Meet the Bus-Stop Productions Team
Eric Benson
Founder/Owner/Filmmaker
Eric Benson is an award-winning filmmaker who lives in Waterloo and is founder/owner/filmmaker at Bus-Stop Productions, and co-founder of Iowa Sports production company Full Court Press Entertainment. He holds a Bachelor’s in Digital Media Leadership and Digital Media Production and a minor in Journalism for the University of Northern Iowa and a Bachelor of Media from Hawaii Pacific University. Eric has produced and filmed for CNN, NBC, Ruplty News (Germany), A&E, Oxygen, Law & Crime Network, and Discovery. He is a 12-year veteran of the Navy’s Combat Camera Teams as a photojournalist with over 47 deployments to 44 countries including 4 combat tours. He has served on the board for the Iowa Motion Picture Association for 7 years (1 year as Vice President) and is a member of the Iowa Broadcast News Association, Iowa chapter Professional Photographers of America, and a lifetime member of the National Press Photographers Association.
Kevin Thorn
Filmmaker/Producer/Post Production Supervisor
Kevin is an award-winning filmmaker who grew up in Fairfield, Iowa where he first discovered his interest in video production editing YouTube videos in middle school using Roxio Creator 2009. After graduating from Indian Hills, Kevin worked as a production assistant for a TV pilot that inspired him to pursue a career in digital media. Graduating from the University of Northern Iowa with a double major in Digital Media Production and Digital Media Leadership, Kevin has worked for companies across the nation such as Shed Media and BCII in Los Angeles to the Law & Crime Network in New York.
Michael Kramer
Filmmaker/Producer/Production Researcher
Michael Kramer is a filmmaker from Des Moines, Iowa. A graduate of Iowa State University, he is part-owner of Bus-Stop Productions in Waterloo, IA. At Iowa State, Michael majored in journalism and mass communication, where he honed his skills at telling stories about his passion, sports. Beginning his first year at Iowa State, and continuing to this day, Michael has worked dozens of live sporting events in a freelance role whether as a grip, camera operator, or audio technician, for almost all the major TV networks including ESPN, FOX, ABC, and CBS. Most notably, Michael worked the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis, the 2020 season Rose Bowl in Dallas that year, and the 2021 MLB All-Star Game in Denver.