Way back in March, I took a brief hiatus from life in Mexico. From life on the road in general. I went back to the U.S. for the first time in over a year and a half. It wasn’t a scheduled visit and it wasn’t a long one.
My friend Nick contacted me in December (I think), asking me to leverage my soccer knowledge to help him brainstorm ideas for an upcoming video he was going to shoot. He works for Audi North America and has been crushing project after project. If you remember, I linked up with him in Munich a while back to lend a hand on some running footage they were shooting with a bunch of exotic models. It eventually turned into this incredible, incredible video: An Avant Story.
So, taking that as the benchmark for this upcoming project, it was obviously a promising situation. The concept was to create an engaging video for MLS that showcased a renewed commitment to their development academies, which Audi has a large part in.
Audi. MLS. Soccer. High end production. Say no more.
As far as I knew at that time, I was only an ideas man. After a few days of refining pieces of the script, combing through inspirational videos, and drumming up various options for plays, I put everything back into Nick’s capable hands. He was preparing to welcome a new baby into the family, so there was a bit of a crunch to tackle production and post.
A good 2 months went by.
I hadn’t heard anything new, so I figured the spot was close to finished or ready to debut. Suddenly, I get a message asking, “Are you available and do you like money?” The answer to both is always yes.
Within the course of an afternoon, I was booked on the shoot — round-trip airfare and the lot. Production was beginning in less than a week. Turns out, this was Nick’s first project back after the baby.
I landed in D.C. on a sunny day in early March. Immediate culture shock…in my own country. No matter. As I found my bearings, we hit the ground running.
My role was a very unique marriage between soccer choreographer and on-set editor. We shot for 4 days in and around D.C. United’s academy practice fields as well as in their brand-new stadium. Aptly named Audi Field.
The first part of the shoot contained all of the major soccer components. First, we worked with the U-13 players. It was a balancing act drawing up plays for kids without knowing their exact ability. During production, you always expect to run behind due to arranging setups, additional coverage, or technical difficulties. Knowing that, we couldn’t waste any more time reworking the soccer parts because they were too complex. Even though we went into the shoot with this mindset, we got a little carried away about a few particular moments that excited us visually. Surprisingly, the U-13 kids were a knock out. Their talent was exceptional and they were pin-point on what we needed from them. We encountered more difficulty from the older U-19s, albeit their plays and our camera moves were significantly more complex. Either way, the material we were capturing was looking saucy as hell.
After two incredibly cold, damp, and late nights in the stadium, we packed it up and transitioned to Richmond. I changed hats to prep things for editing while we filmed the more contextual, storytelling elements.
In between production hours, I was able see friends and family for a bit which was great. Not long enough of course, but I was meant to return in a month, so even though it was short, it was a nice stop-gap.
As the shoot came to a close, I was a reinvigorated person. Familiar faces, fulfilling work, and a long-awaited taste of home. Being in that environment was definitely a soul-replenisher. In addition, it was a reminder of the talent, capability, and influence that my friends and family inject into my life.
About a week after I returned to Mexico, the coronavirus exploded. Unsurprisingly, it affected the postproduction of the video as well as just about everything else in the world. You would think it would make the editing process easier. However, with companies temporarily closing and full-time stay-at-home situations, resources were more difficult to come by.
Nick and I continued to collaborate for a few weeks following the wrap of the shoot. We chiseled the :60 version into something. Though it was still a work in progress, I felt that something was missing. It wasn’t quite having the resonating strength and impact that I imagined while watching the monitors during filming. It was difficult to nail down why.
We arrived at a place where we needed to let the visual effects team take over and do their work. Yeah, by the way, everything we shot in the stadium was without a crowd. So to make it feel like a real game scenario, a vfx team was going to create the environment. Insane. But as mentioned, they were sidelined for a time because of COVID-19. Naturally.
Once again, a period of time went by where quarantine life was moving along and the project slowly drifted out of mind.
Cut to earlier this month — it’s July now — when Nick sent me a link to the nearly-finished video. Boom. The combination of sfx, sound design, and fine tuning had delivered the potential that was there during production.
After a few more patient days or weeks (who really knows anymore), it’s finally live and ready to be shared. Not to mention, it is airing twice during every MLS game this season, or whatever you want to call ranges of time during this era.
The video below is the long-form version that allows some moments to develop and land. I can proudly say it’s the best thing I’ve ever done professionally. Awesome to see that growth, but it will definitely be difficult to top. Unlimited thanks go out to Nick, Tilt Creative + Production and the production and post teams for the dedicated and creative work that went into this beauty.
Enjoy!