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Behind the Scenes Video Production on 'Sold a Story' — APM Reports’ Breakout Podcast

  • bengarvin
  • Dec 11

Last year, my storytelling partner Lindsey Seavert and I headed to Washington, D.C. to film a behind-the-scenes look at APM Reports’ breakout podcast Sold a Story. It was a chance to support the incredible journalism behind the show and take our video production and short-form editing on the road for a national audience.


Ben Garvin, Emily Hanford, Lindsey Seavert, and another APM Reports team member smiling together inside a warm, book-lined Washington, D.C. lobby during filming for the Sold a Story project.

We filmed reporter Emily Hanford (center left) and her colleague Christopher Peak (left) as they worked in classrooms and in Emily’s home office. My favorite moment: seeing Emily’s massive spreadsheet documenting every book and reading method she’s tracked over years of reporting. Meticulous doesn’t begin to cover it.


Ben Garvin filming.

Our job was simple: capture the quieter side of reporting — listening, observing, and the hours of work that rarely make it into the final story. We also were tasked with showing the thinking and behind-the-scenes thought process that went into the podcast. Here's the piece:



We also produced several short social videos for APM Reports. Two of them — including this TikTok and this Instagram reel — took off in the education world. You can see another recent collaboration with APM Reports and MPR News — our Emmy-winning film Finding Manoomin — right here.


Learn more about the podcast and their powerful reporting:


It was a fast, meaningful trip — good storytelling, good company, and a lot of learning along the way. Big thanks to Lindsey Seavert for sharing the trip, the assignment, and the late-night D.C. wanderings. We even had time to take in a play at the Wooly Mammoth Theater and eat some incredibly tasty Ethiopian food.

— Ben



Our Emmy-Winning Documentary Filmmaking Journey: Creating Finding Manoomin with MPR News and TPT

  • bengarvin
  • Dec 4

On a warm afternoon deep in wild rice country, I sat in a canoe behind Leah Lemm as she lifted a pair of knocking sticks. The sacred plant surrounded us. I picked a caterpillar off my lens. Months later, our documentary Finding Manoomin won a Midwest Emmy Award and aired on both MPR News and Twin Cities PBS (TPT). I'm super proud of the film and the creative partnerships we created.


Directed by MPR News reporter Leah Lemm

Shot and edited by Ben Garvin

Produced and written by Lindsey Seavert


Working alongside Leah Lemm, senior editor of the MPR Native News Initiative, gave this project its heart. Her calm presence and connection to the community and land led every step of the story. She also created a companion radio documentary, listen here: “Finding Manoomin” on MPR News.

“Storytelling is a true team sport and I’m grateful to the team (Jane Helmke and Erin Rasmussen Warhol) that invited us into the process, and the warm welcome from Leah’s family and friends as they trusted us to uplift this story together.”

We spent days filming on reservation land with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. I arrived knowing almost nothing about wild rice harvesting. By the end, I understood why manoomin is treated as a living relative and why people protect it so carefully.


Here are some photos, including from a screening we held at MPR and Leah at the Emmy's!



Gear

  • Canon C70 for interviews and handheld work

  • Canon R5C for multi-camera setups and tight spaces

  • GoPro underwater rig for submerged rice footage

  • DJI Mini Pro 4 drone for overhead shots of rice beds

  • GoPro mounted on a painter pole for overhead canoe shots


Photo Gallery

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Macathon at Macalester College | Twin Cities Video Production Story

  • bengarvin
  • Dec 2

As a Minneapolis documentary filmmaker working across the Twin Cities, I’m always looking for projects that feel alive, creative, and mission-driven. Shooting Macathon at Macalester College checked all those boxes. This was my second year covering the event, and once again it reminded me why I love doing video production for Minnesota colleges and nonprofits.


Macathon is a 24-hour innovation challenge where teams dream up real solutions to real problems. No prep work allowed. Just raw creativity, sharp minds, and a full day (and night) of thinking, building, and pitching. I filmed the event across three different shoots — brainstorming, the long overnight push, and the finals — and my friend and collaborator Renny McCauley shaped it all into the polished edit below.


The students came from all over the world, each bringing a different lived experience. One team tackled a long-overlooked issue: how temperature-reading tools depend on lighter skin tones, creating inaccurate readings for darker complexions. Another standout project — the eventual winner — was a clever solution for preventing feeding tubes from freezing during Minnesota winters.


From a filmmaking standpoint, Macathon is a fun. High energy. Big ideas. People working together because they care. As someone who does a lot of Twin Cities video production for colleges, nonprofits, and foundations, stories like this show what’s possible when a community invests in imagination and empathy.

Here’s the finished video:

If you’re looking for Minneapolis documentary storytelling or Twin Cities event video production — from campus programs to nonprofit events — feel free to reach out. I’d love to help bring your project to life.

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