Treasure Hunting with Blueline

Bringing History to Life on Screen

At Blueline, we believe that the past can hold the keys to powerful storytelling. Our journey into the archives often feels like a treasure hunt, unearthing long-forgotten pieces that become the heartbeat of our films. These explorations are not just about providing context; they’re about infusing our stories with life and credibility. The Rabbit Holes: Sense of Discovery

The sense of discovery in our archival work is something we deeply value. While online archives are valuable, nothing compares to the experience of digging through physical historical assets like old tapes, pictures, and undigitized films. This journey feels like an archaeological quest, unveiling treasures that transform our projects. Each discovery holds significant impact, much like the excitement of an Indiana Jones film.

From personal garages filled with untouched home movies to institutional archives at universities and historical societies, every asset contributes to our storytelling. Each collaboration enriches our stories, allowing us to present history with depth and wholeheartedness.

The Power of Trust

Trust is fundamental to our work. The ability to dive into someone's personal archives—their father's scrapbook or old 16-millimeter films—carries a profound sense of responsibility. This trust allows us to honor the stories we tell effectively.

Honoring a legacy and telling someone's life story is a great responsibility, well illustrated by our documentary on Jerry Yeagley and the IU Men’s Soccer program. Trusted by the Yeagley family to dig through old albums and convert 8mm and 16mm films, we felt a strong obligation to do justice to Coach Yeagley’s impact. In a way, giving us this access was allowing us into the IU soccer family; as one of his players and a future NCAA-champion coach said, “They opened their house to us and we were always around.”

Our journey with Coach Yeagley began in 2012, capturing content for IU Athletics at that year’s team advanced to win the NCAA championship under his son Todd’s leadership. At first this was simply social media content, but the stories of IU Soccer were so compelling to our team that we got to know many individuals in the IU Soccer family. Flash forward a few years, and that initial project became the foundation for a deeper exploration of IU Soccer’s life and legacy.

For the Adidas-sponsored, feature-length documentary, our dedication meant digging through interviews, old tapes, home movies, and early NCAA historical films. Each discovery heightened the narrative's reliability and emotional depth. Home movies showing Jerry as a father and father figure provided an intimate look into his life, deeply resonating with our team. This footage, coupled with personal letters and scrapbooks, illustrated not only his achievements on the field but also his profound impact off of it.

Beyond Pan and Scan

Rather than simply scan photos and films, our team took things a step further by showing off some elements in their original format, filming montages of various artifacts in designed environments. Additionally, we cast actors to recreate certain scenes in era-correct look and feel, and used intentional selections of aspect ratio to softly signal the distinction between modern-day interviews and dramatizations. You can see a combination of how we implemented these strategies in this clip:

We also spoke to many people who played and coached for Coach Yeagley, capturing their heartfelt reflections on his character and legacy. Each interview added another layer, providing a fuller picture of the man who broke barriers and touched countless lives. Our team felt an immense responsibility to weave these elements together in a way that truly honored his decades of dedication (including a fully-volunteer first 10 years.)

Hail to the archives and the individuals dedicated to preserving these treasures. At Blueline, we remain committed to storytelling with dedication and heart. Our deep archival explorations ensure we bring history to life engagingly and authentically. One documentary often creates a suite of video content, amplifying the story's impact beyond the initial film.

With Gratitude,

The Blueline Team

PS. Watch the trailer for Worth the Wait here; the full film can be viewed on IU Soccer’s Facebook Page. Stay tuned to the BIG Ten Network to catch when it airs periodically.