Concept

Sweet Oaks Ranch was excited to introduce their newest trainer, Sarah Lynn Gibbs. Sara was a talented addition to the ranks of their equestrian staff and had a great message about balance riding practices that we especially wanted to focus on in this video. Something we learned from this series is that every good trainer has a passion point that they can lean on. These passion points (Sarah’s “balanced riding” techniques for example), grow good instruction into great instruction.

We wanted to excentuate the accessibility of Sarah’s teaching techniques. She had students of all ages and all levels of training: she reveled teaching every single one of them.

It’s wonderful, as a video producer, to interview someone who loves what they do. When you can hone in on that enthusiasm, they open up on camera—and those moments are some of the more satisfying.

Production

Shot on a Canon C100 camera with an Atomos Ninja on tripod and Zacuto recoil rig. Edited using Premiere Pro. Motion Graphics on Animate CC and Premiere Pro.

Sweet Oaks Ranch is one of the most serene spots in Temecula, CA. The property is positioned right up against the Pauba mountains, which rise up behind Sweet Oak’s largest arena. It was no trouble at all to go and shoot there for extended periods of time. Sarah was so accommodating and kind to work with which made the project even more delightful to be a part of.

Goals

One of Sweet Oak’s main goals as an equestrian facility was to introduce new trainers and lesson opportunities to their audience—in this particular case they were hoping to catch the eyes of parents and some younger clientele. Sarah’s techniques as an instructor were the perfect match and that translated well as a message on video.