Ryan Lee (ArtSci’16) set out with the goal of capturing the spirit of Queen’s University in a two-minute online video.

He succeeded.

Posted to YouTube on Monday, “We Are the Gaels” has already attracted more than 12,000 views. It’s fast-paced, polished and, if you have any connection to Queen’s, it will leave your spine tingling.

Perhaps, no surprise then, the video is drawing waves of praise.

“I’m blown away by the reception,” says Mr. Lee. “I did not imagine that it would reach that many people.”

The video took no small effort to complete. Coming in at just over two minutes, Mr. Lee says it took more than 72 hours to edit. Footage was taken throughout this year’s Orientation Week and Homecoming as well as during some early mornings.

“This is the most time I have ever spent on a video,” he says.

Spending the extra time at the university filming, he says, brought him closer to the Queen’s community and what it offers. It was a wonderful experience.

“It wasn’t really so much what I learned about Queen’s but it reinforced what I already knew about it,” he says. “That it really is awesome and that the people here are amazing.”

Mr. Lee is currently the president of the Queen’s Film Production Club and chair of the ASUS Film Committee. He first caught the videography bug through a Grade 8 project, continued to hone his skills and eventually was paid by his high school to create a video. He would then go on to create Reel Videography through the Summer Company program in his hometown of Peterborough.

A rare mathematics and film major, he says videography is an area he would like to continue to explore.

“It’s definitely a potential,” he says. “I’m still trying to figure that out myself but I want to continue my business and expand it to the greater Kingston area and beyond.”