Creativity Throughout Pandemic With UNC’s Assistant Director Of Creative Services Bradley Moore

There are a lot of things that we had planned that we weren’t able to do, but there are also a lot of things that we weren’t planning to do that we were forced to by the current circumstances.

Bradley Moore

Assistant Director of Creative Services

University of North Carolina

Tell us about your role as the Assistant Director of Creative Services for the University of North Carolina. What does a typical day look like for you?

As the Assistant Director of Creative Services at the University of North Carolina, each and every day can be different and present new challenges. On a typical, event-free workday (hard to come by) I work closely with several of our sports teams, providing support from a creative standpoint all the way from ideation to execution. This means meeting with coaches or working on creative projects that I’ve already discussed with members of a team’s coaching staff.

I’m also always looking for ways that we can prepare for whatever is next.

Staying ahead of everything is paramount in helping build and sustain a creative team.

I also help develop and evolve the look and feel of Carolina Athletics with other members of our Creative Services team throughout the year. In addition, I oversee our Student Programs for Creative Services, mentoring and teaching students who have an interest in Sports Creative.

I am also responsible for the creation of video and motion graphics that are posted on our @GoHeels channels as well as from our team-specific accounts. In creating each of these I work alongside our team of Graphic Designers and Videographers. Without the many talented people I work with, my job would be a lot harder, so I owe so much to each of them!

When sports are in full swing, I help provide social media coverage for home events and also travel for road events. Dependent on the sport, I’m either editing video for social or on the sidelines shooting video myself.

When did you decide Sports Media would be your career focus? Was there anything that intrigued you to take your passion of photography/videography to the sports realm

While a student at Clemson University, I worked in the Creative Solutions Department under Jonathan Gantt. The opportunities I had while a student at Clemson invigorated my passion for Sports Creative, but I didn’t decide it was something I wanted to pursue until after graduation. As soon as I was out of the field and away from College Athletics, I knew that I wanted to continue my career as a Social Media Sports professional and decided to pursue opportunities that would allow me to do so.

In creating content for Go Heels Productions, how important is storytelling? How are you able to tell a story through both photo and video content?

Telling the stories of our teams and Student-Athletes is the most important part of my job. Being able to effectively share these stories with fans of Carolina Athletics who may not have the opportunity to hear them otherwise is so special, so doing that well isn’t taken lightly.

Being prepared is in a lot of ways the most important part. Knowing ahead of time the stories that you want to tell and brainstorming those with members of our Creative Teams through storyboard sessions and meetings with our Communications staff and those the stories center around help us get a better feel for what the best way to tell a story is. By doing that well, we are able to bring attention to our Student-Athletes in a way that might not be done otherwise.

What are some of the big creative challenges you face when producing content?

Some of the biggest challenges are staying organized and staying informed about what ways we can best support our teams creatively. When helping manage the social media efforts of 25+ teams it’s easy to get overwhelmed, so staying on top of things is important.

How do you feel about the statement, “there is opportunity in chaos” as it relates to sport and COVID-19?

That statement could not be more true. The last sporting event I was a part of was our ACC Tournament Game against Syracuse. That evening was when the NBA season was suspended…even with that happening, I don’t think I had any idea what the next few months would hold.

There are a lot of things that we had planned that we weren’t able to do, but there are also a lot of things that we weren’t planning to do that we were forced to by the current circumstances. One of those has been working more intimately with a lot of our coaching staff. We’ve become their go-to team for anything from recruiting to communicating with members of their team. That newfound relationship and trust has been a huge opportunity for us and something we are so thankful for!

Tell us about your top five all-time posts or content creations. What made them your favorite?

Not sure I have a top-five, but I definitely have a few that come to mind in terms of the experiences with them when asked this question! These aren’t necessarily a top-five from a quality or time put in perspective, but I have fun, unique experiences with each of these!

One of my favorite pieces I have done while at UNC happened during the last few months. It wasn’t anything crazy but a combination of footage from so many different people within our organization and highlighted all of our teams. We also got to have Anson Dorrance, our legendary Head Women’s Soccer Coach, provide the script and it was a really fun project to work on.

There is no denying that this place, and this place alone takes root in your heart the way it does, and never leaves.

🐏 | #GoHeels #TogetherWeWin pic.twitter.com/mg0KCw5Udt

— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) May 7, 2020

Another piece I have enjoyed was the preseason video for our Baseball team this year. We sort of threw this piece together because we had some issues sitting down with members of the team and ended up shooting their script-readings two days before the season at which point this video was pretty much in skeleton form. It was great to work alongside some of our student Content Creators to make this one happen!

The Road to Omaha Starts Today. Baseball is back.

🐏⚾️ | #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/7TdtJ024sf

— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) February 14, 2020

I really enjoyed this piece because it was the first time I really dove into 3D workspaces in After Effects. I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but had a lot of fun with this piece!

Had fun putting this one together.

3D Workspaces➡️🤪 pic.twitter.com/9llLPdkd9h

— Bradley Moore (@bradleyamoore_) December 9, 2019

I have to include a piece from the Zion shoe game at Cameron Indoor, right?

One of the most unbelievable experiences of my life. So proud of the work from our entire team.#GDTBATH

🎥💻🔥@JoshReavis12 @itsareynolds pic.twitter.com/ehg7LLnqMI

— Bradley Moore (@bradleyamoore_) February 21, 2019