From DVSD to the Super Bowl

Fifteen years ago, Dan Balton was walking the halls of Delaware Valley High School as a co-editor in chief of the Del.Aware, the student newspaper.

Today, the 2011 graduate is shooting Emmy-nominated comedy specials and Super Bowl halftime shows.

From high school paper to sports biggest stage

Balton’s most famous shot came from the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show with Kendrick Lamar. The feud between Lamar and Canadian rapper Drake was at an all-time high, and Lamar’s most popular song was “Not Like Us,” a Drake diss track.

While Lamar was performing “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl, Balton filmed tennis star Serena Williams, who previously dated Drake, dancing to the song. The clip went viral.

“I was like: ‘Oh, this was this whole big performance, and people were honing in on this one moment,’” Balton said. “It was just a cool thing afterward to know that I was a part of.”

An Emmy nomination

Balton’s Emmy nomination came in 2020 from his work shooting of Dave Chappelle’s “Sticks and Stones” special. He was unable to physically attend the show due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he still described the experience as surreal.

“So most years there’d be a ceremony to go to, of course, but because of the pandemic that year, there wasn’t,” Balton said. “So it was just kind of something that I had to be excited about in a sort of lockdown, but it was still really exciting.”

Growing up in the business

Balton has always had a passion for videography. His parents own a business in the industry, and he grew up surrounded by it. He then went on to study film and business at Penn State, and shortly after graduation he landed a job as a producer for a PBS affiliate in State College, Pennsylvania.

In 2018, he took a big leap, moving to New York full time as a freelance producer and director.

“I always knew that New York was the goal, and it always just seemed like the place where I wanted to end up, both career-wise and culture-wise,” Balton said.

An interest nurtured at DVSD

Balton highlights music and comedy as his favorite topics to shoot because of how interesting the visual aspects of the productions are. On these sets he primarily operates jib cameras, which are essentially long camera cranes that are popular in the multi-camera television world.

Balton credits all the clubs and activities at DVSD, including the Del.Aware, that Delaware Valley has to offer for establishing his interest in what is now his career.

This story was originally published in Del.Aware, Delaware Valley High School’s student newspaper.