Behind The Scenes of Creating a Belt Commercial with ECU Football

Watch The Commercial

Our TRIWORKS team takes client advertising to the next level. That’s exactly what we set out to do at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium last July with Anson Belt & Buckle, the Official Belt of ECU Athletics. With gear fully charged and spirits high, our team set off toward East Carolina University’s campus, ready to embrace the unexpected and make some magic happen. 

Upon arrival, we connected with David Ferree, the owner and co-founder of Anson Belt & Buckle, who introduced us to the star of the shoot, former ECU Quarterback Mason Garcia. Together, we talked through the storyboard and made a game plan to spotlight Mason’s skills, aiming to direct camera focus to his every throw and agile move.

After filming on the field, we transitioned out of the July heat and into the ECU locker room, where Anson Belt and Buckle took center stage. Establishing shots captured the setting and laid the groundwork for the second scene. Here, Garcia rocks his new ECU Pirates Anson Belt.  Thanks to the team’s hard work in post-production, on-screen animations outline the product’s engraved skull and crossbones and bring another exciting visual element to the shot. 

Though almost everything went according to our airtight shot list, we couldn’t use the smoke machine in the locker room like we had originally planned. Not to worry, we know how to roll with the punches around here. Just outside in the athletic hall, we fired up the smoke machine and nailed the shot we had been envisioning. We added ambient lighting to the space with purple and gold Nanlites. The effect was intense and surreal, capturing that bold pirate mentality and matching the rowdy energy of gameday in G-Vegas. The additional texture and color elements elevated the scene, perfectly highlighting the natural collaboration between Anson Belt & Buckle and ECU Pirates.

Between those two locations, we collected everything needed to piece together this baller commercial. The team brought the files back to the studio and got to work. Especially considering all the rapid cuts, layered visuals, top-tier animations, detailed sound design and stunning color grade, we turned this project around in record time. The end result takes audiences on a fast-paced :30 ad spot detailing how Garcia gets “game day ready” in Greenville with Anson Belt. Shots parallel his game day fit with his uniform, taking us from his locker room huddle to warming up on the field. As always, it feels amazing to see a project of this scale executed with such passion and commitment. We had fun watching the spot on TV during ECU football games last season. A huge shoutout to David Ferree for trusting us with this project! We are super proud of the outcome. ECU, we’ll definitely be back for a game soon!