LSU's Digital-Video Team Capitalizes on Championship Moment With a Social-Video Clinic Versatile, talented team of video-content creators shine through hype videos, quick edits By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital Thursday, January 16, 2020 - 2:39 pm
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During a championship run, a team's internal creative and video-production staff are typically the unsung heroes. Sure, they capture special memories that last a lifetime or create a video that fans share in droves around the internet, but those creators usually float anonymously in the background. Boy, not with this LSU team.
LSU's Matt Tornquist (left) shoots quarterback Joe Burrow following the Tigers CFP National Championship Game victory in New Orleans. (Photo: LSU Athletics)
Over the past season, the spectacular video content being produced and distributed by LSU Creative has been just as much a part of the storyline of the Tigers' title as Joe Burrow's record-setting passing numbers or Coach Ed Orgeron's magnetic personality (and legendary voice). Ok, maybe not quite as much, but you get the idea.
Whether it was the creative team's trilogy of genre-redefining hype videos in advance of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game (which were edited by a student, by the way) or consistent feeding of its social accounts with gorgeous shortform all-access content, LSU's social-video team delivered a special season for the school's fans. And it didn't go unnoticed by the national media: outlets from ESPN to Sports Illustrated and others wondered who was doing it and how?
People are obsessed with these. It's pretty unbelievable, says Brandon Berrio, associate director, creative and digital content, LSU Athletics. It's something our fans enjoy. Some schools do one thing and do it really well. I'm proud of the fact that our team has found that.
According to data released by Twitter on Jan. 11, the @LSUfootball account racked up a staggering 48 million video views and 265 million impressions on the social platform from September to December. And that's before content came pouring out at and around the title game in New Orleans.
So how did Berrio and his team attack the Natty? With a handful of full-time shooters and editors paired up with some ultra-talented students tasked with providing an inside look at the game that fans have rarely experienced before.
The hype videos are the work of LSU student Will Stout. The junior started his LSU career as a freshman editing some hype videos for the school's gymnastics team, and they quickly became his calling card. His work snagged the spotlight over the past couple of weeks as fans (and industry professionals) have fallen in love with his videos that accompanied the Tigers' appearance in the Peach Bowl and then the CFP National Championship Game:
I Remember Rock Bottom
That's Why I Know Where I'm Going So Let's GEAUX pic.twitter.com/qkBpXpp15q
- LSU Football (@LSUfootball) January 13, 2020
Stout worked alongside LSU Digital Media Reporter Cody Worsham, who wrote the scripts for the pieces, while Derek Ponamsky, special assistant to Coach Ed Orgeron, coordinated the voiceovers, landing big names like Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Tim McGraw, John Goodman, and others.
Although Stout spent a lot of time editing, he did plenty of shooting as well, using both a Sony a7III mirrorless camera on a DJI Ronin-S gimbal and a Sony PXW-FS7 with a Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens on a Hi Hat.
Not all motivational hype videos were for the public, either. LSU Assistant Director, Athletic Video, Jacob Brown was also creating content meant solely for the eyes of the players and coaches. He shot his footage with a Sony PXW-FS7 camera with a Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens, all on a Hi Hat.
LSU has also excelled with short-form videos that spotlight the creative team's shooting abilities. Matt Tornquist, coordinator of creative and digital content, was tasked with turning around quick edits (much like the shot of Joe Burrow smoking a postgame celebratory cigar that went viral). Tornquist primarily was shooting with a Sony a7III mirrorless camera paired with a series of lenses, including the Sony FE 24-70mm f2.8 zoom, a Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS, and a Sony FE 2.0x teleconverter. He also used a DJI Ronin-S gimbal and a Hi Hat to assist on his shots.
Get The Nat pic.twitter.com/1udC79q6cc
- LSU Football (@LSUfootball) January 14, 2020
Another key performer in those quick edits was LSU Video Coordinator Matt Karin. He produced the first piece of content that crossed over into the mainstream with his now iconic shot of Joe Burrow's Senior Day entrance. At CFP, he also shot with a Sony a7III but worked largely with prime lenses, such as the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM and the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4. He did also use the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS zoom lens and had a DJI Ronin-s gimbal of his own to go along with a monopod.
For LSU Creative, it wasn't just about shortform social content. Production Specialist Caleb Thornton was responsible for producing any of LSU's linear-television programming. He used a more video-specific camera in the Sony PXW-FS5, which is capable of shooting in 4K and high dynamic range. He paired that with both the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens and the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS lens.
Berrio played a critical role in balancing all this creative work. Hype videos could take Stout hours and hours to produce, but the squad kept fans appetites fed with loads of shortform content that set the scene and delivered a fresh, in-the-moment feel.
LSU's Brandon Berrio: Some schools do one thing and do it really well. I'm proud of the fact that our team has found that.
One of the common misconceptions about LSU's video pe
