SPORTSBALL
“Ever dreamt of winning the grand slam with a golf club on a basketball court? Ever imagined scoring the game-winning goal with a ping-pong paddle at a football stadium? In the world of SPORTSBALL, dreams don't just come true; they're the rule!… ” —bit.ly/sportsballstar
Directed & Edited by Anthony M Gomez | Written by Anthony M Gomez and Jimmy Tierney | Original Theme by Jimmy Tierney
This overall project was designed to feature as many unique gameplay outcomes as possible, paying special attention to key game features—all this while exemplifying the silly, pseudo-serious tone of the game. It serves as call-to-action promotional content for the Sportsball crowdfunding campaign.Each player’s turn and the full round of gameplay could feasibly happen in a real game. This was logistically helpful for shooting, but would be a lot to digest and unnatural to try and deliver through dialogue alone. The actors largely improvised table talk based on loosely scripted dialogue, while a tight script drove the informative vehicle of the video: sports commentators. This allowed for a consistently interesting flow of visual antics and humorous commentary that also provides useful context for introducing Sportsball to the audience.Full Intro | Teaser 1
A slow motion, mysterious walk-up & reveal is intercut with quick snippets of this “Sports Guy’s” suiting up, packing his gear. Capped off with some editing continuity humor (sunglasses close-up and clothing), the intro effectively sets the tone of both the video and the card game it represents.
Using a character and scene concept by game creator Jimmy Tierney, I wrote and shot an epic introduction spoof to be used in the full promotional video (above). Small portions of the full introduction are edited down to lead in the other teaser videos, using relevant portions of the full version where applicable (i.e. foreshadowing the tennis racket for the ping-pong teaser: see Teaser 4).
Basketball Net | Teaser 2
On this turn, Player One selects the Basketball equipment card to be used at the Soccer Field location. After he rolls, we are transported through the die to see a real-life version of his attempt!
This video establishes the teaser format for this project. It begins with a brief intro transitioning via graphic wipe, using the official product branding. This is followed by teasing a round of gameplay, a visualization of the turn outcome, and a call to action to close it out.
Fishing | Teaser 3
Player Two should have no problem taking the Fishing Pole to the Fishing Hole, yet her turn becomes quite the emotional roller coaster.
The teaser videos were created first as a way of assembling the full video efficiently—two birds with one stone. A most notable difference would be the false fail and reimagining of the roll outcome: the effect was enhanced in the full video to pull saturation, keep the fishing scene in the background throughout, and reverse time into the final version of the fishing attempt. This more appropriately presents as an initial misunderstanding by the group, rather than what might be perceived as a do-over.
Ping-Pong | Teaser 4
He rolls a 4! Is that enough for Player Three to score big points at the Ping-Pong Table with the Tennis Racket? Grunt once for yes; grunt twice for no.
To loosely follow some fantastical internal logic, this was shot as an effortful bout to mirror the close roll—he rolled 1 shy of the win. It was designed to be cross-cut against a very casual, effortless, formidable opponent for comedic effect.
Football | Teaser 5
That’s a risky move, taking a Football to the Baseball Field, but one she is willing to take! Player Four swiftly rolls a perfect 6, a Sportsball, showing off her skill… and luck.
Truly harder than it looks; this was one of many instances where we spent the extra time to capture a ‘trick-shot’ moment, so-to-speak. That last look to camera was perfectly improvised and lent itself to a snap zoom in the edit.
Baseball Bat | Teaser 6
An absolute Sportsball Legend of a play!
In Teaser 3 the Sportsball Legend card is used to save Player Two’s fishing roll and here it is highlighting an over-the-top win. It’s quite a feat to sink a three-pointer using a baseball bat, so the slow-mo emphasizes this in the teaser. The full video allows the shot to play out in full display and real-time long enough to dispel any doubt that there were no effects used to create the ‘trick-shot’. And then once more for the “coveted instant replay!”
