We’ve greatly enjoyed working with GB Softball over the past few years and really excited to see what the future holds for softball ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
During our film sessions we got talking with Laura Hirai, who holds the honour of being the first women to play for both the Great Britain Softball and Baseball teams. We discussed how the sport of baseball is growing here in the UK and how there is a burgeoning community of women playing the sport.
However, Laura went on to explain the online abuse women baseball players often receive given the erroneous and entrenched beliefs that baseball is a sport for men. A few months earlier we’d seen a post that the GB women’s baseball team had created on International Women’s Day responding to the comments that “women can’t play baseball” and with our passion for gender equality in sport we began discussing the idea of turning this narrative into a short film.
A few weeks later we’d crafted the storyboard and were ready to roll cameras. Joining the team at Farnham Park (the national baseball & softball training centre) we were treated to a warm May afternoon, with some spring sunshine.
Having recently added a wide range of new Avenger and Manfrotto grip and lighting equipment to our gear arsenal we were keen to put it into action. Using our 4x4 foldable frame we were able to diffuse the harsh sunlight illuminating our players with a soft light. We employed this technique throughout the piece wherever possible, in some places using bounce lighting with our 2x2 Manfrotto reflector in a classic ‘sun sandwich’ lighting style.
The piece follows the narrative of a player stepping up to bat at home plate, while a voice over speaks passionately about the player’s love for the sport and how “they don’t care” about negative comments, choosing instead to focus their attention on their progression and enjoyment of the sport. Although sadly unable to participate in front of camera due to an injury, GB Baseball player Rose Bhanji very kindly lent her vocal talents to the piece, recording a passionate and authentic voice over.
The team had been training at Farnham Park all weekend and very kindly agreed to stay an extra hour after training to capture this film, so we had to move quickly to film all the necessary shots before they headed back to their home bases across the country. We chose a simple, run and gun style setup to film with shooting on our RED Komodo paired with Sigma art lenses and 1/4 Pro Mist filter for the classic cinematic feel. For grip we switched between an Easyrig camera support and our trusty Sachtler Flowtech Tripod for maximum efficiency.
Knowing the time restriction we’d crafted a simple storyboard and scripted the voice over to convey the emotion behind the piece. Rose’s fantastic delivery coupled with powerful music combined to give an inspirational tone. Keeping it simple, we asked players to replicate the actions they’d do when preparing to play.
The team shared the piece during #WomenInBaseballWeek in July it was fantastic to see the women’s baseball community rally around the piece sharing comments of support. A huge thank you to all the players involved, it was a real pleasure to work with you all on the project and are looking forward to seeing what the future holds in store for Softball and Baseball in the UK.
You can see the finished film on our YouTube channel here…
Much love 🙏 ❤️
Ben&Jack