...

01/07/2025

Heather Gray Named Vice President and General Manager of WRAL and FOX 50

Historic appointment ushers in unified leadership for WRAL-TV, New Media, and Digital Solutions RALEIGH, N.C. - 6-27-25 - Capitol Broadcasting Company is prou...

30/06/2025

Discover Weekly Turns 10: Celebrating 100 Billion+ Tracks Streamed and a Decade of Personalized Discovery

There's nothing quite like the magic of finding music that feels made just f...

30/06/2025

Spotify's Editors Pick Their Best Songs of the Year (So Far)

When it comes to new music, Spotify's team of editors across North America is always on the hunt for songs that make them feel, think, and move. They're...

30/06/2025

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel 30 June, 2025 Media releases SBS is expanding its international news offeri...

30/06/2025

The Forsytes Season 2 Commissioned by MASTERPIECE on PBS

Star Studded Ensemble Cast Are Joined by Richard Rankin as Filming Begins on the Second Season [June 12, 2025 - Boston, MA]: The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield...

30/06/2025

Artemis II Mission Advances with Successful RS-25 Engine Checkout Tests

The Artemis II Space Launch System core stage is integrated with the solid rocket boosters inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy S...

30/06/2025

WRAL-WRAZ Raleigh Names Heather Gray as VP and GM

RALEIGH, N.C. Capitol Broadcasting Co. has named Heather Gray vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV and WRAZ-TV here....

30/06/2025

VAB Awards JJ Freeman Engineering Award to Bill Sewell of WTKR/WGNT

The Virginia Association of Broadcasters has recognized Bill Sewell, Director of Engineering at WTKR & WGNT in Norfolk, Va. as the recipient of the 2025 J.J. Fr...

30/06/2025

SBE Recruits 49 New Members

The Society of Broadcast Engineers said its annual member drive resulted in the recruitment of 49 individual members....

30/06/2025

Avid Releases Full Integration of MediaCentral, Wolftech News

BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid today released its fully integrated news platform, uniting MediaCentral and Wolftech News in a single newsroom solution, and will demonst...

30/06/2025

FCC Fines Sinclair $500,000

WASHINGTON The Federal Communication's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a Consent Decree with Sinclair Broadcast Group to resolve a variety o...

30/06/2025

Qu-Bit announce the Bloom v2

Eurorack sequencer module reimagined California-based modular synth innovators Qu-Bit have announced the launch of a new module that offers a fresh new take...

30/06/2025

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert The celebration will be held on July 10 in Perugia, Italy. By Colette Greenstein June 30, 202...

30/06/2025

PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks

PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks Brie Clayton June 30, 2025 0 Comments When editing to impress, you'll need quality music, and if your studio happens t...

30/06/2025

Techivation launch T-De-Esser Pro Mk2

Improved dynamic behaviour, improved audio quality & more Techivation have announced the release of an upgraded edition of their very first premium plug-in,...

30/06/2025

German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases electromagnetic combat from the air

German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases e...

30/06/2025

Beln Cuesta and Karra Elejalde Star in 'El nio', the New Film by Mariano Barroso

Back to All News Bel n Cuesta and Karra Elejalde Star in El ni o, the New Film ...

30/06/2025

A New Dangerous Troll Awakens: Netflix Unleashes Teaser for 'Troll 2'

Back to All News A New Dangerous Troll Awakens: Netflix Unleashes Teaser for Troll 2Play Video Play Video Entertainment 30 June 2025 GlobalNorwayDenmarkSwe...

30/06/2025

The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on

The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on Don't miss unbeatable deals on Scarlett, Vocaster, and more. Whether you're an artist, a producer, or a podcaste...

30/06/2025

Yellowstone origin story 1923 starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren comes to RT One and RT Player

All 8 episodes of Season 1 of 1923 will be available on RT Player from Tuesday ...

30/06/2025

Thales 2025 Global Cloud Security Study Reveals Organizations Struggle to Secure Expanding, AI-Driven Cloud Environments

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn 52% report AI security spending is displacing tr...

30/06/2025

Thales Alenia Space to develop SOLiS very-high-throughput laser communications demonstrator

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Cannes, June 30th, 2025 - Thales Alenia Space, t...

29/06/2025

Roland introduce the Mood Pan

Handpan-inspired instrument announced Roland have announced the launch of the Mood Pan, a unique electronic hand percussion instrument that has been designe...

29/06/2025

A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse Netflix and YRF Entertainment's 'Mandala Murders' Premieres July 25

Back to All News A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curs...

28/06/2025

Press Release: NFVF Marks Youth Month by Empowering Future Creatives Through Film & TV Bursaries

Johannesburg, 27 June 2025 - As the nation commemorates Youth Month 2025, the N...

28/06/2025

FCC Chair Brendan Carr Promises Very, Very Busy, Productive Summer

WASHINGTON In a press conference following the Federal Communications Commission's May Open Meeting, Chair Brendan Carr promised the agency would move rapid...

28/06/2025

Spectrum Awards $1.1 Million in 2025 Spectrum Digital Education Grants

STAMFORD, Conn. Charter Communications has awarded $1.1 million in Spectrum Digital Education grants to 55 nonprofit organizations that work to expand access to...

28/06/2025

Sonnet Announces Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock Now Veri...

LAKE FOREST, Calif. June 19, 2025 What's New: Sonnet Technologies today announced the certification of its Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock as an Engin...

28/06/2025

IDC Names MASV One of Three Most Innovative Companies in...

MASV (massive.io), the fastest and most reliable large file transfer platform for media professionals, has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: Me...

28/06/2025

TV SKYLINE Expands Live Production Capabilities with Late...

Grass Valley today announced that TV SKYLINE GmbH, one of Europe's top mobile production providers, has expanded its camera inventory with 30 LDX 135 UHD/HD...

28/06/2025

AgileTV has been selected to develop and implement LIWEST...

AgileTV, a European leader in TV and video technology solutions, signed an agreement with Austrian telco LIWEST to develop and implement its TV service in Austr...

28/06/2025

Scaler 3.1 update from Scaler Music

Music theory plug-in updated Three months on from the release of the latest version of their renowned music theory plug in, Scaler Music have launched an up...

28/06/2025

The 48th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K

The 48th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Brie Clayton June 27, 2025 0 Comments Filmmaker Cameron Mackey relied on Bl...

28/06/2025

Social, Streaming Don't Compete, They Compliment

Social, Streaming Don't Compete, They Compliment Andy Marken June 27, 2025 0 Comments I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spir...

28/06/2025

Blackmagic Design Captures Filipino Rock Band Drama Singtala

Blackmagic Design Captures Filipino Rock Band Drama Singtala Brie Clayton June 27, 2025 0 Comments Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K and DaVinci Resolve St...

28/06/2025

Enhance Videos Faster with Aiarty Video Enhancer - Offline, Sharp, and Natural

Enhance Videos Faster with Aiarty Video Enhancer - Offline, Sharp, and Natural Brie Clayton June 27, 2025 0 Comments If you've used AI video tools...

27/06/2025

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Eva Victor, the Writer-Director Behind Sorry, Baby

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...