2024 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament Case Study
Overview
The Atlantic Coast Conference has been a client of ours on and off since our earliest days. In fact, our history with them predates the formation of Photoelectric. So when they approached us again this year to handle the graphics package for the Men’s Basketball Tournament, we could hardly say no. And while this wouldn’t be the first project we’ve worked on for the ACC, it would certainly prove to be the biggest (and certainly one of the coolest). With close to a 1000 separate deliverables, we had our work cut out for us.
Graphics Reel
As mentioned above, we had roughly 1000 individual elements to deliver for this package. The Capital One Arena in Washington, DC has 25 unique locations for video and animated content, which is output to almost 50 individual screens in the arena proper. Everything from complete takeovers and court projections to static sponsor signage was on our list. Here’s a small sampling of what we made.
Takeovers
A major component were the takeovers. Not only would they drive the overall look and feel of the package, they would serve to help set the mood and energy level in the arena. In addition to several options for the overall tournament look, we also created takeovers for each team, including a unique version for the champion to be played after the final game. We also built one for the ACC’s new marketing and promotion theme, ‘Accomplish Greatness’. When the entire arena went red or orange or gold or blue, it was truly a sight to behold.
Tournament Logo Takeover
Name & Logo Takeover
Team Takeovers
ACC Champion Takeover
Accomplish Greatness Takeover
Takeover Testing
Court Projections
We’ve not had the opportunity to do much projection work, so we were definitely excited to get to do these. We created a universal look that would play before each game of the tournament, along with matchups to be used for the semifinals and championship game.
Other Elements
In case we forgot to mention it, we had to build quite a lot of elements for this graphics package. Here’s a few more.
Team Loops and Matchup
Segment Intros
Crowd Prompt
MISC Stills
On-Site Support
Whenever we work on a project like this, we always like to offer our clients the option of having us on location for testing and trouble shooting. After all, its hard to know what your animation will really look on a 1200 ft, 360° LED board unless you see it in person. The ACC really appreciates that level of support and we’re happy to oblige, even if it means setting up in the hotel lobby on the first night to make some last minute tweaks. Besides, you never know who you’ll run into.
And who are we to turn down a trip to our nation’s capital?
Conclusion
What a great project. We love working with the ACC, and the people at Capital One Arena were fantastic. Hands down one of the best in-house crews we’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and getting to know. Huge thanks to them and the Atlantic Coast Conference for this experience.
The icing on the cake was seeing our work show up live on ESPN!
