Niching Down: The Process Behind Stadium Graphics Packages for Professional Sports Teams
Q&A with Connor Henkle, Director of Motion at CJHFX
The Freelancers: How did you find yourself in this niche, creating in stadium motion graphics packages for major sports teams?
Connor: I really sort of fell into it. I liked sports, and I liked design and I liked video, so it seemed like a great thing to try and get into. Once I learned that it doesn't help being a generalist, I niched down my offerings and doubled down on a skillset that I could mix entrepreneurship with as well.
The Freelancers: Did you start as a freelancer and then scale to a business and why transition into that space?
Connor: Yes! Bigger organizations don't typically work with freelancers, so transitioning into an agency model and scaling up slightly helped access some larger projects.
The Freelancers: All stadiums have different screens at all crazy aspect ratios, how do you organize all this content for each team?
Connor: We have a system that streamlines gathering this information, and building the Ae (After Effects) projects in reflection of their unique array of screens. It is for sure tedious at times!
The Freelancers: What was it like experiencing your first stadium graphics package out in the wild and what did you learn from it?
Connor: It was such a cool feeling! One I hope every designer can experience - seeing their work in the wild and having true impact. That's when I knew I wanted to go all in on it.
The Freelancers: How do you begin a project? Are you storyboarding or simply freestyle animation?
Connor: A series of calls and understand what the client is truly looking for. We have a list of questions we always ask to fully grasp the situation. Sometimes, we don't see that it is a good fit and refer them to our other motion design peers!
The Freelancers: What is your process when it comes to designing for animation? Are you working off client brand guides or do you get free range to explore beyond it?
Connor: It's a long but clear process. Calls go from exploration to creative sync to an offer call, and when the client chooses what they want, we start production. Production begins with gathering their assets and guidelines and getting more familiar using their brand elements. They usually have a creative direction in mind, so the first two milestones are locking in design (style frames) and then a motion sequence that gets verified before building the remainder of the package contents. It's never as clean as the theory, but we do our best to be clean and efficient as possible.
The Freelancers: Roughly how many screens are you animating for, how many different sequences per project?
Connor: It ranges most commonly between 8-12 screens. Sometimes it's only a few. We build an all-screens composition so it's clear to the client how the full takeover will look live.
The Freelancers: You recently shared a “rule of thumb” that your motion sequence should look great in a single frame, discuss how that thinking goes into your process?
Connor: 1000%. The key to great motion is great design. When we're designing style frames, motion is barely a consideration. It will reveal itself as you go through the project and you get into a roll. If you dive head first into the motion design you will get lost and overwhelmed real quick.
The Freelancers: When it comes to the creative, do you have to imagine yourself in the seats of the sporting event, whether it's an outdoor baseball stadium during the day or night, an indoor basketball arena, a hockey rink or even a football stadium, in order to better understand the fan experience of that sport and the graphics?
Connor: I used to for sure, observing what we can do better, and what makes for a captivating enjoyable viewer experience. Now I have a good idea of what the 'formula' and it's now rinse and repeat and continue to look for ways to improve.
The Freelancers: What major lessons did you learn along the way that you apply to not only your work but everyday thinking?
Connor: Niching down is key. Stack your skills and learn business basics. Share your work and creativity online and provide value in abundance and ask for nothing in return. Fall in love with the process and have your activities outside of the grind to stay well rounded. Help others as you ascend always. Understand the difference between trendy skills and evergreen skills, and pursue the evergreen ones. Take it one step at a time and try not to have shiny object syndrome. The path will reveal itself.
Connor Henkle is the Director of Motion at CJHFX. You can view their work at www.cjhfx.com.
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