The Creative Vision
Like many growing organizations, US Performance Academy had outgrown its visual identity. Years of relying on photos submitted by student families had created an authentic but inconsistent brand presence. It was time to build a professional photo and video library that reflected the quality of the school and gave the marketing team a cohesive set of assets to work with.
Our creative direction centered around a simple idea: The School That Goes Where You Go. Because USPA is built specifically for student athletes, learning coexists with training schedules. School happens in golf clubhouses, equestrian stables, dance studios, hockey rinks, and wherever else student athletes go. Our job was to bring that idea to life through cinematic photography and film, capturing the energy, ambition, and reality of balancing elite athletics with academics.
Like most productions, the real work started long before anyone picked up a camera. Weeks of planning, student athlete prep calls, location scouting, and shot lists meant we could spend our time creating instead of making decisions on set.
3 Days in Texas. Yeehaaawwww.
Then came three October whirlwind days in Texas.
USPA's Head of Marketing, Jess Schildge, and I covered many Texas miles in a Kia Soul rental, bouncing between Houston, Magnolia, and Dallas. Along the way we chatted marketing problems, sports, UFOs, and and Buc-ee's snacks.
We photographed a dancer in Houston, an equestrian at her home stable in Magnolia, and two best friends training together at their home golf course outside Dallas. A few months later, we headed to Park City to capture snowboarding and round out the athlete mix.
A huge shoutout goes to photographer Jason Peters and cinematographer Ben Merrill, who absolutely nailed the creative vision. They brought a great eye, endless energy, and were simply great guys to spend long shoot days with.
Post-production
By the end of the project, we had thousands of photos and tons of footage to sort through. The final deliverables included a full image library for web, social, digital, and print, a campaign highlight reel, and a suite of :15 and :30 spots to support USPA's marketing rollout.
This was one of those projects that reminds you why you do this for a living. Amazing people. Exciting collaboration. And a vision that came to life exactly the way we hoped it would.
View some of the final work here.
