FilmCore Tim Fender helps to show what it really takes to be a major league ball player in editing a new series of spots for the Oakland Athletics. The 12-spot package out of San Francisco agency McCann-Erickson take the form of deadpan mockumentaries that purport to show some of the things As players go through in preparing themselves for the baseball season, from their workout routines to the way they trim their beards. Fender edited nine spots for the package. FilmCore Nikki Winit cut the other three.

Grounders shows several players taking batting practice. The sonorous voice-over extols the commitment of the young phenoms, noting that they run hard to first base, even after hitting routine grounders. A pullback, however, reveals another reason for the players’s haste, as a batting instructor uses a pair of rottweilers to encourage them to move.

‘The scripts are so funny, that my role was to make sure the editing didn’st get in the way,’ said Fender. ‘The cuts need to feel seamless.’

All of the players featured in the spots are actual members of Oakland team. Getting non-actors to function effectively and naturally in comedic scenarios can present a challenge to both the director and the editor. ‘Athletes can sometimes have trouble with their line delivery and that can limit your choices,’ said Fender. ‘You have to be very judicious with your cuts, because you want the joke to work, but you also want to make the player look good.’

Fender added that the sheer number of spots added to the challenge. ‘They shot 12 spots in two days, so it was very much run and gun,’ he said. ‘The editorial was predicated on what they shot and they were very efficient. They did a remarkable job with the material.’

This is the third straight season that Fender has cut the ad campaign for the Oakland baseball team. ‘This year ads are the best we’sve done,’ Fender said. ‘It a challenge to pull it off in the time we have?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üsome of the spots were written on location?‚àö√ë‚àö√Übut it was also very refreshing?‚àö√ë‚àö√Üa fun campaign to work on.’

About FilmCore Editorial
FilmCore Editorial San Francisco is located at 545 Sansome St., 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111-2908. For more information, call (415) 392-6300.

Credits:
Title: Gym
Length: :30
Client: Oakland Athletics

Agency: McCann Erickson, San Francisco. Jeff Huggins, ECD; Michael Bettendorf, copywriter; Mark Krajan, copywriter; Kevin Gammon, art director; David Verhoef, Hannah Murray, producers; Chris McDonald, account director.

Production Company: Space Program, Universal City, Ca. Frank Samuel, director; Bill Reilly, exec. producer; Helen Hollien, producer; Paul Taylor, production supervisor.

Editing Company: FilmCore SF, San Francisco. Tim Fender, editor; Jon Ettinger, exec. producer; Dave Burghardt, on-line / Henry; Tracy Coleman, Ben Somkin, producers.

Post Facility: Company 3, Santa Monica, CA. Sean Coleman, Mike Pethel, colorists.

Audio Mix: Slate Run Productions, Oakland, CA. Jay Shilliday, mixer.