‘Steeler Nation:’ College class leads to award-winning music video for Mansfield man

MANSFIELD — It started as a college film class assignment for Daniel Roemer.

But by the time he was finished with the comedic “Steeler Nation,” earlier this year, the Mansfield man had created an international-award winning music video.

He also got an “A” in the class, for those who keep score of such things.

Over the weekend, “Steeler Nation” won the award for Best Comedy Music Video at the Munich (Germany) Music Video Awards. It’s been selected as a finalist in the NewFilmmakers New York Film Festival.

All of which came as a pleasant surprise for the filmmaker.

“I didn’t plan for it to be anything major,” the 41-year-old Roemer said with a laugh. “Even going into (making music videos) class, I thought, ok, this will just be a fun class to take.”

It’s just the latest hit for Roemer, an “overnight” sensation who spent a decade and a half working in the film industry in Los Angeles after graduating from Mansfield Christian High School.

MANSFIELD TO L.A.

Roemer studied at the prestigious USC film school for two years before landing a job in the industry, accepting a gig editing the 2005 documentary film series “Beyond the Felt,” a look into the world of high-stakes poker.

That launched a multi-faceted career in Hollywood, which included work as a director, writer, editor and more. It was while editing remotely for the Discovery Channel’s digital efforts that Roemer realized he could work from anywhere.

He chose to return to Mansfield, continuing to work and also resuming his studies online through the San Francisco-based Academy of Art University.

Working toward a 2022 bachelor’s degree, Roemer began a class in March under veteran director Mark Kohr, who has directed videos for artists such as Green Day and Alanis Morissette.

“Mark was one of the best teachers I have ever had,” Roemer said. “He gave me a suggestion that I had never really heard before. He said, ‘Do something that makes you and your friends laugh.’  I loved the idea.”

As he mulled the possibilities of a music video, Roemer remembered a song Los Angeles musician/artist Joby Harris had played for him several years ago, “Steeler Nation RISE,” recorded in 2009.

A Browns fan who grew up in the Bernie Kosar era, Roemer relished the opportunity to create a video about a hapless Steelers fan creating and sending in a try-out tape, hoping to become a member of the fabled Black-and-Gold.

“I am NOT a Steelers fan,” he said, chuckling. “But I am not ‘not’ a Steelers fan. I used to watch Browns games with my dad when I was a kid. I remember putting on a Kosar jersey at halftime and going out to play in the backyard.”

Roemer said he liked the song, which reminded him of a Beasties Boy track.

“I have this habit of anytime I hear something I really like, I put it into a folder and save it for maybe future use,” he said.

MAKING OF THE VIDEO

The video had to be produced during the semester, which meant Roemer basically had three months to get it done. He enlisted local friends under the umbrella of his Zero Gravity Media company and went to work.

Kohr, who helped guide the effort, is credited as executive producer while Haley Noel Bedocs was the producer. Sam Brandes and Suzanna Hammond were line producers. The cinematographer was Eric Sparks while Jon Hersman was credited with the story and visual effects. Trevor Extine was the grip.

All of them also played roles as actors in what Roemer described as a “no-budget” film. The director also plays the starring role as the wannabe Steeler.

Fair to say, the film’s primary character is a die-hard Steelers’ fan who lacks any whiff of athleticism, but develops a social media following for his efforts while making the try-out video.

The rapidly moving final music video is a touch over five minutes long. But it’s the final edit of many hours of film and effort, including some shots on location in Pittsburgh outside Heinz Field. The rest was shot in Mansfield.

“A lot of people think you just go out and throw something together quick,” Roemer said. “But it actually takes quite awhile to to develop the idea and figure out all of your shots.”

Shot lists were developed and sequenced.

“Everything is shot out of order, according to what’s the quickest way to get it all done. Everything has to be organized,” he said.

That doesn’t mean the film didn’t accomplish the quirky nature Roemer was literally shooting for when he conceived the project.

“The shorts and the outfits and the love handles spilling out and everything like that,” he said. “We intentionally didn’t shoot with high-dollar cameras. A lot of the footage looks like VHS, but that is all what we were going for.”

The visit to “Steel City” was an eye opener.

“I’ve always known about the rivalry, but I was amazed at how beautiful Pittsburgh really is,” he said. “We were driving through on vacation and everything just worked out.

“Every once in awhile, you have a project where everything comes together. Sometimes it’s a pain in the butt, but this one was where it all just kind of worked out,” he said.

“I have so much stuff that didn’t end up in the video,” he said. “I keep telling every I am going to re-edit into a short documentary because we got so much good stuff, hours and hours.”

Roemer said he was thrilled with the hard work and collaboration of everyone who assisted in the project. “They did so much work on this.”

Kohr and Roemer have remained in touch and it’s clear he’s pleased with his student — and the finished product.

SO WHAT’S NEXT?

Even while creating “Steeler Nation,” Roemer has continued work on his passion project, a feature-length film, “Chaser,” also shot locally and largely now in post-production.

“It’s an indie film that has kind of morphed into something slightly different right now,” Roemer said. “I can’t really go into all the details, but I am super excited about it. I am working on it constantly. It’s nearing the finish line.

“It’s a big project and our goal is to get onto a streaming service, like Netflix.”

Roemer’s personal ultimate goal at this point is to earn his degree.

“I want to teach,” he said. “I want to finish up my undergrad and then I’ll go onto grad school. My goal is to teach at the university level.

“My teachers joke with me that I am kind of doing it backwards. I sort of did the industry experience first and now I am getting into the academic,” Roemer said.