Because of the nature of this project, there is a lot fewer moving parts for me to keep up with. First of all, I will be the only crew member, as everything being recorded will only require one camera, or two at the absolute maximum. The only time two cameras will be necessary will be for the interviews, with the second camera serving solely as a backup in case something goes wrong with the primary camera. As for the B-roll, I can grab that myself, as I plan on attending at least one basketball game to get some action shots of both Coach Helfer and the team in general.
Scheduling the interviews will be the real challenge of this project. With the team currently in the middle of the season, most of their free time and free days are taken up by travel, games, and practices. So, getting Coach Helfer and a few of the players will be quite the challenge. But, it should still be very possible. Even getting ahold of them after practice would work. I’ll start to move into that phase soon.
The more I’ve thought about the theme of this piece, the more ideas have popped up. From the dynasty approach, talking about his continued and sustained success in such a small city like Valdosta, to the loyalty story, of a coach in such a chaotic industry staying put for such a long time, there are many different directions to take this story. Honestly, my current plan is to take it in all the directions I can come up with. Because this is going to essentially be split into three segments, each segment could become one individual piece to a much larger story. One part is about Helfer himself and why he stayed, one is about his overall style and coaching philosophy, and the other about the history of the program and its’ success since Coach Helfer’s hiring.