Dayton Flyer Basketball | 2013-14 Pre-Game Materials
Hype Video Direction & Motion Graphics | Player Card Design & Motion Graphics
Hype Video / Player Cards
Real Art | University of Dayton
Roles
Director, Designer,
Motion Graphics
2013
After a super-successful first season working with the UD Athletic Department, we were asked to duplicate last season’s efforts for the program... but Real Art doesn’t like to do the same thing twice.
Tyler Morris and I began brainstorming a video technique based off 360 bullet-time rigs. The logistics and price of building an array of high-quality cameras were prohibitive, so we started imagining how to spin a single camera around a center point.
This “FlyRig” became the center point around which an entire season of UD basketball materials rotated around. Pun intended.
Awards
Gold Addy Award (Hermes)
Story Time
The “FlyRig” was a cool idea, but we would have to convince a lot of people that it would work before we could hinge an entire season of UD basketball hype materials on it.
Tyler and I talked with Marc Stevens and Bryan Campbell of the industrial team about the problem. They needed no convincing at all. They easily imagined how to build a 30-foot rotating steel rig spinning from a motor on the ceiling. They considered the mechanical and electrical problems, told us how they would solve them, and asked us to go get them a green light.
Next, I pitched the idea to Chris Wire, who has the superpower to recognize any flaws in your idea immediately. He pointed out some problems in our plan, threw out a few recommendations, but generally he agreed that if we could film both the hype video AND the playercards with this rig, it could work.
Lastly, UD approved the concept. and the industrial team began construction of the “Flyer Video Rig” in Development Studio 2 in back of Proto Buildbar.
The FlyRig
I was on cloud nine. The industrial team had built a monstrous set piece—a spinning arm held a remote-controlled camera system counterbalanced by weights. The interior arm held lighting powered by a brushed electrical system.
The Dayton Flyers were scheduled to come to our studio. And as if that wasn’t amazing enough, the Athletic Department offered to lend a small section of authentic arena flooring for our floor, giving us an amazing stage.
The stage was *literally* set for the project of a lifetime. I felt like I had earned the trust of the program last year, and we were about to do some incredible, ground-breaking work this year. I had personally vouched for this idea, and it was coming to life before my eyes.
I had been winning and winning. I was on top of the world. That was about to change.
The Accident
Just before the shoot, my wife had a serious bicycle accident. She was left with a broken collar bone, a shattered shoulder blade, a punctured lung, and three pins sticking out of her back.
Furthermore, we hadn’t told anyone yet that we were expecting. The accident caused us to lose the baby.
We put a hospital bed in our bedroom at home. My wife needed 24-hour care. I had planned to be focused on work, but I had to tell my team that I was going to dip out for the final stages of pre-production. Personally and professionally, it was a nightmare.
The Production
The show goes on. My team picked up my slack. Mark Kargl and the production team found a way to schedule the entire men’s and women’s teams to visit Real Art over the course of a single week.
Each group had about an hour to capture each player’s footage for playercards and a new hype video, including group shots.
I hung out with my wife 24/7, except to film. My mother-in-law took care of Christiane on shoot days so that I could direct.
The Shoot
We filmed. Our time with the players was tight, and they were a little bit like… what the hell is this? But it was fun, and the players got into it. We asked them to improvise, have fun and show off, and they were good at all three.
There were tons of technical complexities, troubleshooting sessions, and lots of stuff we learned right there on-set, but the FlyRig totally worked. It’s footage was beautiful and unique.
It was really exciting to see it happening—and [ broken record ]—having the entire Dayton Flyers basketball teams into Real Art was a dream come true.
Post Production
Before this project, I had a strict policy of “keep work at work, home and home” back in 2013. But this project broke my rule.
For the weeks following the shoot, my Real Art workstation lived in my home. I began post-production at weird hours when my wife slept. Meals from friends and family were super helpful, but as with most tough times in my life, having a meaningful project to help focus my time was the single biggest factor in being able to maintain a positive, patient attitude with Christiane.
With my boy Tyler’s help, I worked from home to build the new hype videos and player cards. Post was a crunch, but I simplified my life into this project and my wife.
Epilogue
My wife’s shoulder healed. The work got done. All materials were ready in time to unveil at the season opener.
Hell of a project. Hell of a story. If you read this far, then I’ll indulge you with a few follow-up details.
An Elite Season
If you read my post on the 2012 UD season materials, you know that part of Archie Miller’s strategy for success at Dayton included having the same level of pre-game experience that the big schools have. His attitude was that if our university looks and feels like a powerhouse basketball school, our players will believe that they can play with anyone in the country. And that plan worked.
The 2013-14 season became a season of dreams. The Dayton Flyers men’s team became the Cinderella story of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in 3 decades. Books were written about this season. The trajectory of Dayton’s basketball was forever changed.
Personally
The following May, my wife and I planted a tree in our front yard in memory of the child we lost.
Since, we’ve had two amazing kids, plenty of awesome projects at Real Art, and lots of amazing Flyers Moments, but this one is just different.
So much love to everyone who was part of this project. The crew at Real Art who was as excited about this idea as I was—specifically Chris Wire who green-lit it. Marc and Bryan for building the amazing FlyRIg. Tyler Morris, who was truly the brain behind the video capture. Mark and Jamie on production (and beyond) Cody Brown #1 Freelancer. I could go on and on.
Afterward
As I went downstairs to my basement this evening to finish up this post, my wife said “It’s 11/11 (our wedding date)... on May 11th!” And a moment later, as I’m going down the stairs… “We planted our tree six years ago today.”
It just so happens that I’m launching this case study on the anniversary of our memorial to this time in our life. Absolutely crazy.
