Graduate Profile: Lindsey Lucht, Digital Video

IPR Graduate Lindsey Lucht, along with DVMP chair Trey Wodele
Lindsey Lucht at graduation, along with DVMP chair Trey Wodele

Lindsey Lucht will always have a special place in the history of the Digital Video & Media Production at IPR. She was the very first student to enroll in the program when it was launched in 2014. And last year, she was a member of DVMP’s first graduating class, earning her Associate in Applied Science degree.

One year after her graduation date, Lindsey works as an editor for Don’t Blink, a visual experience company based in St. Louis Park, MN. During her time here at IPR, it became clear to her instructors that Lindsey had a real talent for editing, so when Don’t Blink producer (and IPR grad) Sam Kovar called and asked if we had any recent grads who might be looking for an editing gig, Lindsey was the obvious referral.

Now that Lindsey has been in the work force for a year, we thought we’d catch up with her and see how things were going:

IPR: What is life like after graduation?
LL: After graduation I spent about four months doing miscellaneous freelance gigs around the cities until one day, a freelance gig turned into a full-time job. Now I spend my days glued to a screen and use email as my main form of communication.

IPR: What does a typical work day look like for you?
LL: I walk in, the lady at the front desk says good morning, I awkwardly say good morning back, grab a Red Bull (free Red Bull I might add!), go to my station, open Premiere, and mess around with footage until it looks cool.

IPR: What is it like to work for a production company like Don’t Blink?
LL: The best. I’m constantly amazed by the people here and it’s awesome that I get to work with them. They’re teaching me new things every day – and I get to do what I love. I didn’t expect to get my dream job at age 20, but here we are.

IPR: What was your biggest surprise when you started working there?
LL: I didn’t realize how busy it would be. Everyone’s always traveling across the country, and even to other countries, going from shoot to shoot. I knew they traveled, but I didn’t know they were constantly traveling. I don’t think we’ve ever all been in the office at the same time.

IPR DVMP Graduate Lindsey Lucht's station at Don't Blink
Lindsey’s station at Don’t Blink

IPR: Tell us about the Green Bay Packer project
LL: Packers Life is a show I’ve been working on since early August and it has been the most time-consuming project I’ve ever worked on. Season one consists of 17 episodes based on some of the team’s biggest fans. The producers travel all over the country and also a few places in Europe to shoot this show and it’s crazy to think that I’ve probably put roughly 800 hours into it so far. Stay tuned for season two.

IPR: You grew up in Wisconsin, came to Minnesota for school, and now live and work here. Is it fun to work on a project for your home team?
LL: Well I’m glad it’s the Packers and not the Vikings. But I felt like a traitor when I had to run to the Vikings headquarters (Don’t Blink also creates content for the Vikings) and work on the Packers show in the same day. Originally when I moved here, the plan was to move back to Wisconsin the second I graduated. That was almost a year ago now and I have no plans of leaving.

IPR: How has your degree and the time you spent at IPR prepared you for your current job?
LL: The biggest benefit from IPR were the connections I made while I was there. I was introduced to people in the industry who then introduced me to even more people. Fun fact: I went to my interview at Don’t Blink not realizing it was an interview. I received an email from a guy one day saying he got my name from someone else and that he had a project for me. I didn’t know that this project was going to be a full-time job, and I didn’t know that guy would end up being my boss.

Watch the most recent episode of Packer’s Life