Inside Track Documentaries

Creative Direction, Copywriting, Cinematography

 The Brief
Enhance the experience of Cedar Fair customers who are on-site by delivering branded content.

Background
Cedar Fair saw an opportunity to enhance guest experience, strengthen its brands, and generate sponsorship revenue by deploying FunTV, a digital network with hundreds of screens across Cedar Fair’s locations.

Content that was entertaining, on-brand, and sponsor-able would have to be developed from scratch.

Task
As one of the first three members of Cedar Fair’s in-house content studio, I had a key role in developing and producing original branded entertainment alongside the Executive Producer.

We saw ample opportunity to create a series in the vein of Dirty Jobs, uncovering the surprisingly complex and innovative machinery and people that build and maintain the world’s greatest amusement parks.

For several of the initial episodes, I ran camera, wrote voiceover, and edited footage. I also designed the logo and title sequence. In my role as project manager, I interfaced with stakeholders around the company to find story opportunities, arrange shoots, and get sign-off on finished episodes.

Following stories like this would require consistent focus over many weeks. This would be difficult in my role where I led and supported multiple streams of work. We needed an experienced documentarian who was self-sufficient, creative, and enthusiastic. I recommended Josh Flowers whom I knew from the world of freelance and Cincinnati indie films.

Results

• Over a dozen episodes were produced covering a number of topics:

  • Ride Construction

  • Ride Maintenance

  • Topiaries and decorative gardening

  • Ice Rink installation

  • The makeup artists behind Cedar Fair’s Halloween Haunt events

• Comments online and on-site were enthusiastically positive, with ample praise for the Cedar Fair employees working day-and-night to ensure the fun and safety of millions of guests. Kids wowed their parents with facts they learned “while waiting in line.”

• The show generated revenue from external sponsors in several industries.