A few years ago at Indian Wells I started making “mini-movies.” Essentially these are cinematic highlights. I would letterbox them and shoot with the intention of a wider filmic look. Fans seemed to like the look. But I learned quickly to focus on the most popular players in the sport. As an employee of the tournament, my goal is always to get as many eyeballs captivated into staying within the tournament ecosystem. Making a video on Roger in this case is purely fan service. But even though I knew it would get clicks because of who it starred, my secondary goals were to show off the grounds in a manner never done before, to capture the highest quality footage, and to find the best real soundbites by listening to all of his interviews and press conferences from earlier in the week.

With that said, what is most significant about this piece is the music. At Tried & True we wanted to try something different that had never been done before. Our sound engineer doubles as a composer. We carefully recorded the audio of our local college tennis team (Winthrop University), isolating serves, bounces, backhands etc. These sfx were then used in Cubase, music composition software, as the drum kit for a song. Joe Miller, our afore mentioned audio guru, and I discussed the action of the video. How it might start, rising action, where soundbites might fall and so on. He constructed the piece using a Moog synthesizer, electric guitar in addition to a number of electronic elements and samples. The track turned out well as an example of a fully immersive and synergistic viewing experience. The music absolutely ads to the video and the enjoyment for the viewer.