Live from Final Four: Michigan State’s Spartan Vision Follows Team’s Surprise Run

College basketball fans should never be surprised when a Tom Izzo coached team makes an impressive showing in March, so its little surprise that Spartan Vision, the video production group inside the Michigan State Athletic Department is always prepared to tell the stories of another successful men’s hoops season.

Jacob Huber, Video Producer for Spartan Vision, shot footage during a team pep rally on Friday night in the Indiana Convention Center.

This weekend in Indianapolis, Jacob Huber, Video Producer of Spartan Vision for Michigan State Athletics and his colleagues Nick Baker and Justin Garant were on hand to capture all of the news and behind-the-scenes stories of the Spartans trip to the Final Four.

The insider access that comes with being a part of the Michigan State athletic department certain affords unique opportunities for storytelling. However, Huber has been paying his dues and building relationships with the program for more than 13 years, and its paying off this weekend.

“The relationships are no doubt invaluable,” says Huber. “You have to have that trust in order for you to be in there and for them to let you do what you do. They are just used to seeing me around.”

Over the past handful of years, those relationships have actually blossomed into a full All-Access Show. A special Final Four episode is scheduled to air on April 14.

Huber believes one of the secrets to gaining future access as a video producer, one has to take advantage of any access her or she is granted, even if it doesn’t necessarily turn into a useful video product.

“Anytime we are with the team on the road, I am in team meetings and at practices,” says Huber. “From a producing video standpoint, there’s a lot of times you are in those meetings and you aren’t doing anything, but its so valuable because you are getting to know people and they are used to seeing you around and they expect to see you.”

The Michigan State video team is rolling with a Sony camera arsenal that includes the Alpha a7S Mirrorless Digital Camera, the NEX-FS700R Super 35 Camcorder, and the NEX-EA50UH Camcorder.

“We’ve really gotten into a flow with some of the equipment that we really like,” says Huber. “That’s key for us. It works well for us and we work well on tight turnarounds. At an event like this you’ve really got to get stuff out quick. So its all about convenience and flexibility.”

The team is editing its pieces on Adobe Premier and posting directly to Michigan State’s athletics website. They are also sharing finished video’s with the athletic department’s sports information directors and social media group for sharing across the program’s various platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more.