We had a blast producing this spot for the Durango Colorado based Skyhawks for Fort Lewis College. The Skyhawks basketball teams have been doing very well this year and it was time to highlight their talent in a powerful way.
Vision for the video
They were looking to create something for both mens and women’s basketball teams that incorporated game excitement along with a lot of energy. We chose to land on a day just before the semester started on campus so we could have a long block of uninterrupted hours in the Skyhawks’ main basketball facility. With complete control of the massive gym, we took out the main overheads (having to track down the security light breaker) and got to work creating a low key high contrast look that would enhance the drama and add a visceral component to the aesthetics. We also brought in our fog machine to give some dimension through backlights to the otherwise darkened space.
Working with the teams was a real treat, they were receptive to direction and were very willing to run the same plays countless times. We were quick and agile, but we still needed 3 or 4 runs of each play to capture the perfect motion.
Cinematography Notes
Something this commercial called for was something I would call flowing kinetic cinematography, meaning the shots needed to possess an intrinsic energy that would flow between edits. This was accomplished through both preproduction, anticipating what types of motion transition would keep the energy, as well as during production when adjusting the plan to each individual talent, and then finally working through post production, marrying the right segments together. All with the purpose of flowing energy. The client loved the video, and it will air, alongside another spot we created for the college, on ESPN the second week of February 2017! Check out a few of the behind the scenes shots below. We’d love to hear what you thought about it, let us know in the comments!
