Leinster Rugby's historic 2017/18 double-winning season

[LeinsterLeader]

"Virgin Media, in partnership with LayaHealthcare, will broadcast a new documentary telling the story of Leinster Rugby's historic 2017/18 double-winning season this Sunday, 9 August, at 10pm on VirginMedia_One"

[Avenger]

It’s only a one hour documentary.

I would have thought there would easily be enough material for a 10 episode docu-series.

[Xanthippe]

It’s only a one hour documentary.

I would have thought there would easily be enough material for a 10 episode docu-series.

I wish when we got the upgrade to the forum a couple of weeks ago we'd gotten a LIKE button because this post most definitely would qualify for lots and lots of likes

[TrapperChamonix]

God, that was dire. Better off spending 15 mins looking at youtube highlights.

[mildlyinterested]

God, that was dire. Better off spending 15 mins looking at youtube highlights.

haven't watched it yet myself, but worried that would be the case given the quality of leinster's media output the past few years.

[OTT]

Calling it a documentary was generous, very generous.

[nc6000]

Mountpellier.

[Dave Cahill]

The days of Living with Lions are long gone. These things are never going to offer any real insight, especially not in 45 minutes, and in fairness they aren't really aimed at people who are looking for it.

[wixfjord]

Not sure what people expected this to be?

Dressing room footage of bust-ups and high drama?!

It was always going to be a mix of highlights and player interviews.

I enjoyed it to be honest. Particularly Isa's bits and the little insight into Stuesdays.

Also blaming Leinster's media output for it is a bit ridiculous, considering it had nothing to do with them.

[mildlyinterested]

Not sure what people expected this to be?

Dressing room footage of bust-ups and high drama?!

It was always going to be a mix of highlights and player interviews.

I enjoyed it to be honest. Particularly Isa's bits and the little insight into Stuesdays.

Also blaming Leinster's media output for it is a bit ridiculous, considering it had nothing to do with them.

Leinster media/comms team were heavily involved with it.

https://twitter.com/ohfadabee/status/12 ... 6888644608

[OTT]

I think in general the Leinster media output has much improved over the last 6 months. I enjoy the facebook/twitter short videos. I enjoy the articles they are putting up on the website, they are a lot more frequent and diverse.

I just thought this particular 'documentary' was pretty average. I watched it, it was grand but as an example during the lockdown I watched a few of the games from through the years and I was literally on the edge of my seat even knowing the outcome seeing some of the tackles and plays, it brought it right back, even just '11 the Leicester quarter and Kev McLaughlin taking their lineout, the Toulouse semi in '11...SOB!!!, the final in '11. More recently the Wasps game...McFadden...the crowd. The Toulouse knockout in 2019, the intensity of that match.

I just thought they failed to really show how much went into the season that they were documenting, like it was more like (Luis from Ant-Man voice)...we said we would win the double at the start of the season, we won most of our games, we got hosed by the Cheetahs in SA but it was a great trip we saw some lion cubs and had a few laughs, we won some really tough games then got spanked by Connacht and John Muldoon converted a try it mattered but not really, then we did the double like we said we would. ISA the GOAT! The end. Maybe it is just me but it seemed like there was a much bigger scope to go more in depth even without breaking the omerta of the Leinster dressing room, they have clearly been sitting on the doc for a year.

[wixfjord]

Leinster media/comms team were heavily involved with it.

https://twitter.com/ohfadabee/status/12 ... 6888644608

'Heavily involved'?!

The tweet says they were 'involved', which is fair enough since it contains Leinster footage and player interviews.

But the production was Virgin's and it was created by a third party company 'Animo'.

Your need to constantly be negative about anything Leinster PR/media do is a bit weird man. Particularly since you haven't even seen the doc right?

[Dave Cahill]

I don't agree with a lot of the criticism MI has of Leinster Rugby's media, but I would be massively surprised and astonished if anyone had any creative or editorial control of that production other than Leinster Rugby.

[wixfjord]

I don't agree with a lot of the criticism MI has of Leinster Rugby's media, but I would be massively surprised and astonished if anyone had any creative or editorial control of that production other than Leinster Rugby.

Why use an external production company then?

[Dave Cahill]

I don't agree with a lot of the criticism MI has of Leinster Rugby's media, but I would be massively surprised and astonished if anyone had any creative or editorial control of that production other than Leinster Rugby.

Why use an external production company then?

This sounds flppant, but its not meant to be, but for the same reason that Architects use Builders. Leinster don't have the skills or the equipment to assemble a production to broadcast standards, so you hire in someone to do that for you - the vast majority of work for the vast majority of production companys is along these lines, they do very little auteur led work where the Director is primary creative and editorial force. Leinster create the narrative outline (thats Creative control) and say what is to go in and what is to be left out (thats Editorial control). Then the production company assembles it. They film the non-contemporaneous interviews, acquire and clear the match footage, source and clear the soundtrack, record the narration and edit it all together to a broadcast standard to match the narrative and editorial outline that Leinster have created.

None of this is meant to be critical of the production btw, its just an outline of how these productions are constructed

[The Doc]

I don't agree with a lot of the criticism MI has of Leinster Rugby's media, but I would be massively surprised and astonished if anyone had any creative or editorial control of that production other than Leinster Rugby.

Why use an external production company then?

Outsourcing - LR are hardly likely to have a full production setup.

If I recall, there wasn't a single contributor who wasn't LR staff. I'd bet someone in LR went to the production company and suggested a fluff piece that could be flogged to a broadcaster as a bit of Covid filler. Wouldn't expect a complete "tell all" but could have been a bit more than "the young lad done good" sound bites - it was essentially a collection of post-match-interview level snippets

[TrapperChamonix]

Not sure what people expected this to be?

Dressing room footage of bust-ups and high drama?!

It was always going to be a mix of highlights and player interviews.

I enjoyed it to be honest. Particularly Isa's bits and the little insight into Stuesdays.

Also blaming Leinster's media output for it is a bit ridiculous, considering it had nothing to do with them.

No one expected The Last Dance, but the setting of the players wholly wooden interviews made them look very stilted and wooden. White background conference room chairs etc. As a contrast look a how the program on the '09 GS was set and how relaxed and engaged the players appeared. The rigid chronological sequencing of events seemed so outdated and some of clips of the try highlights were butchered beyond belief. As an example, one of the 2 key moments of the QF was Lowe getting outside of Liam Williams and NOT Ringrose unopposed run in under the posts.

Perhaps the fact that it was aired in August tells us that not even Virgin One throught it that good.

[riocard911]

I haven't seen the thing yet. That said, an integral part of the Leinster "brand" is the pursuit of excellence and by the sound of things - e.g. leaving out Lowe on Williams prior to Ringrose's run-in (which means they also left the beautiful passing sequence which got the ball from the other side of the pitch to the left wing in the first place on the cutting room floor) - it would appear that this media product was not as good as it could or should have been.

[Cianostays]

Mountpellier.

God that annoyed the hell out of me. To me the Programme was..........fine.

Sent from my SM-G531F using Tapatalk

[Blue not red blood]

Do you know what, it was fine.
Wasnt expecting an MGM production but it got the memories going and to me highlighted the hurt of Newcastle.

No lacking of motivation for Salarysins