For the second consecutive year, Motion Source has produced a video for the Western Golf Association, benefitting their nonprofit organization, the Evans Scholars Foundation. Each year, the video premiered at their annual Green Coat Gala fundraising event, which has welcomed golf legends such as Gary Player in 2015 and Johnny Miller in 2016. In addition to these notable names, the event also gives Evans Scholars an opportunity to share their story. This year’s event featured Zack Sielck and his incredible journey from foster homes as a child to Purdue University as a college freshman.

Over the course of three days, Motion Source crew members, Andy Hoffman, Hunter Kallenbach, and Brian Ernst, saw life through Zack’s eyes, following him from McHenry Country Club where he caddies, back to his home with parents Brigid and Jason Sterwerf, and even to Indiana to see him settling in at Purdue University. The idea was always to create an authentic, docu-style feel, catching genuine moments between Zack and his family, friends, and mentors. We made the decision to capture natural sound while Zack caddied, placing a mic on both Zack and his golfer, to not only see, but hear, these intimate moments.

The shooting style of the video mirrored this as well. Utilizing a 2:35 widescreen aspect ratio with occasional, but intentional, 120 FPS (frames per second) slow-motion shots to draw the audience in, we were able to heighten the video in an emotional and cinematic way.

During post-production, the message came to life. Weaving together multiple interviews to tell one complete story is truly an art form in itself, and we wanted to make sure we did Zack’s story justice. There were several ways to approach the edit, but with collaboration from the Motion Source and Evans Scholars Foundation teams, a strong storyline began to unfold. The final 4-minute piece was edited by Andy Hoffman, with color grading and audio mixing handled by Hunter Kallenbach.

This year’s Green Coat Gala event took place on Friday, November 4th, where Zack’s video premiered to an audience of more than 350 friends, family, and supporters. Following the video, Zack spoke directly to the crowd: “Caddying is the outlet that restored my confidence, helped me believe in the person I could be, and built me up into who I am today...I am beyond blessed to be a part of the Evans Scholars family – and to finally find a place where I belong.”

The event went on to raise a record $900,000, a major accomplishment for the organization and the Green Coat Gala. It was a great pleasure and honor to team up with the Western Golf Association and Evans Scholars Foundation to highlight the difference they are making in the lives of young men and women like Zack Sielck.