Production on Player Profiles
The University of Georgia Bulldog’s Athletic Department has good examples of well-produced player profiles. The pieces that interest me the most are on up-and-coming players. Their stories can connect with audiences across the world; and depending on the type of story it can inspire all-kinds of people. The story on former UGA defensive end Reuben Faloughi, gives the audience the insight on why he chose football, while also telling the story of how he received a full ride scholarship after originally being a walk-on for the football team.
The video on Faloughi also can be viewed on georgiadogs.com in the sports section. If you watch this piece, you can learn how to properly do a quick player profile. The piece does a very good job in examining the life of Faloughi, while using b-roll of him at UGA practice and also high school football photos.
It also does a good job of explaining his life and the reason he chose UGA over other colleges. The piece is obviously centered on the player he is and the player and person he aspires to be, but it also explains the type of man he is. In the video, the audience will see a mature young man, who aspires to do the best he can on the gridiron, but it also allows the audience to cheer for, because he was underestimated and had to join the team as a walk-on.
“We are at the Spring banquet, and so Coach Richt goes up there; and we are going through awards. He said defensive walk on reward goes to Reuben Faloughi, but he said, ‘he isn’t a walk-on’ anymore.’ Everyone looked at each other and I just smiled.”
“There’s no way another guy is going to outwork me.”
-Faloughi in the UGA profile piece
I really like this piece, because it’s not entirely long, but it does connect with the audiences and does a fantastic job of giving the viewers insight to the player in just over three minutes. The piece did have some things I would have changed, but it was still well produced and I want to produce something similar to this.
In my opinion, the profile didn’t need to have a on-air talent to open the production. Instead, it should have used an establishing shot of the UGA football field, or possibly Faloughi making a tackle, while tracking the commentator’s play-by-play commentary. The voice-over by Maria Taylor (talent on camera) wasn’t necessary, but it did add more to the story. Taylor did do a good job of leading to the next topics in the profile.
Between Taylor and Faloughi, there weren’t any other voices used in the piece. Unfortunately, this player profile should have had a few teammates and the head coach explaining why he deserved the scholarship and how he’s impacted the team. Was he a good teammate? Is that why he received the scholarship? Or was it something completely different? Those voices could have taken the profile to the next level. Although these voices could have added more time to the overall production, I think it would have added more information on Faloughi. It would have made the piece a better overall quality.
This video was a good quality for a college production and it engaged all fans that wanted to learn a lot more about their favorite players. It also gives good sound bites from the player and his career. It also engages every viewer who aspires to get a scholarship, whether it’s an athletic scholarship, or not. The piece will give the audience a belief that if they put forth the work, than they will be rewarded in the long run.
Kyle Jones is a senior journalism major at the Center for Collaborative Journalism. He works as a producer and camera operator with WMUB/ESPN3 and hopes to find a job doing sports production after graduation.
