In 2002, video on NFL team Web sites was a novelty, YouTube didn't exist and the Broncos' plan for on-line video consisted simply of turning on a camera and feeding press conference footage into a computer.
Charged with handling this rudimentary work, I thought there was another level to which we could aspire. We had someplace to host the video; we had a small mini-DV camera; we had a couple of microphones and a blank Web canvas.
With that, Broncos TV was born.
Soon, we were doing things that had never been done before -- bringing TV-style features to the Broncos' Web site. In these days, video was still something of a novelty, and the Broncos' Web site was in the overwhelming minority of NFL team sites when it came to video production. Every offseason organized team activity became a piece; every day of training camp brought highlights and interviews, all packaged together in a coherent form that was much more user-friendly than the raw press conferences or context-less camp video clips that other teams had used.
This was done without compromising my responsibilities in producing editorial content. In effect, I had two full-time jobs -- one as a TV editor, one as a beat writer. Balancing both became a challenge, but the results were outstanding.
In the 2002 campaign, Broncos fans watched approximately 25,000 video pieces per month. Two years later, that number had quintupled. A year later, Broncos fans watched more than 10 times as many video pieces as they did during the 2002 season, with that humble 25,000-click figure increasing to 292,132 shows viewed in December 2005, with over 411,000 shows viewed a month later, when the Broncos advanced to the AFC Championship.
Video was the impetus for an increase in the depth and breadth of coverage. Using video was how we sold upper management on the value of covering the Scouting Combine, Senior Bowl, and the Pro Bowl during a year in which the Broncos had four players and their coaches in Honolulu.
For many stretches of my first five years on DenverBroncos.com, I was a one-man band. By 2005 and 2006, we had in-season interns to handle the balance of the editing, but in the offseasons, the bulk of the production responsibility fell upon my shoulders, in addition to handling daily written content.
By 2007, the feature was important enough to justify eliminating the position in charge of print publications in favor of a full-time video/audio editor and producer.
That wouldn't have happened without my decision to take on the extra work of bringing the visual drama of TV to the Broncos' Web site.
Click below for samples of my work.
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On-camera stand-up and voice-over wrap from the field at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. following the 2008 Senior Bowl. (That is not me in the screen grab; it is a Comcast commercial.)
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The following clips are in RealPlayer format:
