Uniting 3 Cities Behind 1 Team

After an entire season of playing to empty stadiums, it was finally time to bring fans back to the arena. The Tri-City Americans, a WHL hockey team in Kennewick, Washington, wanted to welcome their audience with a **hype video that would capture the energy, excitement, and unity of the live game experience**. They came to me to create something epic—something that would play on the big screens before every game during the 2021-2022 season.

This wasn’t just about making a cool sizzle reel set to music. The goal was to tell a story that immersed fans, making them feel like they were going into battle alongside the team. And that story started with the script.

Building the Story

I decided to center the video around the team’s mascot, the bald eagle. The video follows the eagle soaring over local landmarks, freezing the rivers and landscapes in its wake as it heads toward the Toyota Center. Through narration and careful crosscutting, we tied the eagle to the team and the fans, creating a cinematic narrative that built anticipation and excitement.

Capturing the Footage

To bring this vision to life, I went out early in the morning to shoot drone footage during blue hour, when the water was still and the streets were empty. Back in After Effects, I spent hours hand-animating ice, snow, and fog—elements that helped sell the sense of a drastic temperature drop and made the shots feel alive and dynamic.

For the arena shots, one of the best decisions I made was using a fog machine. By backlighting the fog, we created atmosphere and attitude that the footage wouldn’t have had otherwise. With a strong key light behind the players and soft fill lighting around the arena, we captured intimidating silhouettes of the team, perfectly reinforcing the eagle’s predatory narrative.

Making Each Game Unique

I also wanted to give each game’s introduction its own personality. So, I created a small “donut hole” in the script where the narration would **call out the opposing team**. It was a simple touch, but it really engaged the home crowd, uniting fans behind the Americans while making each game feel unique for both teams.

Reflections on the Project

Looking back, this has been one of the **most fun projects I’ve ever worked on**. It had a little bit of everything: visual effects, dramatic lighting, dynamic camera work, and a story that tied it all together. And judging by the client’s reaction—“This is the best video we’ve ever had”—it seems all that effort paid off.

This project also marked the start of a longer partnership with the Tri-City Americans, leading to many more epic video campaigns. One of my favorites from this ongoing collaboration is their 35th anniversary season video, which continued to push the creative and cinematic boundaries we set with this initial hype video.