SPORTS PRODUCER

I proposed and designed a comprehensive overhaul of the Gridiron Glory motion graphics package — featuring lower thirds, tickers, on-set monitors, show opens, and full screen templates. My primary goals in undertaking this project were to…

• Establish structure by using on-set monitors to display the rundown of games covered throughout the show. These rundowns, created for both Showtime and Digital games, were introduced by the host at the start of each episode to tease what was in store. During game segments, a map of the region supported these graphics by illustrating where in the community each matchup took place. Additionally, I created an open headlines package in order to establish the biggest storylines upfront.

• Improve visual storytelling by creating a series of headline lower thirds that can be used on all VO, SOT, and PKG video. This allowed audiences to understand which teams we were discussing, the impacts of a story, and see key statistics at any time with just a glance. And as the top source for the conference title and post-season races, I wanted to utilize an abundance of standings and bracket full screens in all relevant episodes.

• Create consistency by applying a fresh coat of paint to the old lower thirds, full screens, and ticker elements that had not been updated since our 2019 rebrand. The lower third assets I provided to our graphics engineer were designed to integrate seamlessly with each other for back-to-back lowers — and designed for a fluid design with the ticker that creates a coherent visual identity throughout the entire broadcast. The revised ticker was developed, but not implemented in time for the season.

Gridiron Glory isn’t unique because of standout talent or spectacular highlights. It’s special because we highlight football in a region where it’s central to a community’s identity. This was a noted point of improvement upon the previous season, both among the exec staff and our management. We took the following steps to more effectively integrate community:

• Spotlighting feature stories by selecting Game of the Week for reasons beyond the competitive aspect. In an effort to build excitement for our selections among players, families, and community members alike — each episode’s Game of the Week segment was preceded by an off-the-field story. This took the form of either a 90-second NAT/SOT package spotlighting tradition and community, or a full-length feature story produced by one of our lead reporters. Either way, footage in these packages utilized little to no football action; instead, reporters were challenged to tell stories using a creative variety of shots beyond the game.

• Introducing game previews that prominently utilized cutaways, nat sound, and shot variety from the scenes before kickoff. These previews were 20-30 second VO and VOSOTs that ran right before each game’s highlight call. Each week I met with reporters to ensure that preview scripts communicated the importance of each game — the historic significance, the potential for community impact, or the implications for team success.

• Requiring story pitches for each game from our lead reporters that provided a compelling community, historic, or rivalry angle. Rather than only selecting the games that the execs believed would be the most competitive, we left it up to reporters to sniff out the games with the biggest implications — whether that was for fans, players, or team success.

I often describe myself as a hands-on producer; I want to work one-on-one with every reporter in the process of building a show. But it’s not so I can point fingers and nitpick their work. Every reporter takes a unique approach to telling stories — I believe it’s my job to understand their vision, reach a mutual understanding about the best way to tell a story, and build a rundown that both exercises their creativity and serves the best interests of the show:

• Held story development meetings every Monday with the on-air talent reporting on each game. The reporter and I would pitch to each other our visions for telling the story in a broadcast segment. We determined the footage, sounds, and stats that needed to be gathered in order to discuss the game. We would address the use of graphics, interaction with monitors, ad-libbed chats, and anything else to storytelling as appropriate — before ultimately agreeing upon the best way to block out their segment of the rundown.

• Hosted reporter workshops for camera operation, audio recording, shot composition, video editing, script writing, and graphic structure so that young and veteran reporters alike were adequately prepared to gather and prepare all content.

To do this, we stationed senior reporters Jack & Chloe at a desk for the entire show — and right out the gate, we teased that they’d be our “playoff experts” throughout the episode (0:57). Host Jacob Motta moved around the set with reporting staff to cover five showtime games, including a dual-coverage live shot segment from two reporters across the state (10:34).

After each segment (and the digital game rundown) Motta tossed back to Jack & Chloe, who broke down the playoff picture in the region where the respective teams compete. We started by confirming which of our teams had clinched a spot, and how many spots were still available in the region. For each team with a fighting chance, we took ~15 seconds to mention the result of that night’s game, how it impacted their playoff odds, and looked ahead to critical games that could make or break their seasons.

In addition to conference standings fullscreens, 26 fullscreens based on the results of that night’s games needed to be built before 11:30. That was my task. I laid the groundwork in the days leading up, gathering information for each team’s winning and losing scenarios in a Google document.

It was a lot of information to pack into a few minutes. But my producing philosophy, especially for a show that can be paused/rewatched online, is that rapid pacing is the right sacrifice to ensure all communities are represented in each show. That said, there were things I’d do differently. Jack and Chloe were running out of gas toward the end; I think that rather than having them monologue from the prompter, they could’ve been just as effective ad-libbing off the numbers/graphics. Also, instead of just listing the teams who clinched, I would show the playoff picture as a bracket, with highlights denoting the teams locked in.

A special thanks to fantastic50.net for providing all simulation data used in this episode.

One of my favorite decisions in this episode was rearranging reporters around the desk. While I liked having Jack & Chloe slide in on either side in previous episodes (1:03), having Motta sit opposite of the senior reporters creates clearer hierarchy and makes the projector graphics far more visible (0:44).
Note: An operational hiccup caused the monitor graphics in this episode’s opening to present out of order.

Another highlight was the integration of player of the year discussion. Because all the finalists teams’ were still playing at the time, we dedicated ~20 seconds to each player’s impact during each game segment. These chats were accompanied by graphics I proposed (5:03) that encouraged fans to go online and vote for each player during their spotlight. We ultimately reached record-high voting numbers this season.

For each Friday game segment, we were all comfortable enough late in the season to get creative with blocking and monitor usage. We experimented with using cutaways on a monitor to set the scene for a game (18:12) and having the hosts turn to face the projector for the Game of the Week live-shot (24:29). The ad-libbed chat with Zack (8:01) was supposed to be on-camera as he interacted with video on the monitor, but the segment snowballed when footage was run through the wrong server.

Another game featured one team’s reporter live from the field, while the other left at halftime to report in-studio. The two discussed their teams’ performances with each other on a wall monitor (3:17). While I learned we should’ve scripted the segment for a more conversational back-and-forth, it allowed us to get a full game of coverage and still have the fresh energy of an in-studio reporter.

Saturday game previews were also incredibly strong. Grayson provided outstanding yet conversational insight in his ad-libbed previews of the Division VI games (10:52) with our senior reporters, the experts on his teams’ opponents. For D7, Ethan and Cam visited their teams at practice to get compelling quotes and stories on how each was prepping for a run at the regional title (14:47).

In terms of performance and production, I felt this was our most well-rounded success despite a couple tech hiccups. We wrapped up the show by revisiting our Coach of the Year finalists and teasing all of next week’s excitement for the hour-long season finale (25:56).

Just two weeks prior, we had announced the return of the All-GG Team for its second season. Fans could look forward to another finale honoring 50 players from all parts of southeast Ohio to make up our ‘all-star’ roster. Throughout the hour, our hosts went position by position to introduce the highlights, stats, and achievements of each athlete selected.

The All-GG reveals took up just under half of the episode runtime; other segments were strategically interwoven between each position group. The finale featured in-studio interviews with Player of the Year finalists (5:31) and the Coach of the Year (49:05). Plus, reporters both in the studio (29:09) and live from the field (20:29) provided coverage of the weekend’s Regional Championships. As is tradition, the season was concluded with the iconic Player of the Year crowning (55:38).

The All-GG position groups were revealed in their own packages made up of individual player VOs. Each was written, edited, and recorded by a reporter who covered the player all season — whether they were a regular on the show, or hearing their voice on-air for the first time. This was not only a great way to delegate a complex workload, but a great way for families to recognize the voices calling out their name all season long.

The package was overlayed with custom lower thirds for each player, displaying their team logo and season stats. The length of each VO was determined by position, and whether the player received “first-team” recognition as part of our starting lineups. Additionally, any players who were previously shouted out on the show received flashbacks to past episodes (8:00) for their callouts.

Building the roster was a month-long process. After the regular season ended, our lead reporters all came to me with pitches for players who stood out to them. I also had them seek coaches’ opinions to get the most valuable outside input. I ultimately set up a spreadsheet that compiled stats and info on more than 100 players. It took weeks of individual & group meetings, in the heat of playoff coverage, to narrow the list down to 50.

We also wanted to ensure the team represented a variety of teams and communities; we didn’t overpopulate the roster with the biggest/most competitive schools. I capped off the number of players from each team based on their season success, and likewise, created a minimum for our most successful teams.

The All-GG honors led the finale to become our most-viewed episode of the season for the second year in a row.