Spending hours recording and editing photos and videos, alumnus and brothers Cam and Jordan Neisler have found a talent for creating video and picture edits for high school basketball players.
“When I first started, it was a little different. I didn’t know how [recording] worked. When I made my first video for Tre, I just focused on him in the game, whereas now I record the entire game,” J. Neisler said. “With that, I film the entire game which takes about 40 minutes, then watch it back and pick out what I want to use.”
Neisler produces the video edits of the player’s best plays, while C. Neisler creates the photo edits using pictures taken from the videos.
“All the pictures I use in the edits are taken by Jordan. Before a game, I’ll communicate what players want to Jordan so he can photograph them, since I am still new behind the camera,” C. Neisler said. “After the game, I look at what action shots he got so I can use them for the main focal point of the graphic. For the background, I look for personality stuff so I can blend together things that connect to the player.”
Neither brother expected to get a lot of attention for doing edits and mixtape videos.
“We knew [Tre] played basketball so Cam suggested we go film and make him a mixtape,” J. Neisler said. “We weren’t expecting it to go anywhere. We were just wanting to give a mixtape to Tre, but after he posted it on his social media, people in the community saw it. Players on [Tre’s] team then contacted us and wanted us to make edits for them.”
Neisler began by making edits of professional athletes and sports teams.
“I have been doing photo edits since I was in Sixth grade. Back then, I used different apps on my phone, but then, freshman year, I downloaded Photoshop and did my first design there. I then started doing sports designs, and I have been doing that since,” C. Neisler said. “It is amazing to see all the creativity you can put into an edit to represent the player.”
Having discovered his interest in photography and videography in high school, J. Neisler hopes to turn his passion into a career.
“I’m a senior at Maryville and I’m majoring in photography and videography. Following NBA players and St. Louis players and the content they would post got me into this,” J. Neisler said. “As a basketball fan, I was really intrigued by how these videos got put together behind the scenes. I watched all the videos Jayson Tatum posted and it fascinated me to look at the game from a different perspective and not just as a fan. In the future, I would love to make a full living off it like working for an NBA team and doing their photo and video edits.”
Together they spend hours together recording and editing for athletes every weekend.
“It’s really fun being able to collaborate with my brother. On the weekends, we’re both going to the same place, two days for 12 hours, doing work for the same player,” J. Neisler said. “It’s fun to see the finished product of him and I working with one another and to see the combination of our work. We share similar passions in sports, so it’s been great to work together.”
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