Support Sean Dooley's Oregon Ducks Documentary

My name is Sean Dooley, owner and founder of SDP Studios, an upstart video production company based in San Diego, California. I am a filmmaker, photographer, and writer in multiple facets from news to narrative. My next big project? The documentary in the banner photo. If you are a Duck fan and want to tell the story of your favorite college football team, then show your support for this project and donate today! You can read all about the project in my proposal below:

Chasing Ships: The Oregon Ducks Football and Their Quest For A Natty

A Documentary

Chasing Ships (working title) is an independent fan-based documentary tracing the history of the Oregon Ducks football program, and their rise from laughingstock to national powerhouse, while still being one of the few teams without a national championship with near misses of the crystal ball in recent years. The Oregon Ducks football program's story is a classic tale of David vs. Goliath meets Moby Dick in the sports drama packaging of the universally loved game of college football.

The Duck's football team has rapidly become a national brand. What was once an overlooked corner of the country, where athletes would rather live in sunny LA and go to USC if they were going to play in the Pac-8/10/12 at all. The Pacific Northwest was just a rainy place where homegrown talent were only interested in going to Oregon. Now, everyone's looking at Oregon and players around the country are waiting in line. Many people think The Ducks are just fluke success and flashy uniforms, but there is tradition, adversity, and overcoming that will grip the hearts and minds of football fans and story-loving non-football fans alike.

The evolution of the Ducks program and the evolution of the media landscape has converged at a great moment in time, because if someone like me, who can make a high-quality production without a majorly expensive budget, then I still believe a story about this team would not be told. I'm from the community I'm talking about. The fanbase is passionate so guerrilla-style marketing would create an underground hit, and word of mouth when it hits a festival circuit. I believe Chasing Ships has all the markings of being a sleeper hit. Much like the subject of the film.

Chasing Ships is straightforward since it's a documentary, following the team's meaning to the greater Eugene community and how they went from perpetual losers to the team that gets disappointed if they don't make the big game. We explore the players, plays, and games that made this team the team it is today.

This film will intertwine a member of that community's (me) dream of playing for this team, and the history of this team through the eyes of those who witnessed that history. Not only will it be a factual view of Oregon's history, but it is from the point of view from those a part of the culture. A fellow David who wanted to fight Goliath.

This film is not to make me a star, but to be a vessel to carry the story forward. I am a photographer for KUSI (a local TV news station for non-San Diego locals), and during football season I shoot video for the station's flagship high school football show the Prep Pigskin Report or PPR for short. I learned quickly during my time at PPR that there is a strong San Diego connection to Duck legends. Dan Fouts of course played for the Chargers, but Akili Smith, Duck Quarterback legend is a native that attended the lauded Lincoln High School. He is my number one draft pick to interview for this film, along with his son and recent Oregon commit Akili Smith Jr. Of course, the ultimate plan is to snowball on Akili, and get an interview with people such as hometown hero Joey Harrington, legendary voice of the Ducks Jerry Allen, and icon Kenny Wheaton. If I only get one or two guys, I still have a story. However, am I to get them it would definitely take this film to the utmost compelling levels.

Chasing Ships is primed from its conception for the ever so sought after 18-49 demographic. On first impression, the male sports-loving 18-49 demographic will top that list, however, the intended storyline about the community surrounding the football team is arguably still intriguing to a female or non-sports audience. Imagine a pinch of Friday Night Lights both the movie and television show when it comes to a character's story intertwined with the sports. The voracity of the Duck fanbase will welcome this film with open arms, as I have also learned in my light focus grouping, and due to brand recognition and the sport, Chasing Ships would absolutely have mass appeal beyond the west coast.

Friday Night Tykes, Last Chance U, ESPN's 30 for 30, Vice's Dark Side of the Ring, The Last Dance, are all some of the biggest names in sports documentary in recent history. NFL Films and their documentaries preceded those mentioned by decades. There is an endless appetite for documentaries from all platforms, and the big platforms such as Netflix and Amazon etc. are trying to keep up with demand and investing in these films, with Netflix offering approximately $1-3 million per documentary. Chasing Ships taps into the nostalgic and the new, telling the story through the eyes of someone that actually grew up in the culture. Not just some director that found all the facts and displays an infographic.

My upbringing in the Duck's culture allows me the ultimate insight into what sells this film to a group of people that are hundreds and in some places thousands of miles from the nearest professional franchise. Social media in present time is a necessary cost of business in which a feasible marketing campaign would cost between $6000-$10,000. However, the lowest cost according to my strategy is the better route because social media marketing would be the supplemental method of dissemination. On the ground word of mouth marketing in the Northwest will be effective with the demographic closest to the subject of the film. I know where to go to spread word of the film, I know the film festivals in which to submit. As a former member of the Eugene community and a current member of the San Diego community, my experience has led me to find that there is a lot of crossover when it comes to Oregonians who have transplanted to San Diego and vice versa. There are large amounts of alumni associations that are located in San Diego county, the Pacific Beach Ale House being one of the most notable restaurants that is an Oregon sponsored venue. The passionate fans are a part of a community in which I am further involved with now, especially with my involvement with KUSI. My coworkers at KUSI and specifically the Prep Pigskin Report, would be more than happy to help me (and some of the PPR crew who volunteered for this project) promote this film. Free advertising to promote a talent they developed, which would be aired on broadcast television to San Diego County, as well as likely on their social media pages etc. Submitting to film festivals and California would be a given as much as the northwest, but access to venues outside of film festivals is a distinct possibility due to talent and crew at KUSI having numerous relationships with many business owners and community politicians who would be happy to promote a member of their community as well.

The nature of a documentary is similar to my work in the news business. It's a relatively run and gun operation that is capable of quick turnaround on a reasonable budget. The two main logistical elements that would take the most time, would be accessing, scheduling, and shooting the interviews with the former and/or current players. Luckily, the shooting of said interviews once confirmed can be done during the offseason which leads to the most time-consuming element of the film, traveling to Oregon to get the necessary footage to tell the story to piece together back in San Diego. The plan would be to film on location in Oregon for at least late July to mid-September, as to get summertime footage leading up to the football season and subsequently some game footage of our own to use aside from archival game footage. The possibility of needing to be there for interviews with people such as Jerry Allen and Kenny Wheaton would also exist as well.

Chasing Ships in comparison to most films, even documentaries, can be done with a low budget. SDP Studios has much of the equipment needed to produce this film. Just need to cover travel and production expenses.