Dylan’s 2020 Internship Portfolio
While Longwood Athletics department during the Fall semester of 2020 I was tasked with creating a new video series that is entertaining during this time of no athletic events via the Covid-19 Virus. The end result was a Mic’d Up Sights & Sounds video series spanning nearly all of Longwood’s Division One programs including Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Baseball, Women’s Soccer, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, and Women’s Golf. My boss completed the Softball and Cross Country videos in the series with Men’s Soccer being held due to players not wearing their mask properly and Tennis yet to be posted. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the Longwood Athletic department throughout my internship and gaining knowledge and insight that I will be able to implement in the professional world of sports media. One of the main pieces of information I gained from my four months with the department was the ability to test my skills in a professional landscape. I used my abilities of video shooting and editing in combination with audio editing while having to have out of the box video ideas on the fly while at practice. Using all of these skills to quickly shoot, edit, and distribute the video content to fans, players, and students of various Longwood Athletic teams. In my team with the Athletic department at Longwood University, it was not all sunny skies. In this Covid troubled time, mask, social distancing, and all of the various road blocks the virus creates plaques the shooting schedule. The biggest issue caused by Covid was specific clips, files, and in the case of Men’s Soccer, being completely thrown out due to players and coaches not following Covid guidelines. These struggles due to Covid and some creative differences with one peer in the department were obstacles that were overcame in the process.
Below, I have showcased the videos inside the Sights & Sounds series that I created and attached one interesting aspect to that specific shoot that made it different from others. While some of my completed work has not been posted to the internet such as the Tennis Sights & Sounds video and the videos I completed for the ESPN+ telecast showcasing the Cheer, Blue Heat dance team, and True Blue stomp crew teams.
What are some of the videos I created with Longwood Athletics…
The first project I completed fully on my own for my internship was the Mic’d Up Sights & Sounds video for the Baseball team. This video was my first experience having full creative control on a project for the internship and putting my vision forward. The ascetic I enjoy the most from this video was the quick cuts at the start and end that match up with the instrumental.
The next project I want to highlight is the Mic’d Up Media Day video I did for the Women’s Basketball team. This was different from the rest of the Sights & Sounds series due to I gave an individual a microphone and followed them around, as well as, it was not a practice setting. The biggest challenge this video presented was audio. Mallory did a great job with content to use, she just did not hold the microphone at the correct angles for the ample audio levels. In post, I had to do a lot to make all the audio legible.
The next project presented some of my favorite B-Roll shots, especially the opening shot. The Mic’d Up Sights & Sounds video with Women’ Golf was an interesting one to make. I have never filmed Golf before this shoot, so I was learning on the fly, adapting on the move. Another issue that arose was lighting. The shoot started at 6:30 a.m., when I first arrived it was dark, and had to adjust the iris, gain, and ND Filters throughout the shoot that wrapped around 10:30.
My goal for the Field Hockey Sights & Sounds video was to have an equal amount of screen time for goals and saves. That way neither the offense or goalie looks bad being consistently beaten. Another goal for me was to make Field Hockey entertaining to people who may not understand what the sport is.
Hopping over to the Lacrosse Mic’d Up Sights & Sounds video, the key thing for this shoot was establishing a lower third going forward for future shoots. I decided to go with the grey background, white letters, and the blue trim. I went with the same style of the opening credits that I created in After Effects to establish continuity and branding.
Moving back into Basketball, the big goal for this shoot was to shoot and edit within 24 hours for posting due to the season quickly approaching and the coaching staff delaying the shoot day. While shooting, I would write down specific clip numbers I knew I wanted to use so I could quickly head back to the editing rooms and get a draft done for approval and immediately make the edits for social media posting.
The last video I want to highlight is the Mic’d Up Sights & Sounds with Women’s Basketball. The biggest challenge presented with me for this one was appeasing the coach. This was the second shoot of their practice for an addition of the Sights & Sounds series, where the first one did not capture enough coaching from the staff. Therefore for this edit, I went out and tried to find clips of Coach Tillett coaching the team and a player on the team following her instruction.
