By Makayla Gomez and Ryan Greenberg

When one thinks of UC Santa Barbara, things that come to mind might be the beach, the warm weather, the campus culture, or the world-renowned research institutions. Certainly not ice hockey.

But Will Hahn, a UC Santa Barbara ice hockey team alum, is changing that with his latest film project. Hahn is now a Cal State Northridge graduate film student who works as production assistant for the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings. He has recently combined his passion for film and hockey by writing and directing a film about UCSB’s very own ice hockey team. 

UCSB Film alumn Will Hahn (left) filming for his movie on UCSB’s ice hockey team All Access College Hockey in November 2021.

Hahn’s short film, All Access College Hockey, was made for a film course in his program. It covers UCSB’s ice hockey team on home-opening weekend in the fall of 2021, with games against Chapman and Loyola Marymount universities. Hahn’s film covers the Gauchos’ practices and game prep after starting the season 4-1, profiling how players balance hockey with school, offering a glimpse into their private lives and, of course, showing suspenseful footage from the games themselves.

Hahn took a quick break from a hectic day recently to talk with current UCSB ice hockey team goalie Ryan Greenberg about his film and pursuing a career that he loves.

Describe the birth of this film. Why did you make it and how did it come to be?

The whole class [at Cal State Northridge] was 14 people and essentially three films were going to get made that semester, and the whole class would vote on which three. Everybody came up and pitched something and the whole class voted. There was this anticipation of like, “We’re not going to get picked. This isn’t going to work.” But we slotted in that third spot and got very lucky.

What was the most difficult part of the process? How was working with college students different from your experience shooting video for the NHL? 

The toughest thing is doing one of these shows with no budget, no experience, and no crew members.

In the NHL, we have countless angles of everything. The guys that have been shooting have been shooting it for years. They’ve been to thousands of hockey games.

I had a crew with various degrees of experience. They had never been to a hockey game before. They had no idea how fast the game is. It’s not exactly like filming golf. To convince students, especially film students, that they should be doing high production value, utilizing expensive cameras, and really think about their shooting style, was not an easy thing.

But the bigger problem was the [lack of a] budget. The microphones they use in the NHL and NFL cost $2,300 each. We don’t have that. We’re using off-the-shelf stuff. When they’re buried beneath some hockey equipment out on the ice, they don’t always do too well. 

UCSB Film alumn Will Hahn playing goalie for UCSB’s ice hockey team in 2018. Hahn now works works as production assistant for the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings.

So, it was a lot of overcoming. Like “how do we do this?” but also without breaking the piggy bank.

Describe your job with the Los Angeles Kings. 

I am technically what’s called a production assistant. In my world, normally, that would mean you get coffee. Even though my title is Production Assistant, I’m doing a larger role. I am editing when they need an editor. I am filming when they need a videographer. There’s a lot to learn there. 

You have to be creative with how you shoot stuff. It’s fast paced. It’s hard work. But at the end of the day, you’re working for a team and you have this team capacity going on and it’s the camaraderie. You’re in it for the good of the team. We all are so collectively in, it shows. We work for an NHL team. That’s sick!

We [the Kings] are in the push for the playoffs right now. We need to be doing our best to get people in the seats. How do we create content that fans are going to love? That sponsors are going to love? There’s a lot that goes into every little piece of content we do. 

Describe the relationship between hockey and film in your life. Did your time on the hockey team at UCSB affect your decision to pursue a career in film at all? 

I’ve been doing film since I was a freshman in high school. That’s the way I found it and that’s very early. I just kind of stuck with it. 

I’ve always played hockey, I’ve always loved hockey. If you can combine two things you really like — hockey and filmmaking—you’re going to set yourself up for success. I've always dreamed of having season tickets to an NHL team, and now I have the best seat in the house every night for work. Combine the two things you love and you’re not going to work very much. You’re going to have a pretty good time.

Ryan Greenberg is a second-year Communication major who is a goaltender on the UCSB hockey team and appears in Hahn’s film. Makayla Gomez is a second-year Communication and Political Science double-major. They wrote this article for their Writing Program class Digital Journalism.