The BMB story

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Northwest Missouri State University senior Adam Bochart of Creston combined his expertise in video production with his passion for marching band to tell the story of the Bearcat Marching Band.

Bochart, 2013 graduate of Creston Community High School, unveiled his 57-minute documentary about the 2017 Bearcat Marching Band season in a special presentation April 14 in the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts. Among those in attendance was Dr. John Jasinksi, president of the university.

“Inside the BMB” also led off the the Northwest Student Film Festival five days later in the J.W. Jones Student Union board room.

Perhaps most impressed with Bochart’s work is Dr. Kathryn Strickland, assistant professor of music and director of athletic bands at Northwest Missouri State.

“I love the personal nature of it,” Strickland said. “Since Adam was in band and knows so many who still are, he really got a sense of their experiences in a way an outsider wouldn’t.”

Creston members

Two of Bochart’s former bandmates in Creston — trumpet player RaeAnne Hopkins and Grace Eagan from the color guard — appear in the documentary and praised the video’s accuracy in telling the band’s story.

“Adam did an amazing job showcasing the ups and downs we faced throughout the season, and how much being a part of BMB means to all of us,” said Eagan, a freshman and one of the newcomers that made the 2016 band the largest in school history with 175 members.

Bochart was a member of the BMB drumline as a freshman and sophomore, then took on a technical role advising the corps in 2015 as he worked in the press box on game days in video production for CatVision.

This year, he still worked as technical director for CatVision as well as serving as general manager for the second year for KNWT television station based on the Northwest campus. His idea to do a documentary on the band during this senior year was actually spawned two years ago in a class he shared with fellow drumline member Mark Ludwig.

“Mark and I were in advanced video production class our sophomore year and for a final project we decided to make a short documentary film on the drumline,” Bochart said. “It’s something we were both passionate about. We made a short 10-minute feature piece and we aired it at the BMB banquet at the end of the season. It went over extremely well. I wanted to revisit it on a larger scale.”

Bochart will receive his bachelor’s degree in mass media, broadcast production with an emphasis in video during Saturday’s commencement on the Northwest campus. He will start graduate school there next fall in instructional technology.

Even though his full-length video on the band did not garner any class credit or reimbursement of any kind, it’s valuable experience for his chosen profession.

“It’s so neat to see Adam using his skills to promote the band,” said Mike Peters, band director at Creston Community High School. “In watching it, you could tell the person making it understood all that goes into a marching band, especially all of the preparation. He shows the social and family aspect of the band. I’m so proud of him.”

YouTube link

The documentary is available for public viewing on YouTube at http://bit.ly/2p5YAHY, or viewers can search on YouTube under "Inside the BMB."

“It’s just something I wanted to leave behind, so people realize what a special place this is and what a special group of people that BMB is,” said Bochart, son of Jay and Brenda Bochart.

Bochart did 90 percent of the videotaping in following the band from band camp in August to the conclusion of the 2016 football season, capped off by the football team winning its sixth national championship.

Besides the segments shot by band members themselves on cell phones on their way to band camp and while watching the national championship game on their own — after hazardous travel conditions prevented the band’s trip to Kansas City for the game — Bochart also incorporated game footage from the university’s marketing and athletic departments. He is involved with both departments as a student employee.

A friend with the campus radio division, Kreighton Elwood, served as narrator and Bochart weaved a variety of music into the scenes to enhance the production. In the end, he used about 5 percent of the approximate 1,000 minutes of raw footage.

He began the editing process in January and was still busy exporting the final segments two days before the premiere showing on April 14.

“I was pleased with it,” Bochart said. “It told the story that needed to be told if you were to follow the band through an entire season. I love the stuff that’s outside the rehearsals and actual performances, getting to see that they are just real people. Those intimate moments outside the band setting, such as the drumline’s bowling night or the trumpet section’s Christmas party. I also like the Arrowhead Stadium performance, because that’s such a unique experience for the band.”

Emotional scenes

The audience at the student film festival was visibly moved by two heart-wrenching scenes. One involves the band’s decision to help those affected by severe August flooding in Louisiana. Specifically, the band and Sigma Society, a service-based sorority, raised funds to help St. Amant High School in Louisiana, which is part of Dr. Strickland’s past.

The documentary shows Strickland’s emotional reaction as band member Jessica Buckley presents a $4,000 check to her for the Louisiana school, which had the band area under water and instruments ruined during the flooding that entailed 30 inches of rain in some areas of the state.

While Bochart’s master plan was for multiple cameras to film the band’s performance at the national championship game in Kansas City, that idea was shelved when an announcement was made two days prior to the game that due to a snowstorm expected in the area that weekend, the university had decided not to send the marching band.

Some of the most riveting moments of the documentary show Strickland informing the band of that decision, and the reaction of several band members afterward.

“The last 10 or 15 minutes of the documentary is such a roller coaster of emotions,” Bochart said. “You go from the highs of the football playoffs and the seniors being sentimental in how much they are enjoying the season, to just that dropoff and knife in the heart when they realize that everything they’ve been working for is suddenly done. That segment is sad, and that’s not fabricated in any way. It was a heavy, heavy day for everyone involved.”

Heartfelt farewell

Senior drum major Dalton Haberman taped himself summarizing his thoughts later that night, and sent the video to Bochart. It became a focal point of the final minutes of the film.

“Today was the last day of marching band,” Haberman said slowly, with a sigh. “In my time as drum major I got to do a lot of things. I’ve entertained, I’ve pumped up, I got to help people. Maybe in some cases, inspire. I’m going to miss it like none other. So, to anyone who watches this in the future, I hope this band means as much to you as it has to me. I hope you make lifelong friends like I have. And, I hope you see the goal posts come down like I have (signifying national championship game), three times! I hope you remember the grind is good.”

Because of the cancelled trip, the documentary ends like it began — with footage submitted by band members watching the Bearcats winning the championship game. Some attended the game in person, while others, like Haberman, were shown whooping and hollering in their homes watching on television.

“It wasn’t the ending I was planning on, but I was pleased to work with that user-submitted footage just like the way they started the film as they made their way to band camp,” Bochart said.

Peters said the documentary serves as a window into any collegiate band experience.

“It shows the whole process, and just how long a process it is for a college band,” said Peters, who was in the Wayne State University marching band along with wife, Lisa, who coaches the Creston color guard and winter guard units. “They kick out several new shows throughout the season, which is different than a high school band. It shows how much time and sacrifice goes into that experience.”

While it was a labor of love for Bochart, combining his two passions, such a daunting endeavor purely as a donation might be a one-and-done affair.

“I would gladly do it again, but preferably for money,” he said, smiling.