Sports Illustrated: High School Football, COVID-19 and the Pain of the Deep South

Sports Illustrated: High School Football, COVID-19 and the Pain of the Deep South

Execute

Filmed in Albany, GA

Sports Illustrated: High School Football, COVID-19 and the Pain of the Deep South

Execute

Filmed in Albany, GA

Objective

Sports Illustrated® approached us with their November 2020 feature: High School Football, COVID-19 and the Pain of the Deep South. The story? A high school football team in Albany, Georgia, was fighting to get back on the field after the coronavirus ravaged their town and community. Albany had seen one of the highest rates of COVID-19 in the nation. Because the story covered personal topics and involved filming in close quarters, the project required a small footprint and a sensitive creative approach. Sports Illustrated producers were not able to travel to the location, requiring our team to advise on the best shooting locations and conduct the production.

I worked with the Adrenaline team on a pair of major feature stories for Sports Illustrated. In each case, they were terrific partners in the field — adapting on the fly to schedule changes; capturing vital B-roll, and asking sharp questions about the reporting I'd done along the way — which helped yield finished products we were proud of.

Brian Burnsed // Sports Illustrated Reporter

Solution

We compiled a small crew who remotely collaborated with Sports Illustrated producers to achieve a series of highly emotional interviews and footage in a limited time span, all while adhering to strict COVID-19 precautions. In lieu of a producer on-site, our team led the execution of shots and setups on the ground, advising Sports Illustrated reporter Brian Burnsed on ideal locations, while ensuring that our captured content was cohesive with his cover story. Care was taken to capture intimate details of locations that would serve the story, all while utilizing and optimizing natural lighting conditions on a tight schedule.

Team Members