By Robert Goldrich

Kristopher Belman and V. Scott Balcerek were used to working with one another–just not directing as a team. But that lack of co-helming experience didn’t dissuade the then newly fashioned Kris + Scott duo of production house Caviar from making one of the most impressive directorial debuts in recent memory with the Gatorade-sponsored documentary series Replay, which went on to win assorted honors on the awards show circuit, including Grand Prix distinction in both the Promo & Activation Lions and in the PR Lions at this year’s Cannes Festival (tallying 11 Lions in total), the AICP Next Award for Integrated Campaign, three Pencils at the 2010 One Show, and Best of Show Grandy at the ANDY Awards. Kris + Scott also earned inclusion into SHOOT’s 2010 New Directors Showcase.
    Conceived by TBWAChiatDay, L.A., Replay brought two high school football teams back to the field to break a tie in a game from 15 years earlier. Lighting a fire under the already intense 100-year rivalry between Easton and Phillipsburg high schools (in the blue collar towns of Easton, Penns., and Phillipsburg, N.J.), Replay captured the attention and imaginations of viewers as well as the ad industry at large, the latter for having shown the power of branded entertainment to engage audiences and to be the basis for an enduring, ongoing platform.
    Kris + Scott directed the five-episode online documentary series chronicling the road to the tie-breaking game, the personal stories, the intense training involved for the players to get back into shape, and then the event itself.
    The show garnered mainstream news coverage, and the story it represented resonated with viewers on a down-to-earth human level, which is evident in the directors’ reflections on the project now that it’s in their rearview mirror.
    “I wasn’t sure about the project at first,” related Belman. “It had the potential to come off as Al Bundy types wanting to get back on the gridiron and knock heads. But when we got to know these guys, we saw they wanted this game for the right reasons–to teach their kids about second chances, to represent overcoming a battle against leukemia. The players became personal to us. We still are in touch with many of them. They continue to inspire us.”
    Balcerek recalled, “It turned out to be a fascinating process–these guys let us into their homes and their lives, and everyone had a story. We became attached to the town. It was a much more soulful experience than I expected.”
    Viewers also bonded with the players and the townspeople, with Replay gaining airtime on Fox Sports Net, and a new incarnation of that TV series now chronicling other rivalries. (Kris + Scott are not currently involved in that ongoing series.) Indeed Replay has spurred on people to revisit, if not resume old rivalries, creating a continuing media platform that extends beyond the original initiative. TBWAChiatDay is teaming with Fox Sports Net and Gatorade and TBWAChiatDay on producing a new series of Replay TV shows as well as live events and web content.

Simpatico
    A key element in the web series’ success was the rapport between Belman and Balcerek. The two first came together on More Than A Game, a feature-length documentary following the journey of LeBron James to NBA super stardom as well as shedding light on the lives of his talented high school basketball teammates in Ohio. Belman was on his own trying to bring the documentary to fruition, gaining financing and bringing on a post crew when he secured Balcerek to edit the feature.
    “Scott and I sat in a room editing a feature-length documentary on and off again over nearly two years,” related Belman. “We gravitated towards one another’s sensibilities. We found it fun to work together.”
    About a month after More Than a Game screened at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008, Belman got a phone call from an agent about a project in the works which turned out to be Replay. “I had never worked on anything on the ad side before,” recollected Belman. “I called Scott who played high school football and we had already had sort of a football rivalry going–I’m from Cleveland, he’s from Pittsburgh. We were drawn to the project–not so much because it was about football but we saw a theme for these former high school players involving an opportunity for redemption.”
    Replay has ignited the spotmaking careers of Kris + Scott at Caviar. The duo’s work includes a documentary-style campaign for the University of Phoenix via Pereira & O’Dell, San Francisco. And at press time, Kris + Scott were in the midst of directing the NBC Sunday Night Football Toyota halftime show mokumentary campaign on the Tiny Football League for Saatchi & Saatchi LA. The tongue-in-cheek miniseries–with each episode coming in at around 45 seconds–juxtaposes documentary coverage of Pee Wee/Pop Warner Football teams with professional ESPN SportsCenter-type anchors/reporters providing larger than life highlights. The kids are real, deploying Kris + Scott’s documentary chops; the highlight shows are scripted, showcasing the directors’ comedic prowess.
    As alluded to, Balcerek has editing acumen, though he hasn’t cut any of the recent spots he and Belman directed. Balcerek’s editing credits include: The Wild, an animated Disney feature; 2×4, which premiered at Sundance; and Men Cry Bullets which debuted and was honored at the SXSW Fest.

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