Senior Sloan Steimel films the TJ homecoming football game at All City Stadium for one of his incredible hype videos. photo by @avnd.pov on Instagram
New hype videos created and edited by Sloan Steimel are popping up on social media to create fervor for TJ sports.
Social media has become a necessity in the world of high school sports. Whether it’s for recruiting, celebrating wins, or just posting fun content of games and stats, media can be a great way for teams to generate excitement and share results from their games. Recently, one senior at TJ has taken to Instagram, posting hype videos for the football and softball teams. These amazing videos have continued to improve and create enthusiasm for TJ sports, leaving students wondering about what goes into each video and the inspiration behind them.
Senior Sloan Steimel has made a name for himself posting TJ sports hype videos to a new Instagram account: shotsby.sloan. He has posted eight videos so far, mostly for the Spartan football team and their fantastic 10-1 start to the season. He is making more promotional videos for the football team as their season comes to a close and the state playoffs start. He has, however, started to diversify his brand, posting a softball hype video earlier this semester about the Lady Spartans’ amazing season. Steimel explained the process and what he has experienced throughout his journey, both technically and mentally, since he started the account. “Along with all the technical stuff that I’ve learned through cameras and editing, I’ve also learned that this is a career that I can pursue after high school,” Steimel shared, explaining that posting these videos has made him realize that he can continue his passion in college and even make a career out of it.
Starting this videography journey in high school allows Steimel to get a leg up on college classes and have an advantage for internships and jobs in the future. Steimel also discussed his inspiration for starting the account and making these videos. “I’ve always wanted to get into sports videography. This is something I want to do as a career, and a lot of kids in Colorado have already started doing it, so why not start now?” His Instagram account has helped him develop his longtime passion and get started in a lucrative but competitive field. He has been able to upload his videos and get a headstart into colleges and job opportunities for the future. Breaking through the threshold and getting started has been good for him and the entire TJ community who get to experience his videos.
On the technical side, Steimel described some of the techniques he’s learned and how the videos have changed. Steimel has truly grown as a videographer and editor, and as he grows, the quality of his videos and the time he puts in to make a video changes. “When I first started out, I think my first video took me like six hours,” explained Steimel. “Now, I think I could get a decent video done in around two to three hours.” As he grows technically, Steimel is able to make more and more videos and focus on other sports here at TJ as it takes him less time to make each video. “Being able to share my work with other people and seeing their reactions is amazing. Creating that emotion in them is really cool,” described Steimel. Seeing his work enjoyed by his peers and making a difference with his videos is a major part of what Steimel enjoys about the process and why he wants to continue creating videos. As Steimel improves and pursues videography into college, he will continue to see the emotion and his audience grow and the love for video making grow with it.
Both technically and personally, Steimel has grown incredibly from making sports videos. Just by posting them to Instagram and sharing them on the Spartan Edition, he has gained a following from the TJ community. Seeing how people react and the impact he can make as a sports videographer for the school is something he has always wanted to do and may pursue in the future. By making these amazing videos, he not only allows the TJ community to enjoy the detail he puts into his work, but also generates excitement for the school. As TJ grows in population, so will the love for the school and Steimel is kicking off the passion and school spirit with these incredible videos.
