"I Felt like the Next Chapter Was More Important to Focus On"

Nicholas Woytuk recently launched two back-to-back spots featuring Patrick Mahomes and Damar Hamlin. With momentum on his side, STADIUM caught up with him to learn more about his process and ethos as a storyteller.

Q> Damar Hamlin’s story has captivated the nation. How did you go about bringing a fresh new perspective to his journey?

Nicholas> I approached this project not in terms of re-telling what happened to Damar. He had a very real, life changing moment happen in real time on live TV in front of the entire nation - I didn’t feel like we needed to go back to that moment. Instead I felt like the next chapter was more important to focus on.

Q> How did you approach covering such a delicate subject matter in a tasteful way?

Nicholas> Going into the project, a large topic of discussion was the interview. We asked ourselves: how do we touch upon the incident without putting too much emphasis on it? We were looking to shift the perspective in which his story was told. We crafted questions that were a bit more broad, letting Damar lead us to the answers that were needed to craft his story rather than put him in a situation where he felt like he was repeating himself.

Q> When approaching the Community America project, the original creative featured Patrick Mahomes in a large stadium. But it became apparent in pre-production that it wasn’t practical to film him there. How did you go about solving this problem to land the original creative vision?

Nicholas>  I gave the agency a few different options that I knew would work within our limited time with Patrick. I think the biggest take away from working with big name athletes is once you start rolling the camera on set, you have a limited amount of time before they either need to leave or might be exhausted from multiple takes. Creatively, you need to keep that in the back of your mind when coming up with new scenes, while still preserving the ultimate vision that the agency and clients have spent a lot of time coming up with. 

Q> A great deal of your filmography is made up of athletes telling personal stories. What aspect of an athlete's journey are you drawn to as a storyteller? 

Nicholas> I think it’s the combination of the emotional relevance that can reach a broad audience next to visually interesting imagery. Most projects that involve sport usually have a dynamic, fast paced side that has always attracted me. 

Q> What’s next for you? 

Nicholas> I’m currently on the festival circuit with a new short documentary called ‘The Alchemy of David’ and I’ve been attending several of the screenings. I’m also gearing up for my first feature length project taking place over the winter in South Western Louisiana.