BOSTON – There has been a palpable buzz surrounding the Boston Celtics in recent months as they prepare for a special playoff berth this spring.
Much of that hype was self-generated from the team's performance on the court, posting a league-best 64-18 during the regular season. This is their best record since they went 66-16 during the 2007-08 championship season.
But much of this year's excitement also started with off-the-court production from another Celtics team. This is a creative team that has worked behind the scenes to enliven the playoff campaign through various marketing strategies. And this is our boldest, most technologically advanced campaign yet.
All of the playoff hype videos and graphics you've probably seen on the team's official social media pages, all of the street banners, digital signage, and motion graphics inside the arena that you've seen firsthand. All those assets you may have are the result of countless hours of work by the organization's creative and content teams, which are comprised of 10 talented artists and creative minds.
- Jackie Arndt – Junior Graphic Designer
- matt carney – Digital Content Production Manager
- sam crocker – Digital content production director
- Gage Duchon – Seasonal content producer and editor
- bred hampton – Digital content producer
- john pickard – Senior Videographer
- katie silver – graphic designer
- jeremiah wilson – Digital Content Specialist
- jack woo – Graphic designer and creative operations
- Kate von Eiderstein – Digital Content Specialist
These 10 people, with various titles and responsibilities, all come together in the months leading up to the postseason to funnel ideas into a creative cauldron and develop a consistent game plan that Boston's coaching staff would be proud of. I made it up.
Their brainstorming sessions create an iron-sharpening effect where they learn from each other's ideas and give each other feedback. This will allow them to level up their efforts and bring them closer to their common goal of being the best creative/content group in the NBA.
In recent days, we have only begun to see the fruits of their hard work. One of the most exciting pieces to come out of this campaign was the first playoff hype video released on all of the team's social media platforms on Saturday, the day before the on-court postseason journey officially began. did.
Duchon wrote the screenplay as the lead editor of this futuristic, technology-based production, stitching all its elements together to create a masterpiece. He said the time spent on the process was “too much” to count, but it all paid off as the video quickly racked up millions of impressions.
However, Duchon wasn't the only person behind the creation of this video. Content His entire team played a role in that innovation, bringing individual concepts to the table and executing them during his marketing shoot for Team Playoffs, which took place at his WGBH studio in Brighton in mid-March.
Each segment of the video had its own station within the studio, and each setup was initiated and operated by a different member of the content team. Wilson came up with the cloning concept seen in theaters at the beginning of the video. Von Eiderstein built a laser station that followed soon after. Duchon conceptualized subsequent repeat stations. Others also assisted by providing different camera angles and technical support.
This group put in a lot of effort to master such a technical project. For example, the laser cutting machine turned out to be unexpectedly complex to use, so Carney had to enlist the help of a laser expert in the middle of New Hampshire to help him operate it properly during filming.
But when a project of this scale is completed and exhibited, von Eiderstein says, For millions of people to see. ”
It's just one of several one-of-a-kind pieces that have been posted to the Celtics' social media platforms recently.
Hampton has been directing “Sizzle” behind the scenes at practices and has also filmed footage that will be used on digital signage outside the arena.
Carney created an adrenaline-pumping 24-second countdown video leading up to Game 1 against the Heat.
Wilson clipped a sweet-sounding Tatum highlight pack posted immediately after Boston's Game 1 win.
And there are many more to come.
The creative team also took their playoff production to the next level with their own bold new concepts.
After adopting a “dark mode” theme last season, the graphics group has opted to take a more colorful approach this time around by showcasing a diverse palette of greens while focusing on the use of gradients.
Mr. Silver said: “There's an emphasis on contrast, portraiture, and clean layouts. It's very minimalistic, but it's impactful.”
There is a lot of overlap and collaboration in the artwork created by Silver, Arndt, and Wu. They spent the past few months comparing mood boards inspired by different visual elements and planning how to be consistent and creative.
“This year is a little different because there's more collaboration across the creative team,” Wu said. “So we're not starting from scratch every time. We're using all the elements we adjusted at the beginning of the process and working from there.”
Their art comes to life in many different ways. Arndt was responsible for the layout of the artwork for the street banners and billboards that fans will see at the Hub on Causeway outside the arena. Silver was responsible for much of the design within the arena, which appears on various digital boards. Much of Wu's work can be seen on the team's social media pages. For example, his three-column banner image showing the team's full lineup is currently pinned to the top of the team's Instagram page, and doubles as an actual highlight when you swipe through it. each frame. He came up with this concept while observing the same playoff shoot that Content his team produced hype pieces for.
Just as Celtics players have spent countless hours honing their craft, the creative minds in the front office have been working just as hard behind the scenes. Although their responsibilities and exposure may be very different from each other, they all work together under the same umbrella, inspiring the world's best fan base while striving towards the same goal.
