In the world of sports, the difference between winners and losers is often a matter of minutiae, of thousandths of a second or a fraction of an inch. So it’s not surprising that broadcast sports fans thrive on details — the glistening sweat beads on a boxer’s brow, the spritz of ice kicked up during a triple toe loop.

Sports networks understand this game, how to evoke excitement by inviting viewers up close and personal. So when ESPN Classic needed a series of new on-air menu treatments, they turned to design director Jeremy Lasky, editorial director Brendan Werner and effects director Daniel Gonzalez of Perception, a hot New York design/post boutique working exclusively with Macs.

Three Macs, Three Guys and Final Cut Pro

The trio formed Perception in 2002 after their former employer, R/GA, decided to specialize in web design and abandon their first love — high-end motion graphics and visual effects for broadcast. “R/GA was the place to go to in the ’80s and ’90s for special effects, design, film titles, stuff like that,” Gonzalez explains.

“We hooked up with HBO and they loved us. They were actually more impressed with how fast we were than anything else.”

“When they closed down, Jeremy, Brendan and I got together and said, ‘Hey, we do different things, why don’t we form a company and do it under one house?’ When we first opened up, people told us we were crazy. But we did it with three Macs and three guys, and Final Cut.”

From the beginning, media clients were intrigued with Perception’s creativity and agility. “We hooked up with HBO and they loved us. They were actually more impressed with how fast we were than anything else, which kind of blew me away because they have places they go to which have, you know, half-million dollar machines.”

Fit for the Times

Gonzalez had used the ultra-high-end Inferno effects machine at R/GA, and Werner had been an Avid editor there. But with Perception, each wanted, according to Lasky, “…something streamlined, something fit for the times post-9/11, economical and fast. We found it with the Mac.

“Danny has taken the skills and talents he was using in high-end effects workstations and he’s translated them to the desktop really successfully, without sacrificing any quality. And Brendan took his Avid experience and now Final Cut has become his tool of choice. I’ve always been on the Mac and an After Effects and Photoshop person. But it’s really fit the times, and this model’s proven itself time and again.”

Texture Overlays

It wasn’t long before ESPN came calling, requesting spots for its various sports networks. In their gritty and fast-paced promos for “StreetBall,” Perception used Final Cut Pro and After Effects to overlay textural elements, such as charcoal rubbings of pavement and sewer gratings and bricks, over footage of streetball players head-to-head in stark city settings.

And when ESPN Classic hit a home run by fielding the only live broadcast from the Baseball Hall of Fame, Perception pitched the perfect promo spot — a giant vintage baseball ticket that integrated static antique-inspired elements with classic footage.

Sports Info on the Menu

For the 2004 season, ESPN Classic called on Perception to create a series of on-air menu treatments that would highlight upcoming programs. Explains Lasky, “One of the challenges was to come up with a background, a back plate, that said ‘classic sports,’ but that wouldn’t be distracting, because the information is the star of these things.” Their solution: four highly detailed graphical backdrops based on classic playing surfaces.

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