SRFC | FORTUNE FAVORS THE BOLD

Since the US won the 2015 World Cup, the buzz around the team has been incredible.  Attendance is up, season tickets for next year are on a record-setting pace for the club, and we are being approached with more media opportunities.  So I decided to tackle a new commercial.  I am always looking to experiment with new looks and new ideas to push our Reign FC brand forward, but also challenge me as a filmmaker and digital artist.  One of the key ideas of this commercial was to introduce fans to some of our other players outside of just Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe.  So I decided to focus on some of our other stars on team; Jessica Fishlock, Kim Little, and Beverly Yanez. 

SRFC | WORLD CUP INTERVIEW

16 years.  It took 16 years for the US Women's National Team to finally win their 3rd World Cup.  Needless to say the team captured the hearts and minds of the entire nation with their historic win.  Within days of winning of their medals, they returned home to greet the fans at Memorial Stadium.  The fans packed the stadium and the cheers from crowd shook the concrete walls.

We sat down with Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe for an exclusive interview at the Seattle Reign FC match, that aired during the broadcast. 

SRFC | SPIRIT

It has been awhile since the team played a home game, but on May 2nd, 2015, the team came home and played a great match against the Washington Spirit in front of 2,000 fans.  The energy from the crowd was amazing and the team was spectacular.  We released this highlight reel for all Seattle Reign FC fans to relive the excitement of the match. 

SRFC | FLASH

April 12th, 2015, the crowd was buzzing, the players were ready, and our staff team was set.  All our hours of preparation was finally coming to a climax for 90 minutes.  It was a dominating performance by the team with a 5-1 result, but it was also my first regular season match covering the Seattle Reign FC.  There was so much hard work and preparation put into this event and to see all the pieces come together on the field and in the broadcast was very special. 

Here are some highlights from the match. 

SRFC | UW

One thing that I have learned over the years is that in order to be successful, you have to be consistent.  This is not a groundbreaking thought, but something I think we tend to overlook.  It's easy to be great for a day or a week, but it becomes more difficult to extend that greatness over a long period of time.  Weeks turn to months, months turn to years, years turn to decades and can you sustain a consistent level of greatness throughout those periods.  This is something I constantly strive for in my life.  I try to challenge myself to be better by putting myself in tough situations, while still holding myself to high standards that I have established for my work.  I don't accept mediocrity.  If I make something, I always want to improve it.  I always want to make it better than what it is.  I see the potential and I know the intent, and it's about pushing both to their limits. 

I recently took a new position as the Video Producer for the Seattle Reign FC, the women's professional football club.  I am in-charge of producing all video content for the club including; commercials, broadcast packages, and social media platforms.  One of my first tasks has been to establish what our match-day workflow and deliverables are.  I have been doing a lot of research looking at other sports franchises to see how they engage their fans and what content they provide them.  The standard framework for this type of content seems to be the Sportscenter model (highlights and interviews). 

However, as filmmaker, this is not enough for me.  I want to dig deeper and get to know these players, and want to create a series that can give our fans a truly intimate connection to this team and to the players which will hopefully generate new fans.  I am so excited about this opportunity to mold and shape the content of Reign FC and I truly believe that we will be on par with the marquee sports franchises, in terms of media content and marketing. 

EDIT

"Editing a documentary is akin to someone handing you a bag of sentences and asking you to write a book." - Travis Swartz

Editing is a marathon.  One of my friends mentioned to me that an editor is the first line of defense between the director's vision and the audience.  It's my job to synthesize the ideas and present them in a way that is accessible to the audience through the proper crafting of the context of the story.  What are the circumstances of the character and his/her world?  How do we creatively integrate that information into the story that grounds the audience and peaks their interest? 

"Context provides the audience entrance into these worlds and our characters' lives.  Once established, we can go about the business of building the emotional landscape necessary for our audience to the story and in turn have film that means something to someone."  - Gary Bayne

What I have learned from this process has been invaluable to my development as a filmmaker.  What I have loved about the process is that I am constantly learning new aspects of my craft and free to experiment in ways that I couldn't before.  It allows me the chance to listen and connect with my characters, so that I can learn, and in turn, give that knowledge to my audience.  Ultimately, it shows you the solitary life of an editor, locked away in a dark room chasing the story that you believe to be out there. 

NEW CLIENTS

Every opportunity is a chance to network and find potential clients to collaborate with in the future.

This week I did some post-production work for a new client that I had never worked with before.  In the beginning, I was very conscious to understand their branding.  I wanted to make sure that I was giving the client something that fit into what they already have established as a company.  As an artist, we are always trying to establish our voice and our aesthetic onto everything we do, but what I have I come to realize over the years is that sometimes it's important to understand the client and to modify your style to accommodate them. 

POKE

"All these foods exist in history, in some history." - Professor Sumida, UW

One of the most memorable moments in shooting this film was when we shot in Kona, Hawaii.  We had been out all day shooting around the island and we came back to the docks to see if any of the fisherman had hooked any big fish, and there's Sam Choy on the dock making poke with his son, Sam Choy Jr.  Sam cutting the tuna on small on the dock.  Sam Jr. cleaning the boat after long days work.  It seems so simple to catch a fish, cut it up, add some salt, and boom you have Poke.  The beauty is... It's really that simple.  Fresh local ingredients, prepared very simply. 

Ironically, that has been my philosophy on art.  Whenever I teach young people, the first thing I always tell them is, "It's not about having the best camera or the fastest computer.  It's about having a strong story and focused idea."  We always get caught up in the technical aspects of film-making and we forget that at it's core its about telling powerful stories.  Stories that touch people.  With this documentary we did not shoot on top-shelf equipment and we edited the film on my laptop, but we were committed to the story and to telling it the best way we could and that's what has kept driving us forward through all of the technical challenges that have come our way.  Maybe one day we will be able to shoot a feature with a RED or an ARRI, but for now I have everything I need to tell the stories I want and I feel like I'm at a place in my life where the sky is the limit. 

NEW YEAR | NEW DESIGN

It's a new year and that means it's time to reflect on the past, and look forward toward the future.

Over the past few months, lots of things have been changing and lots of progress have been made on so many projects.  I am so excited for what the new year has to offer, and I wanted to design a space for me to share it.  I will be posting updates to projects currently in production, excerpts from my residencies, and creative inspirations for future works. 

So for this inaugural post, I wanted to share some lessons learned from documentary I have been working on for the past 12 months, Poke to the Max.  I think the biggest lesson that I learned is that documentary filmmaking is not a part-time job.  You have to be committed to your subject and to your characters.  As a person who is shooting and editing this project, it is especially important for me to be open to any and all opportunities to be with my subjects, if only to observe and to understand them better.  So that I can portray them in a way that is genuine and authentic.  Whenever I am on the truck, with Max, or with Sam I am always observing and taking notes that can inform the edit and the story that we will ultimately tell.  When we started this project, we initially thought we could shoot a pilot for an episodic series but I quickly realized after spending time on the truck and talking with Sam that our story would function better in a longer format, which is what brings us here today. 

I found this amazing video the other day, and it speaks to this point so beautifully.  The Sundance Film Festival asked directors, writers, actors, and artists about their past jobs and the risk of becoming an independent artist.