This week I spoke with Scott Nap, who was formerly a videographer for the Phillies Single A affiliate the Lakewood BlueClaws. Scott began working with the team as a press box assistant with at the age of 16 in the team's inaugural season in 2001. In his 6 years with the team, Scott progressed upward, working closely with others to learn as much as he could and loved filming all the fun around Lakewood's FirstEnergy Park.
In 2007, Scott left the club to pursue a film teaching position, but he continues to have a close relationship with those around the team. Currently employed as a video producer with the MSG Varsity Network, Scott now has upgraded his own equipment and took it upon himself to put together a 10 year tribute video.
I posed some questions to Scott, who is also the writer-director for the web series "Issues", about his relationship with the BlueClaws organization and the video honoring a decade of baseball in Lakewood. Check out what he had to say as well as the terrific video below.
Can you tell me exactly what went into the creation of the video?
I spent over two weeks combing through over two dozen VHS tapes and miniDV tapes I had compiled over the years. I was often caught off guard by some of the events I found or the faces I saw. I wanted to focus on the FirstEnergy experience, rather than just a typical highlight reel of player moments. I included a lot of footage of people who never got to be down on the field, people working behind the scenes who never got the chance to speak with fans or watch the skits. You see fans who never missed games for the entire season. My best friends from home make a cameo. It was practically therapeutic. But the one shot I had to include for myself was a shot I didn't even know existed: Sue Keppel, the team's 1st head videographer, had filmed footage of me taking a picture of the press box and I turn toward her and take a shot of her as she's filming me. I had been looking at that still shot for years, wondering why I took this random picture. But more than that, it was just fun to find the matches between lyrics and the shots.
At this point after you've moved on, what does the BlueClaws team mean to you?
I was a 16 years old and thought I wanted to be a broadcaster or a general manager when I started day one of year one. By the time I left, I had become a professional filmmaker with listed credits to my name. I virtually grew up at FirstEnergy Park. I didn't just bring family and friends there- a lot of the people I met for the first time in the park became friends and family. It's to the point where someone flagged me down in Disney World the day I proposed to my fiancee and asked if I used to be the cameraman for the Blueclaws. This was almost four years after I last used the camera! It's a tight-knit community and I love being a part of it. The way my father talks about working at the Point Pleasant boardwalk when he was a teenager is the same way I speak about my time with the team: with great love and occasional laughing disbelief at some of the crazy things that happened.
What are some highlights that folks who watch the video can look for?
A lot of former 'Claws made it in! Check out Ryan Howard from his recent rehab start, Cole Hamels signing autographs, Carlos Ruiz scoring the winning runs in Year One, JA Happ warming up in the pen and Michael Bourn making like a Springsteen song running out a triple. Plus there's Jody Mac from WFAN, local broadcaster and newly recruited ESPN radioman Mike Krenek goofing off, Phillie great John Kruk, never-before-seen stills from the Christopher Reeve speech, and much more. Ten minutes is not nearly enough to encapsulate ten years of memories. Not even close.
Thanks to Scott for his time and for allowing me to display the video on PhoulBallz.com.
In 2007, Scott left the club to pursue a film teaching position, but he continues to have a close relationship with those around the team. Currently employed as a video producer with the MSG Varsity Network, Scott now has upgraded his own equipment and took it upon himself to put together a 10 year tribute video.
I posed some questions to Scott, who is also the writer-director for the web series "Issues", about his relationship with the BlueClaws organization and the video honoring a decade of baseball in Lakewood. Check out what he had to say as well as the terrific video below.
Can you tell me exactly what went into the creation of the video?
I spent over two weeks combing through over two dozen VHS tapes and miniDV tapes I had compiled over the years. I was often caught off guard by some of the events I found or the faces I saw. I wanted to focus on the FirstEnergy experience, rather than just a typical highlight reel of player moments. I included a lot of footage of people who never got to be down on the field, people working behind the scenes who never got the chance to speak with fans or watch the skits. You see fans who never missed games for the entire season. My best friends from home make a cameo. It was practically therapeutic. But the one shot I had to include for myself was a shot I didn't even know existed: Sue Keppel, the team's 1st head videographer, had filmed footage of me taking a picture of the press box and I turn toward her and take a shot of her as she's filming me. I had been looking at that still shot for years, wondering why I took this random picture. But more than that, it was just fun to find the matches between lyrics and the shots.
At this point after you've moved on, what does the BlueClaws team mean to you?
I was a 16 years old and thought I wanted to be a broadcaster or a general manager when I started day one of year one. By the time I left, I had become a professional filmmaker with listed credits to my name. I virtually grew up at FirstEnergy Park. I didn't just bring family and friends there- a lot of the people I met for the first time in the park became friends and family. It's to the point where someone flagged me down in Disney World the day I proposed to my fiancee and asked if I used to be the cameraman for the Blueclaws. This was almost four years after I last used the camera! It's a tight-knit community and I love being a part of it. The way my father talks about working at the Point Pleasant boardwalk when he was a teenager is the same way I speak about my time with the team: with great love and occasional laughing disbelief at some of the crazy things that happened.
What are some highlights that folks who watch the video can look for?
A lot of former 'Claws made it in! Check out Ryan Howard from his recent rehab start, Cole Hamels signing autographs, Carlos Ruiz scoring the winning runs in Year One, JA Happ warming up in the pen and Michael Bourn making like a Springsteen song running out a triple. Plus there's Jody Mac from WFAN, local broadcaster and newly recruited ESPN radioman Mike Krenek goofing off, Phillie great John Kruk, never-before-seen stills from the Christopher Reeve speech, and much more. Ten minutes is not nearly enough to encapsulate ten years of memories. Not even close.
Thanks to Scott for his time and for allowing me to display the video on PhoulBallz.com.
Blueclaws: 10 Years in 10 Minutes from Scott Nap on Vimeo.
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