Lights, camera, action at Schwan's USA CUP

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

There's always something new at Schwan's USA CUP, presented by PUMA. This year one of our big new things is "Kick TV," a 3-6 minute journal of the sights and sounds, people and stories of the tournament. A new show is produced every day, so all the stories are, as we say in the broadcasting business, breaking news.

Right: Mike Woodley, Kick TV host, interviews a team from Calgary, Canada. Keep your eyes open for the Kick TV crew; you might be a star!

We're really excited about this project because we know that many of our most-interested fans are not here at the tournament -- family and friends back home all over the world. Now they can fire up their computers and get a feeling of the color, diversity and activities of Schwan's USA CUP, from anywhere. It's also a great way for everyone here on site to learn more about the tournament, and maybe, get on camera themselves. We're only three days into the project, but our camera crew is getting recognized more every day when they set up their shots.

Left: Tara Durheim and Taylor Kruse set up a Kick TV shoot in the PUMA Lounge.

Our producers, Tara Durheim and Taylor Kruse, have scheduled stories for the full ten-day run of the show, but we're also adding new story ideas on the fly. About a day ahead, Tara, our main writer, gets working on scripts. Our on-camera host, Mike Woodley, is a Twin Cities radio and voice-over veteran, so he doesn't need every word written out perfectly. Tara's scripts are more like "talking points" for Mike to cover. He's a pro, so letting him ad lib a bit definitely makes the show better.

Right: Tara and Mike go over the script for a stand-up. This day they're shooting on the roof of the Schwan Super Rink.

Mike usually spends 1-2 hours each day at the tournament filming his Kick TV stand-ups and interviews, and we move him around to different locations on the campus. Filming all the footage we need without Mike takes probably another 2-4 hours. Then Taylor and Tara hit the editing room. Anyone who's done any film production, even some short home movies, knows this is where the real work is done. We use software called Final Cut, and it's working great for us, but editing images and sound for a five-minute show has kept us here until close to midnight every night. My guess is that it takes an hour of editing for each minute of Kick TV.

Left: In the Media Center, editing goes on well into the night.

So please check out Kick TV and comment back about how we're doing. You can view it on the website of our webcasting partners, Crystal Clear Sports, and also on YouTube. There's full viewing information and a link to watch the show is on the homepage of usacup.org, and also in the "Sights and Sounds" section.