Macathon: 24 hours of student startups at Macalester College

Macathon is Macalester College's annual overnight competition where student teams build a startup pitch from nothing in twenty-four hours. The college asked for a story video that captured the whole arc, and the only way to do that honestly is to be there for most of it.

I shot handheld, mostly available light, following three teams from their first awkward brainstorm to the final presentations. The trick on an event like this is to find characters early and stay with them, so the finished piece has a beginning, middle and end rather than a highlight reel of people typing.

Higher-education video is a big part of my calendar. Colleges need a steady supply of short, true stories for admissions, alumni and social channels, and a single shooter who can edit is often the right size for that need. Macalester has been a terrific partner over several years of this work, from campus tours to internship spotlights.