H Town 2022
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Being a Digital Producer in the NBAThis job has truly been a game changer for me. The creative freedoms and opportunities it has presented me in such little time has and will impact my career forever. I am so blessed and excited for what this journey holds. Venture throughout this page to relive my experience and travels with the legendary NBA, Houston Rockets. I now create content for millions of fans. We are the third most followed NBA team in the league, including the 8 million followers we have in China!
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My Perspective in the NBA
I am so very grateful for the opportunity the Rockets gave me. The trust and push they have given me to grow as a filmmaker and person have been nonetheless amazing. Here's some stills from and a sense of style you will see in my Rockets projects.
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My Favorite Project EverIt's been about 1 year since the Rockets drafted Jalen Green and just about a year since they hired me. This project was a little sentimental to me because it put in perspective how much can change in a year and how much growth can happen if you put your head down and work. While scavenging for all my shots and assets I filmed of Jalen and the Rockets... during this project I could visually see that Jalen and I were getting more comfortable and growing in our careers as games went by. Here's my favorite shots and my deepest dive into After Effects in 2022. Thank you to every creator and person on here to inspire me and push me to try new edits, here’s what the past year of filming our new franchise player in our first NBA season looked and felt like.
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The Beginning
My first few games of the 2021 season with the Rockets were interesting, we went on a 15 game losing streak. We are the youngest team in the NBA therefore my goal as a producer was to market the adventure and the matchups for each game. And share the rookie feeling with our new players. I shot everything, from the nosebleeds to the floor seats all the way to the mountains and buildings in each city. I took all these elements and mashed our game highlights into the cities we were in. Metaphorically, it was our adventure to win and a journey through each city. I want to change the way teams market and tease their matchups other than stricly showing the sport because it's more than a sport, and each team has their own special culture.
HOU vs. NYK |
The Streak |
HOU vs. PHX |
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The Beginning of my second NBA season...My Second season opened up a whole new level of filming, I was comfortable and trusted in myself to get the shot. Therefore, I shot closer and faster. I wanted to push the boundaries of hypes and bring in more elements outside of basketball.
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The San Diego RocketsOur Hardwood Classic uniforms represent the beginning of a journey to greatness. The Houston Rockets weren't always in Houston... They began in San Diego. This video takes the fans on a journey from where this legendary franchise started. This project was all hands on deck. Edited by the amazing Terrance Daniels (my boss and mentor) and shot by me and the amazing Cooper Ross (my partner in crime) Narrated by Tobe Nwigwe.
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The 2022/23 Schedule ReleaseTalk about an all hands on deck project... This one took everyone in the office. It brought everyone closer and challenged us as an organization. It also showed our relationship to one another and how closely all of the departments are and how understanding they are when requests and projects come in like this one. The project was inspired by the Office and the good old ESPN commercials. Shot by me and Cooper Ross and edited by Terrance Daniels.
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My role on gamedays
On game days, my job is to flip and edit highlights for social live time. The goal is to choose and edit a clip so it can go viral. I film the whole game but if something crazy happens I get up and run to my laptop to send a clip out to the social team roughly under 3 minutes. It is very tedious and timing is everything. Each game I shoot and edit about 7 highlights a game winning or losing. If we win, I put all the highlights from that game into a win recap for the next morning for the fans to enjoy on their morning feed scrolling. Here are some of my favorites so far from the first year... ( The KPJ dunk made it on ESPN Sportscaster top 10 the same night! You never know who's going to post your clips!
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Hakeem & AlperenOne night during the season, Sengun notified the social team and I that he was having a secret practice with one of the most outstanding athletes to ever play the game, Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon. Therefore, we created a little social series with the content. It was extremely intimate, including only Hakeem, Sengun, his translator, our social team, and myself.
It was such a remarkable experience for all of us. We all learned so much and the night was full of knowledge and patience. This trailer I created was my first ever video to reach 1 million+ views on a social platform. On the Houston Rockets Twitter account it reached 1.3 million. It was a huge milestone for my career and reminded me why I do what I do. |
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Warren Lotas X Houston Rockets
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Along with filming and traveling with the team, my job entails marketing and events as well. It's more than a sport, it's a family and a culture. Therefore, I get to create projects like this. Warren Lotas is a famous fashion artist known for his unique skull drawings. Some of the top NBA teams recently collaborated with him to design new merchandise for collectors and fashion icons. The NBA is full of culture and personality, therefore, it was a no brainer to collaborate with the famous artist. This was one of my favorite pieces to shoot and edit.
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Bigger than Basketball
My job as a digital producer for the Rockets entails something new everyday. From commercial work to working with billionaire team owner Tilman Fertitta. Below are some pieces produced from me and the production team.
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Impacting the community of Houston
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My editing breakdown
I have been having a lot of fun playing with SFX and I have been aiming to make every video look and be entertaining even without music. My boss Terrance has been a great mentor with using creative sfx.
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With Music
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Without Music
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Overcoming Music Rules
As many of you may know, the music industry has been cracking down on their rights. Therefore, everything I have to use as a creator to produce is copyright free and we have to search for hours to find the perfect song. Our marketing team, however, brainstormed how we could overcome this obstacle so that we have full control of our creativity again. We came up with Clutch City Beats, the city of Houston is full of talent and the artists here have a specific feel and style for their art and beats. We chose 5 producers out of nearly 200 to represent our in arena and digital audio. Here's one of the most unique projects I've done to this day. Shoutout Cooper Ross for camera B. The second piece is a music video with high profile rappers of Houston rapping to one of our chosen producer's beat! It was a unique and creative shoot, shoutout to everyone who helped!!
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NBA Handles WeekOne month, the NBA hosted themed weeks on social media for highlights from each team. I wanted to try something new and challenge myself. The coolest thing with working and editing with the Rockets brand is that we can play with space. Space is the most intriguing thing in the world and I always want to bring the viewer to another world. This video has footage from both my boss Terránce and I and broadcast.
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BEAR BNB
Everyday is an adventure, and sometimes we get to collaborate with other teams! Here is one of my favorite pieces I've filmed. Shoutout to other mascot of the year, Clutch the Bear for this awesome concept. This video ended up winning NBA's best mascot video of the year in 2022!
Win Videos
Following a big win, my job is to film the whole game and recap the amazing night for everyone at home. I film and edit these in under 24 hours so that fans can wake up the next morning and watch a miniature movie of the win from the previous night.
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Everyday is an AdventureMy job as a producer doesn’t only involve basketball. I am given the opportunity to film events and interviews with all kinds of different people. One night the team hosted Pride night, and we had an exclusive shirt that was being sold in the team shop where all the proceeds went to the community. Here’s a piece I captured and created to help promote!
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Houston Rockets x PNCA big part of my job is also off the court. I have responsibilities of completing corporate sponsorship and community event needs and you get to meet talented people in all kinds of industries everyday! Shoutout @Beto.fpv for the amazing fav shots.
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Misc. Projects
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Rockets getting bigThe 2022 season is about to be underway and the Rockets and I hit the gym to prepare. This project got me super excited to hit the road and start to adventure the league. Filming this young team has been so fun, they truly understand the power of filmmaking.
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Raw PracticeWorking for the team, sometimes you take raw moments for granted because you experience them everyday. This day in particular, was a great bonding day for the team. They talked and competed and the raw moments spoke for themselves, therefore, I compiled some clips with natural audio for the fans.
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H Town Frames
Houston is one of the most unique cities in the nation. It is the third biggest city in the United states with tons of different mini communities hidden in the giant concrete jungle. It full of loyalty and creativity. Each community has something to offer visually. H Town is definitely worth a visit. Ps they have 11,000 restaurants here.
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May the Fourth be with youStar Wars is a huge inspiration of mine in the film industry. The one of a kind story telling and character development is unmatched. George Lucas is a legend for being persistent on pursuing his wild ideas and bringing them to life, and that is exactly what inspires me to grow. This was my second project ever with the Rockets!
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713 DAYMy new home. 713, Houston. One of the first area codes in the USA. Houston natives bleed H town. The culture here is like no other. Everyone represents this place as their home and they are proud of what they have created. I highly recommend coming to visit this insanely diverse and fun city. (This video has footage from both my boss Terránce and I and broadcast.)
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Clyde the GlideThis edit was made to look back on the legacy Clyde Drexler left with Houston as they won their second championship for his birthday! For this edit I challenged myself to rotoscope 480p film footage.
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Top Dunks of 2021This piece was about some of the best dunks of the 20-21 season! It was one of the first videos i. ever edited with Houston. I hadn't filmed anything quite yet because the season had just ended so I was able to learn the history and the vibe of the team through this piece. (This video has footage from both my boss Terránce and I and broadcast.)
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