Messi Mania // TV
Project Scope
Explore the global hype surrounding the move of Lionel Messi to Major League Soccer, the ripple effect it has sent through the world of soccer, and the media craze that ensued, and contrast it all with the simplicity of the player stepping onto the pitch and playing the beautiful game.
Approach
"Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait"
When we see Messi, his name is enough to feel something. We understood that his playing is enough for futbol fans to drool over. So we took aspects from the beautiful doc of Zidane and integrated the mass media around him to build up the iconic goal he made on his debut.
The timing could have been better. The green light came two days before his unveiling, and we had to navigate the media craze. While only approved for a limited amount of credentials, we decided to have one camera roaming and one with the largest zoom possible to capture all the emotion and play.
Credits
Produced by: Starting Eleven
Directors: Casey Wertz & Devin L'Amoreaux
Dp: Keith Dixon
Gimbal Op: Joe Sanchez
Ac: Jason Cadena
Music + sound mix: Zane Callister
Sound design: Christian O'Keefe
Color: Ian Matthews
Edit: Christian O'Keefe
MLS Producers: Kyle Green, Galina Plutova
Special Thanks: Inter Miami CF, Molly Dreska, Rafa Cabrera
Initially, a doc that was supposed to comprise of a few games dwindled to one as it was enough to tell the story. We captured Argentina fans bowing down to a mural of Messi, fans fighting their way into the training center to see Messi, and Messi winning his first game on a free kick in the closing minute. The script was written for us.
"The team at Starting Eleven did a great job with storytelling. They laid out the emotion nicely and weren't afraid to show a full range of emotion, which set me up to score the film. I wanted to press into the nervous energy the fans felt with the weather and all the unknowns circulating in Miami. Seeing the footage of the stadium erupting once Messi's name was called helped me find a theme of triumph I could use to send the view directly into the stadium with the thousands of other fans. Messi mania was a blast to work on and an opportunity I'll be forever grateful for!"