As part of its multi-phase promotional campaign for the new NHL 2021/2 season, ESPN teamed up with hockey fanatic Justin Bieber to launch a mini documentary about the return of the sports broadcaster’s famous theme song.
Marking the Disney-owned channel’s decision to bring back Bob Christianson’s iconic NHL theme tune after 17 years, music super star Bieber narrates a six-minute docu-short about the tune – which was penned by Christianson 29 years ago.
The film aired on the network ahead of the 13 October season opener between Tuesday night’s contest between the back-to-back champion Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The track’s driving cellos, swirling violins and insistent percussion will again punctuate telecasts during the season and the film sees composer Christianson recount how he wrote the piece of music that has since become synonymous with professional hockey with a whole generation of fans – including Bieber who describes the tune as “Genius in G minor.”
“Composing is being able to sit quiet enough so that you’re able to listen,” explained Christianson who wrote the tune in 1992. “That’s how I get all my ideas – I listen. You just keep working at it. If you can’t get it, you keep doing it again and again. Finally, you get it.”
As well as Bieber, who dedicated his recent single ‘Hold On’ to the Toronto Maple Leafs, another sequence in the film sees several NHL stars put on earphones and describe the track.
Nathan Mackinnon: “It’s getting me fired up!”
Zack Hyman: “Classic.”
Philipp Grubauer: “Can you play it again?”
Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby (humming along): “Dah-da-dahnnn!”
“Music transcends,” says Bieber. “It has the power to transport a feeling. From once upon a time … to today.”
As well as airing on ESPN ahead of the big game, the broadcaster also posted its ‘The Return Of The Iconic ESPN NHL Theme Song’ film across its digital and social channels on 13 October.
“Justin read the script twice for us, so we had different energy, pace and inflections to choose from, which was very helpful,” explained Producer Mike Farrell and Director John Minton III. “It was an extremely smooth process. He was enthusiastic about growing the game of hockey, a game he loves, which is why he agreed to narrate this piece.”
“We filmed with Bob over two days at his NYC brownstone studio in the middle of September, and the orchestra shoot happened on 7 October, so it was a bit of a sprint to the finish after that shoot was completed,” the duo continued. “We had three cameras during the orchestra shoot, filmed at LeFrak Concert Hall at the Aaron Copeland School of Music at Queen’s College. It was a full symphony orchestra with 55 musicians on stage. We wanted the camera movements to be sweeping, energetic and fast, to compliment the power of the music itself.”
The initiative was created by a team led by Andy Tennant (Executive Producer), Mike Farrell (Director/Producer/Writer), John Minton III (Director/Producer/Writer), Michael Sciallis (Editor), Mike Bollacke (Director of Photography), Tommy Bartlett (Cinematography), Ian McGrew (Cinematography), Jeff Bollacke (Field Audio) and Jon Bartel (Post Sound Engineer/Mixer).
Comment:
This focus on the NHL theme by Bob Christianson, who has written dozens of sports themes for ESPN and other networks including the famous CBS NCAA March Madness theme, links to ESPN’s umbrella ‘All For Hockey’ activation which sees the broadcaster not only welcome back the NHL but also target new, younger audiences and emphasise the intersection between hockey and humanity.
The campaign sees the company seek to make the most of the expansive new rights deal between the league and Disney which sees NHL games return to ESPN after a 17-year absence.
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