Ryan Lopano Blog

Overview

Beyond the Boards is a short-form educational video series created to explore the technology, science, and safety behind hockey.

The goal of this project is to make information about hockey safety more accessible to hockey fans, including players and families. Rather than simply explaining what hockey equipment does, the content looks deeper into the technology and research behind the equipment.

The Opportunity

Hockey gear brands have done so much to innovate and create the safest gear they could. Compare this to the past, when players, and even goalies, werenʼt wearing helmets. I believe seeing the progression of this gear could be quite interesting, and showing off the safety facts on social media could aid hockey players and fans alike.

One element I found important was finding the balance between education and entertainment. The videos are meant to demonstrate credible information without feeling like a lecture. I addressed this by involving intriguing facts and interesting B-roll to make the videos feel more creative.

The Concept

The name Beyond the Boards was chosen because it represents the idea of looking deeper into hockey.

The boards are one of the most recognizable parts of a hockey rink, but they also represent a boundary. Beyond the Boards was designed to look past the surface-level aspects of hockey and see the important and interesting safety information.

Hockey Skates

The skate is the most important part of hockey and makes it unique compared to every other sport that is played on a field or court. Because of this, I found it important to dive deeper into the skate and the technology behind it.

The video explored how modern hockey skates have evolved beyond a simple boot and blade. The content examined the construction of the boot, tongue, tendon guard, and blade, while connecting those components to performance and player safety.

The video also explored the evolution of skate blades and the safety concerns that influenced modern blade designs.

Neck Protectors

The neck protection video seemed like a perfect example to demonstrate the message of Beyond the Boards.

The video starts by talking about the unfortunate and unexpected death of professional hockey player Adam Johnson and the effect it had on the hockey community and the overall safety regulations.

The story was used in the hockey world to demonstrate the importance of neck laceration protection and the research surrounding cut-resistant materials, coverage, sizing, and fit.

Goaltender Equipment

The goaltender is the most unique position in all of sports. The job is to be pelted with pucks while you are wrapped head to toe in protection gear.

The point of the video was to go through the major parts of goalie equipment, from the mask and chest protector to the gloves, blocker, and leg pads, while comparing modern gear materials to the heavier and bulkier equipment used in the past.

Helmets & Concussions

The final video went over helmets and one of the most important misconceptions surrounding hockey safety: the idea that a helmet can completely prevent a concussion.

The video explained how helmets are designed to reduce impact forces and protect against serious head injuries, while also discussing the role of helmet construction, liners, fit systems, and rotational forces.

Together, the four topics created a broader look at the evolution of safety throughout hockey.

The Research Process

The biggest part of the videos was the research that went behind them. The process began by learning about the science, engineering, and history behind each subject. Rather than just gathering facts, the research focused on understanding why equipment was designed the way it was and how those decisions affected player safety.

All of the information found was all from scholarly sources and related back to the topics in the video. This was particularly important when talking about topics involving injury, safety standards, or technical claims. Sources used throughout the project included organizations and publications such as American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), USA Hockey, and the Hockey Equipment Certification Council (HECC).

Writing for Short-Form Video

Each video was written around an opening hook designed to create interest for the viewer. Instead of beginning with a definition or something boring, the scripts opened with questions or statements that hooked their curiosity.

For example, the skate video begins by asking why someone would spend $1,200 on a pair of hockey skates. The goalie equipment video asks how a goalie can take a 100-mile-per-hour slapshot without flinching.
These opening statements ask a question that the rest of the video answers.

Besides the opening, the writing process had two goals: to make the information accurate. and to make the information interesting.

Brand Development

Some of the best content creators have strong brands; for example, when you think of blue and pink, you know I’m talking about Mr. Beast. I wanted to take that same brand identity and build it out for Beyond the Boards.

I created a visual system for the brand that includes several logo variations, a color palette, and a typography list. All of this was wrapped up inside a style guide, which makes it easy for others to see the brand standards.

The goal of the brand was to be clearly about hockey while still having a sleek design that works well for social media. A hidden detail thrown into the design is the shape of hockey boards, which are seen within the primary logos.

With such a strong brand, it makes it easy for creating consist elements that can be used from one piece of content to the next.

Video Production

Once the research and scripts were complete, the biggest goal was transforming the information into an interesting and digestible short-form video.

The first step of that process is recording the voiceover. I recorded the voiceovers using my phone under a homemade recording setup. This setup was created to reduce background noise and isolate the voice. Recording the narration first created the foundation for the rest of the edit.

The next step was to do visual research. This includes looking for relevant B-roll to visually support the information being talked about. The goal of the footage was to find interesting background clips that work well with the narration so that the visual and vocal information comes together as one.

The graphic design is the next step in the creation process. Custom graphics were created to help communicate and translate information that wouldn’t be as easily shown through B-roll. These graphics were all designed to match Beyond the Board’s brand and increase user recognizability.

Once all three of those elements are put together in post, it comes out to a high-quality video about safety in hockey.

Reflection

Overall, the safety of hockey is a
ridiculously important topic which needs to
be covered more. By opening up the
curtain, you get to show players and fans
the important facts they might not know
already. Information is ridiculously
important, and sharing safety facts could
potentially help out many.