FEEBALLWORDS, VISUALS & LAYOUT BY SCOTT KENEALLY

HELLO! First up, thanks so much for bringing me into the mix. I couldn’t be more excited about this project... it strikes a deep chord. Like the rest of the 99%, the thought of sticking it to the Fat Cats is strongly appealing. Not only is this creative incredibly smart – and armed with a funny and unexpected twist - but it plays right to my strengths and experience as a filmmaker. I know exactly how to pull this off.

It’s all about casting the right real people and creating a disarming environment that allows them to be real people. It’s kind of my secret weapon. And in this space of authenticity, we must be nimble enough to capture those magic moments… the unexpected, the subtlety, the nuance, the humanity of it all. That’s what will take “Feeball” from a brilliant concept to an entertaining and evokative film that actually makes a difference… changing the conversation about banking… and putting Affinity Federal Credit Union on the pop cultural map.

With that said, I’d like to dive into the various elements of my approach.

LOOK & FEEL Simply put, our goal is to make this feel as real as possible. Every detail — from the lighting to camera work, casting to the mood on set — will be carefully designed to sell the documentary vibe. The more authentic this feels, the more the audience will be invested in our story. And that emotional connection is the key to the castle. We want the viewers on the edge of their seats, hanging on every frame, rooting for the underdogs, wondering how it’s all going to play out, seeing themselves in the situation. That’s the potential for this spot, and here’s how we’re going to pull it off, starting with the camera gear.

I’d like to shoot this on the RED Dragon. It can shoot up to 300fps @ 2K and 120fps @ 4K, which means we can capture a slew of amazing hero shots of the Fat Cats unleashing their terror, and

epic slow-mo shots of our customers getting pegged. Also, it handles low light extremely well, and has a phenomenal dynamic range, giving us more versatility to craft that perfect

beautiful-but-real look in post. We’ll also use GoPro’s to help sell the reality of the situation. They will be strategically placed to capture the customers’ entrance, them wandering around, the blindfolding and such in a “hidden-camera” sort of way. And we’ll also use long lenses to capture voyeuristic shots of people who don’t know they’re being filmed.

In terms of lighting, in order to help sell the idea that we’re genuinely blindsiding these customers, it should feel true to our environment. Especially for the wides. My plan is to

supplement the natural gym lights with an overhead spotlight that can add a little power and direction without having light stands in the shot. For our close-ups and set-up shots, we’ll bring in some softer lights to fill in the faces and even out the gym lights. Again, the goal is to

make this look as natural as possible but beautiful at the same time.

MIN

IMU

M

BA

LAN

CE

FEEBALL

CUSTOMERS We are looking for a fresh mix of folks to play our customers… males and females of different ages, ethnicities, shapes, sizes and walks of life. The more variety we have, the more diversity we’ll have with reactions and emotions. We’re looking for both real people and extras. We’ll tell them when they come in for casting that they might be picked to participate in a marketing research experiment, and ask them if they’d be comfortable being blindfolded for part of it. This is key as we’re looking for people with an easy disposition and demeanor. We don’t want anyone freaking out or getting angry. We want people who are comfortable being kept in the dark — pun intended — right up until the last minute when the whistle blows.

For wardrobe, our customers will be dressed in their regular clothes: jeans, tees, sundress, heels, suits and such. The key is that we represent the wide spectrum of checking account holders.

FAT CATS The Fat Cats look and feel like professional dodgeball players. We’re looking for real athletes with the power to hurl the feeballs at lighting speed, and the agility to pull off stylized throws. Men and women who are strong and fit and intimidating. They have all the right gear – black uniform, headbands, wristbands, etc – and exude confidence. The key, however, is that we never feel like we’re looking at actors. Our tone isn’t campy… it’s reality. That said, we will want to cast a couple of comedic ringers. People who have a certain look that will effortlessly help punch up the comedy.

DAY OF THE SHOOT

After we lock down our location, we will map out the best path for our customers from car to court. And needless to say, we’ll keep our cameras and the film production out of sight until the whistle blows and all hell breaks loose. Again, we’ll do this with a combintaion of GoPros and long lens cameras. The goal is great coverage. We want to capture all the elements: customers walking in, getting blindfolded, Feeballs getting rolled out to the court, the Fat Cats stretching, blindfolded customers walking around aimlessly, not knowing what’s going happen, and of course, the whistle being blown. At that moment, I’m sure the customers’ heads will swing around to the tune of WTF WAS THAT?! And then the mayhem begins!

Keeping them in the dark until the last moment is the best way to get those authentic reactions we want. We’ll establish those first moments of mayhem via long lenses so that it feels voyeuristic, natural and real. To get more bang for the buck I think that we should have about 15 customers at the shoot, and have them come out in waves of 5. This will give us 3 opportunities to capture that first real reaction. Once people get hit the gig is up… and I’m sure several will take the blindfolds off. After the first 5 are finished, we can keep a few of them out on the court to fill the space up a bit more for our wide establishing shots. Once we’ve captured the wides, we can reset, change lenses and focus on the individual moments. Think close-ups of Fat Cats sizing up their prey, stylized throws, a ball hitting a face, a customer cowering in the fetal position, high-fives, etc. Though these shots will be a bit more “directed,” we’ll work with the talent to ensure they won’t look that way. Plus, when cut together with our real, organic moments of madness, it will all feel like one seamless stunt.

Also, I love playing with frame rates. Like going from regular speed to slo-mo in the same shot. Not only does it look cool and up the production value, but it can really punch up the energy, intensity, emotion and comedy of these moments. Of course, we’ll save these shots for after the gig is up as we are doing everything we can to set this up as a real experiment.

And of course, as the chaos unfolds we’ll always be mindful to capture the FEE's on the balls as they are being hurled and landing on faces.  In the slo-mo shots you will be able to read the words on the balls as they whip past.   

MINIMUM BALANCE

FEE

FEE

IN CLOSING Thanks again for bringing me into the mix. The more I think about this project, the more excited I become. Feeball is the kind of spot that everyone will be talking about… and for good reason. It’s bold, funny, timely, subversive and speaks — with perfect metaphor — to our collective fears of the Fat Cats.

This spot, and its subversive spirit, feels tailor made for me. I know how to do this, and I know how to do it right. And I’d be honored by the chance to team up with you and bring it all to life.

Let’s talk soon!