Filming day on the @agfacademy videos

Back in June 2018 I was asked to shoot video for the Andre Gray Football Academy @agfacademy initiative setup by @oracle-d

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If you're not familiar with the project, then I'd suggest you check out the intro post here

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The omnipresent founders of @oracle-d and @promo-steem respectively - Matt @starkerz and Dylan @anarcotech - had orchestrated the setup of this project and asked if I could work on the video pieces which communicated the background and tasks of the project.

So after a planning call I packed my gear and got ready to shoot.
Turned out all I needed was my camera, mic and tripod - but hey ho, if the boy scouts taught me anything it was to be prepared

To get a sense of the over all project, here's an example of one of the 'drill' videos, that was released last month:

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Our (short, but productive) filming day began at 12.30pm at a recreational park in Wolverhampton

We setup in one of the empty concrete football 5-a-side courts. It was a blisteringly hot day, and I forgot the suncream. Great start.

The Matt and Dylan both setup the banner on the fence and made a few calls to follow up on our guest. After setting up the camera and mic (and after a quick test) we were ready to shoot.

Andre arrived swiftly with his crew of 5 friends; some just watched and two would participate on camera.
There was an easy atmosphere as Andre settled in to the role of talking and presenting his ideas. The team were also given PROMO-STEEM t-shirts. They wore them well.

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We began shooting a talking head with Andre, about his early days in football and how the project was setup to help kids from a disadvantaged background. None of his answers were scripted, this meant his words came straight from the heart.

He nailed what was needed despite a couple of microphone problems on my side.
We framed the background talking shots in front of the #Promo-Steem banner for what became the Introduction video.

After the intro, we decided the best format to shoot this (in the limited time we had) was to get ALL his pieces to camera explaining the 'drill' and why the skills are necessary in one go.
After that, we focussed on demonstrating the skills on camera.

This was really exciting to watch unfold, especially in the presence of a pro.
The sheer sound of the boot impacting the ball on a strike - when done by a pro - is astonishingly loud. I got an immediate sense of the athletic level these guys were at, even if it was just a bit of fun.

For the demo shots I decided to go handheld with the camera, keeping the clip mic on Andre to hear his running commentary throughout. I think my favourite bit was the moments of Andre vollying the ball - great to shoot in slow-motion.

The last part of the shoot as we wound down was an impromptu kick about between Andre, his mates, and Dylan and Matt! The eagle eyed among you might see moments of the Oracle-D lads in the background of a shot, getting stuck in.

This was a valuable moment for me to get some incidental shots of unstructured, relaxed football - with laughter and action all around. I prefer moments like that, that capture the real essence of the day, one that's not tied by the pressure of having to deal with being an a presence on camera.

We wrapped the shoot in only a few hours, and following that was a couple days of editing; everything from structure, music, titling, grading, sound levels.

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So that was a little overview behind our shoot in the middle of June. I implore anyone and everyone to investigate http://www.andregrayfootballacademy.com and get involved in this fantastic project! #AGFAcademy @agfacademy