Picking up the camera and pressing record from the sidelines, senior Ismail Hacking captures moments from a football game or an overflowing student section in a single video.

“I’ve always been someone who creates things. As a kid, I drew, I played piano and I just liked making things. Videos, specifically, are something I’ve been drawn to since I was a kid,” Hacking said. 

Hacking started getting into videography in between his sophomore and junior year. 

“One of the first videos that I filmed, edited and created from start to end was a video for the first wrestling tournament of last season. After that it was kind of an addiction,” Hacking said.

Taking inspiration from other creators like Sam Kolder and Casey Neistat, Hacking learned how to make videos from watching Youtube, attending SPARK! Technology classes and continuing to create new content.

“With SPARK!, I am able to have time in my day to work on my videos. Until this summer, I filmed everything I made on my iPhone. The cameras on iPhones are great, but having a full size camera has been a huge step up in quality,” Hacking said.

The turnaround from filming to posting is around one to three days for Hacking. He enjoys producing sports videos, many of which have been featured on the student run account, @PWestSuperfan.

“Sports have always been a huge part of my life; it’s an area where people can unify [as] a team,” Hacking said. “Videos for sports are really cool because it’s something that people are really invested in. I took on filming [games] at school because I’ve seen so many cool ‘hype videos’ on Youtube for professional teams. I wanted to bring that level of professionalism and quality to the high school level.”

Hacking’s sports videos have provided a form of advertisement that students are able to share and repost.

“[The videos] provide a lot of excitement and hype for the game and get the word out in a different way than just a picture with words on it,” PWestSuperfan account manager and senior Cameron Neisler said.

Throughout the year, Hacking plans to continue to create more videos for the student body.

“Seeing people’s positive reactions to the videos I’ve done for the school is what keeps me making them,” Hacking said.