Making a Connection
For their part, the players are very cooperative about participating in the video shoots, even around hectic schedules.
“They’re all great about doing them,” Birt said. “We basically try to make it a great experience for them so that they’ll come back. We always try to put a production on for them – we have a make-up artist who touches them up and makes sure they look good, and we always try to play their music they like to make them feel good and then, most importantly, get them out of there as quickly as possible.”
One of Birt’s real “pinch me” moments, he said, comes when he’s filming episodes of Driven, which are 30-minute documentaries by Pirates Productions that tell a player’s backstory. He’s traveled to Venezuela and the Dominican Republic to film episodes on Jose Tabata and Gregory Polanco respectively.
“Those are when it’s really real. You’re in the player’s hometown, a lot of them grew up in poverty, and you see where they came from. And just to see them now. Not too many people have gone with them to their hometowns like that. So it creates a special connection with them. That stuff’s really cool for a filmmaker,” he said.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”Josh Birt” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Even growing up I really liked movies and we loved making our own little videos.[/perfectpullquote]It is Birt’s ability to work with clients, high profile and not, that makes him the perfect go-to guy for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pirates Productions, Brown said.
After doing work with the team for such a long time, Birt, who grew up as a huge baseball fan (the Mariners, natch) sometimes catches himself thinking about the type of work he’s doing. “Sometimes you do have to stop and remind yourself that this isn’t normal, most people don’t get to do this kind of work,” he said.
He credits Brown with helping him keep that perspective.
“He’s taught us along the way what you need to know, how you need to act,” he said. “To have a mentor like that is pretty awesome.”
Equally awesome to Birt is the team he has supporting every shoot he does. They include:
John Zielinski – Camera Operator/AD
Adrian Brown – Photographer
Donny Thomas – Camera Operator/AC
Ryan Kroboth- Camera Operator/AC
Phil Henry – Camera Operator/Editor
Al Marschke – Camera Operator/BTS
“That’s probably the greatest thing about what I get to do – the team I get to do it with,” Birt said. “From the Pittsburgh Pirates’ internal team starting with Brian Chiera and his graphic designers to Ken Brown and his production team and on to the guys I bring on – we all work so well together. I think that’s kind of been the reason for the success we’ve all had. And I hope it continues.”
For some behind the scenes action:
CLICK HERE to see how Birt and his crew pulled off the Matrix-esque “Time slice” commercials that aired during the 2013 season using 48 still cameras attached to a circular rig and a very well timed cable release system.
More Hidden Heroes
Pass your time over the long off-season by catching up on our hidden heroes series. There are some great stories to be had, and here are a few to get you started:
[irp posts=”8255″ name=”Pittsburgh Pirates Hidden Heroes: 93.7 The Fan Pre and Post-Game Host Dan Zangrilli”] [irp posts=”5746″ name=”Pittsburgh Pirates Hidden Heroes: Agent Rafael Nieves”]Thanks for checking us out here at Pirates Breakdown. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for the best Pirates coverage all year long!
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