Dayton Flyer Basketball | 2012-13 Pre-Game Materials
Hype Video Direction | Player Card Design & Motion Graphics
Hype Video / Player Cards
Real Art | University of Dayton
Roles
Director, Designer,
Motion Graphics
Archie Miller, young-gun head coach of Men’s Basketball Team, wanted to immediately take Dayton’s program to the next level upon his hiring in 2011.
A point of emphasis was the pre-game experience in UD Arena. His direction; kill the house lights and develop a brand-new hype video on the level of powerhouse schools.
From 2012-2015, Real Art assigned me to design and built the pregame content for the Dayton Flyers Men’s and Women’s basketball teams.
Years from now, I’ll tell my kids that I was a very small part of some of the most exciting years of Flyer Basketball.
Awards
Gold Addy Award (Hermes)
Links:
Real Art Case Study
Story Time
The 2012 pitch focused on two ideas: light and legacy.
We imagined a video that flashes between footage of the current team in the locker room and clips from the greatest moments in Flyer history. Individual players would be filmed in dim light, reflecting on these bright moments as they get mentally and physically prepared to run out of the tunnel into the lit-up arena for the game.
Four minutes before game time, the video boards surge and the lights in the arena go out. Our hype video plays on the giant LED boards on all corners of the arena, and as the video ends, the arena lights back up as the players run out of the tunnel.
Coach Miller limited my time with the senior stars of the team (Josh Benson, Kevin Dillard), but I was given extra time filming a skinny sophomore named Devin Oliver--a rising star who would later become one of the all-time great Flyers, and one of my favorite players of all time.
One unique memory: when Real Art first pitched our concept to the athletic staff, we were invited deep within the arena into the media room where post-game interviews are conducted by the press. This is familiar territory to the coaches and players, but I was nervous as hell as Chris Wire made the decision one-day before the presentation to dip out, leaving Mark Kargl and me to pitch creative.
As we were setting up our presentation for the athletic staff, I saw the door open and watched a tall young player, skinny as a toothpick, sit in the very back row of the room.
I wondered if he was lost, or maybe just really early for a film session later in the day, but he just sat there and watched our whole pitch. At first it made me even more nervous, but after some time I felt strangely confident that what Mark and I were presenting was interesting enough that this random kid wanted to watch.
He stayed for the entire presentation, and stood up and left without ever saying a word. Over the next few years I watched that skinny boy develop into a man and become one of the key players on our Elite Eight team. Big shout-out to Dyshawn Pierre, the Canadian badass who sat and listened to hear Real Art’s plans for their team.
Closing Thoughts
Archie Miller hates flashy things. He hates lights and cameras. He hated the video shoots and refused to be filmed. The only time he showed up onto set was to yell at the players and warn the guys not to let their egos inflate because of the lights and cameras.
So, why did he order the work? Why did he make an immediate point to UD’s Athletic Department, in his first year as head coach, that it was necessary to invest in an entirely new level of pregame materials?
Because our work was part of the team’s success, bottom line. He wouldn’t have done it for any other reason. Feeling like champions and looking like champions are the first steps to being champions.
That’s why I worked so damn hard after hours. I had the opportunity to contribute to the Dayton Flyers Men’s and Women’s basketball teams, and I took the shit out of it.
And guess what? Both made the Elite 8 within two years.
Smart work, Archie.
Credits
Concept & Development
Real Art
Andy Nick - Concept, Direction, Design, Motion Graphics
Tyler Morris - Concept, Director of Photography, Editing
Cody Brown - Camera Assistant
Mark Kargl - Lead Producer
Jamie Kreuter - Producer
Josh Flohre - Grip
Tom Davis - 3D
