A Conversation with 'Flight 23' Jets Docuseries Director Seth Bradley (5/23)

ground literally figuratively. What was Thursday night like for you as far as when that starts streaming at eight pm? Are you watching it because you spent countless hours going through this process to get it ready. At like at eight o'clock when everybody else is taking in for the first time, what are you doing.

the episode actually on sn HY on Saturday. But the reality is like, by the time it comes out, you're just hoping there's not a mistake in it or something, because you want the episode to be absolutely perfect, and I think, you know, you just want to kind of enjoy seeing that reaction for the fans, which that's the best part for us.

and there's so many different moments throughout the offseason. You know, we just really wanted to kind of capture that and tell that story in a way that you know, hopefully obviously the season is going to go the way everybody wants it here, but I think, you know, twenty to

thirty years down the road. I would love for a fan to be able to turn that on and say, like, this is the story of you know, the Jets acquiring a Hall of Fame quarterback, and you know, I think to see such positive reaction, I'm just I'm really happy for our crew because I think, you know, the the reality is, it's not the most glamorous process to get to eight pm on Thursday. You work so many hours, you know, you're really working when nobody's watching, you know,

to get this done. And I think, you know, our crew does such a great job of just putting their head down and you know, putting so much passion and and effort into this that you know, I think it's just it's very rewarding for us to see. And I'm just glad the fans had such a positive reaction to it.

how that process even goes. But you know, I think, you know, it's it's cool to see it, you know, on the broadcast platform. You know, I think, you know, it's great what's happened with YouTube and you know how crazy goes. But and you turn on and you see the guy says it's going to be on sn Y and they'll run a ton and CBS as well. You know, it's really kind of cool to see it on so

many different platforms. But you know, I think in terms of the hours of footage, it's it's hundreds of hours of footage that you know, we go through in the course of an offseason, you know, So I think really from the moment that you know, coach Salah and Joe Douglas and you know what, he kind of come out and say, hey, we're going to go after a veteran quarterback.

You know, we immediately know, like, you know, the quarterback is going to be the number one story, you know, of the entire offseason, and it's it's pretty crazy to think, you know, this story kind of became bigger than the Jets, It kind of became bigger than the NFL. I think it was one of the historically one of the biggest acquisitions in the history of sports in terms of the

amount of coverage it was getting. So it's more than just you know, really like what we're shooting on a daily basis, which are guys you know, are the best cinematographers. But it's also kind of being aware of, you know, who else is talking about us, what's being said. You know, I can't tell you how many times I've fired off a text to you know, Austin Seebot, one of our main editors and producers, or Bobby or whoever, and just said like, hey, like, you know this happened on Good

Morning Football. You know, I heard this on ESPN radio and you know, you kind of like store things away and you're you're not even sure if you're really going to get to use it or not. But it's you know, I think if I walked a fan through what the show looks like in terms of our editing software and things like that, they'd be pretty amazed at the amount of stuff that's actually in there.

have a shut off valve? Or when you get in your car, are you turning on ESPN ninety eight seven and listen to Michael Kay much like the next morning, are you watching Kellerman, Jay Will and Keishawn to see if they have anything to say, because, like you just said, everybody who's talking about Aaron Rodgers and the Jets from the jump this offseason.

Jets every single day. So I think, you know, if we're trying to find something, I mean, for one, you know, Ira from Staten Island's going to call into ESPN Radio every single morning, so you're like, well, if we need a fan, it's gonna call in. You know, it's gonna be him, or you know, there's gonna be a ton

of you know, Boomer g O ESPN Radio wherever. It's like the phone lines are are always going to be, you know, popping, So you know, I think it's just kind of having an awareness of saying like, hey, like you know I heard something that you know, potentially we could use down the road. A lot of times, it's just you know, it's a it's a blessing and a curse. I have a pretty good memory of like saying like, hey, like somebody said this back in January, somebody said said

this in February. But you also kind of had to be the one thing I didn't want to have happen with this episode was just telling the story of the day Rogers came in. I wanted to build up of Okay, like this is what happened from January, you know, to that moment and then you know, obviously the moment he arrives. So I think, you know that that's really what we

were trying to do. And I think it's you know, I had a couple of people text me and say, like, you guys, really build up the suspense, like I was like reliving it again, and I know it kind of probably brings back some anxious moments for fans, but I think that was the whole idea is like, you know this, I don't think I've ever been a part of a moment here, and I don't know if you have either.

You know, you could you can relate to maybe like the Brett Favre trade or things like that, but you know, I think having the me talk about the Jets every single day was something I've never really been a part of here.

in August, You're opening up the season September. So the difference between that one too is the way people consume in the media. Right. It used to be radio and newspaper, newspaper, radio and television, and then cable TV was big with ESPN and Sports Center. Now everybody's consuming content different diferently, and they're taking it in at the moment. And then you also have the birth of the long form documentary that the league has always done a good job in.

I think when we talk about series like Hard Knocks or Steve Sable what he's he did over the years. But you guys, historically, I think Joe Douglas said this is a historical trade for the franchise, but you just mentioned that, Hey, this is just an historical move that kind of transcends sports. That you're getting a future Hall of Fame quarterback here after eighteen years in Green Bay and then you have this merge of all these different platforms covering it at the same time, Robert Salah, you

guys get into his car with him. How many people are in that kind of shoot and can you talk about setting that up and what time of day that happened and how Salah was with you guys.

there and ready to roll. But like I said, you know, I think, you know, Coach from the day walked in. He preached, you know, building this thing the right way with you know, hiring the right people on his staff, and the same with Joe, and I think we felt that from a production standpoint, you know, I think everybody's so great to work with. You know, I think you want to root for everybody here because you know, you feel it every day like it's just different, you know.

And I thought, you know, as you know, like it's from the day coach walked into building when he got hired, it just everything seemed to kind of change with the way everything felt. And then obviously to now seeing you know, Aaron come in, it's like man like it's because of what they built. And I think you know, you felt that from the beginning.

use narration, which Rich Jhson's narrator in the show. But in some cases, it just you feel like you need it.

You feel like you need to and to me, like car interviews in particular, like I've always felt like there's some of the best access you can get to somebody because I think like it's just a very intimate setting to kind of hear somebody's thoughts, and you know, I think hearing Coach Salad talk about Aaron Rodgers was you know, one of the unique parts of the production process for me, because I think when you're talking about somebody with an

incredible defensive mind, you know that came up through the league ranks as a defensive you know, defensive coach and then a defensive coordinator in San Francisco, I think hearing him talk about what he sees when he, you know, watches Aaron play is pretty special and I wanted to make sure there was a moment in the show where you had a chance to hear you know why, you know, what coach sala thinks about Aaron Rodgers in the way he plays a game. So I think with a you know,

a producer question. Sometimes you just need to put it in there to kind of say, like this really is going to set the scene, or it's going to be a dramatic bite in the show, or but that's really how we get to that point.

was his presence. Yeah, what was it like for you day one when he comes in here, does the news conference and then he sits down with sits down with you guys in the fieldhouse.

You know, he's one of our great producers, and Rogers kind of says like, now, like I don't want to be miked, and and then we all kind of just take a moment and then we realize he's joking, and he says like, you know, come on back. And it was just such a cool moment. You know, we we we kind of put that in the show because it just really like it was like, man, like he's just a cool dude. You know, like we just kind of like sat down at that point we said like all right,

like this is We're really doing this. This is gonna be great. But I think like it's a moment really for me and I'm sure for the rest of our crew. You're remember forever. You'll tell your kids about, you tell your grandkids about like the day, you know, Aaron Rodgers

came into building. It was such a unique thing and I think, you know, it's a few times in your life you'll be around somebody with a presence like that that really just you know, you just feel it, like, man, like this guy eighteen years in the NFL, you know, Hall of Fame quarterback coming to the Jets. I just it didn't even really like feel like it was real.

And then we kind of like watch the episode back and then we kind of said, like, man, like, this is kind of cool to like relive all of this and have this documented this way.

another you know, super Bowl championship to the Jets. It's just it's one of those things where I think, you know, all fans really kind of just said like, wow, like this is really like happening. And you know, I think you got the sense when he was on Pat mcafeel like, man like, he's all in on the Jets. But I think you saw it that first day like man like, this is really why, like he always truly wanted to

be a Jet, you know. And I think, you know, it's it's such a cool thing, and it's such a testament to Joe and Robert and everything they've kind of build up that you know, he's coming in day one and saying like, you know, this is what we're going to do. And I think I think fans really felt that during the press conference too. I think it was such a it was just such a unique day, you know. I think it's it's a day I always remember and I'm sure you know everybody in the organization will.

You know. I think in a normal off season, there's so much hype around the team and you know, Jets Twitter and you know, our fans are just always at a fever pitch, you know, they always have so much optimism, and I think when we hit the off season, it was like, man, like, there's a real unique opportunity here to show some of this story through the eyes of a fan. And I think this Aaron Rodgers you know, pursuit is kind of embodies what this fan base is

all about. It was kind of cool to see, you know, different pinpoints of the offseason where they really kind of you know, you know, the Pat McAfee interview and you know, different parts where you know, the Jets flying out to California as a day I'll never forget in terms of like the excitement and the build up to everything that was going on because at that point in time, like no one really knew what was happening, and it's like, hey, the Jets are going to fly out there, and it

sends Twitter into a frenzy. So I think with you know, Flight twenty three, you know, we did the We've done a couple episodes of the Dieards, and that series will continue into the season. We'll have an opportunity to showcase like a lot of unique fan personalities. But I think in in Flight twenty three, you know, we kind of made the call like hey, like, you know, a lot

of this is still about the fans. You know, this is like such an exciting, exciting time and we kind of wanted to give them their moment where it was like, hey, like the day that you know, the trade broke the news, I'll never forget where I was in that moment. I'm sure you'll never forget where you were. It was like it was one of those things where you want to kind of capture like what that actual the emotion of that moment, And I think that's why we wanted to kind of showcase some of those fans.

it in the building. You know, everything was kind of building to this trade, but it's like, you know, when you have the realization like hey, like this is really gonna happen, there's just so much excitement around it and it affects everybody in here. So, you know, I think we really wanted to just kind of capture, you know, what it's like for somebody working in here, because it, you know, is it's a great day for not just the fans, it's a great day for you know, the team.

It's a great day for everybody working here as well. So, you know, we really just kind of wanted to shed some light on you know how it kind of you know, it can affect not just you know, the team and the players and the coaching staff, it can affect like really everybody and the excitement around it. So it was really cool to feature Fitsie and his crew and you know, all the hard work.

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level of Rogers Rod because that's frankly that's impossible. Yeah, but can you talk about how you still want to tell the story the offseason while continuing to hammer home that Rogers is here and he's part of OTA's but also Flight twenty three Ascension is about the totality of what's happening with the team.

history like that, you know, documenting it. But I do think episode two is is very unique and a fan is going to really enjoy it, you know, because it's going to focus on the draft, which I think is kind of everything was happening with you know, the Aaron Rodgers trade, we were still documenting in the draft meetings. We were still you know, had a bunch of cameras

in the draft room on draft night. So I think, you know, fans are going to get a really cool inside look get you know, Joe and his staff and the coaching staff and and what kind of led to these selections of Will McDonald, Joe Tipman and the rest of these picks. So I think, you know, I think for like people that really love the draft and the inner workings and seeing you know, kind of like behind the curtain, I think this episode is really going to

do that justice. You know. I think the the unique part about Flight is it last year, you know, it was all about the draft, you know, with how many draft picks we had in the in the big moment was episode four when you know, the Jets get three first round picks and then they ultimately get Breese and just you know, Joe working the phones and it all

kind of built up to that moment. This year, it's a little bit different because of you know, the quarterback search, and we had to kind of cap you know, we wanted to make sure we hit everybody out of the gate with you know, Aaron Rodgers. But I do think, you know, one of the coolest parts about this show is seeing the conviction you know, this staff has and

seeing these guys work. And I think there's some really unique moments in the draft room with Joe, you know, prior to pick fifteen and leading up to the Joe Tipman pick that I think fans are really gonna like because there's nothing quite like seeing Joe work on draft right like he's in such as he's in his element and he has such command of the room that I think, you know, it's such a cool inside look for Fantasy.

first round selection. The day he did the press conference here, you know, he met a ton of the staff and he was he was in the building, and I think fans are going to get a really unique look at who he is as a person and you know, his family, and I think that's you know, gonna be It's just kind of you know, the the drama of the draft and everything like that, it really provides perspective of you know, what's you know important in life and you know, taking a moment to kind of learn who he is as

a person before he made that pick, you know. And you know, I think it's kind of cool to see everything come full circle because then you see Will at his house, you know, watching Kyle make the pick, and

there's there's some really cool moments in this episode. I think, I think fans will get a really unique look and you know, I think for me personally, as someone that grew up loving the draft, I mean, seeing what is said in kind of draft meetings and the build up to it is you know one of the coolest parts of the process for us. And you know, credit to Joe and his staff for kind of being comfortable with you know, cameras being in there to capture some of these cool moments.

process works, how much do you enjoy it? And how tough is it for you to be like, oh, man, well that was really great now, but we can't include that in there.

but I think it's really cool. And you know, I was telling somebody this the other day. It's like the best part about this process is you feel a conviction in the room by the time they get to the draft and kind of seeing guys they like throughout the process.

And I'll never forget last year. You know, we were in the meeting when they talked about Jermaine and you know, hearing Joe talk about him, and then the minute you know, it's past pick ten and we selected Garrett and you kind of see Joe start to talk to Robert and say like, hey, like we can go get Jermaine, and we we we kind of had known how much they liked him throughout the process, and it was it was one of those things from a storytelling standpoint, you're like, man, like,

I hope this trade goes through. Like I'm kind of like we're nervous like capturing the moments because we're like, man like, if we somehow don't get them, like we know kind of like how we can tell this story. But it's it's just really kind of cool to see the conviction these guys have, and I think by the time you know, you get to the draft, fans might not really know like who our number one targets are

and things like that. But I think you feel it in the building like okay, like this is a guy, like they really want.

creatively to this, we can write a monologue. You know. The the end monologue with to episode one was something that we had really kind of designed specifically for Rich Eisen.

and to me, music is everything. Because you know, a piece of video is just is just video until it comes to life with the you know, the emotion of music. So we'll spend a lot of time finding the perfect tracks, you know, for an episode, and sometimes you might cut a scene or you might do something. You might be like, the music just doesn't feel right here, like, you know, we need to we need something it's a little more captivating, We need something it's a little bit of a different tone,

you know. I think even going back to we talked about the Diehards before, it's like, you know, we use very unique music in that documentary. In particular, it had to be different because it was a different tone of you know, a show. So I think everything's very calculated with this. You know, it takes a lot of time, you know, in terms of finding the perfect music for an episode. But you know, I think at the end of the day, you want to pull out the emotions

of a viewer. You know, you want a viewer to have an emotional connection to a piece, and I think music is is the key to all of it.

Every shot is very calculated to your point, you know, it's but you also kind of have to be able to run a gun and adapt them to fly with the nature of like how fast paced sports is. So but when I think back to, you know, what we were able to do the day Aaron arrived at the facility and the different shots we were able to capture, and you know, our crew is so prepared and and

that's to dance credit you know. He he's really like overhauled our you know, production process over the over the years, just to in terms of the cameras we use, in terms of the equipment we use, and I think, you know, putting our cinematographers in the best possible spot. And I think, you know, thinking to One Jets Drive and a fan watches,

you know, one of our game scenes. You know, I think the amount of different cameras we have going in one game, the location of each it's all very thought out, it's all very planned, and I think our goal with you know, a show like One Jets Drive is to give a fan a perspective of the game that they're

not going to get anywhere else. And I think you might not even realize it as you're watching it, like how many unique camera angles and stuff we actually have and players miked up and cameras behind the bench and players in the locker room. But it's there's so much that goes into that part of it, and it's just

countless hours of planning and preparation. And I think but at the end of the day too, you also have to have incredible talent in the building to kind of do to pull this all off and our crew, like I said, is the best there is. You know, It's like I think, you know, if somebody looks at a production like Hard Knocks and they look at the credits at the end, they're going to see probably you know,

over one hundred people in the credits, maybe more. But with our crew, it's you know, seven or eight people that are really you know, punching above their weight every single day to make this happen. And you know, you might go from one shoot to another on a moment's notice, you might only have twenty minutes to prepare for a shoot, but you know, our goal all the time is to have everyone ready for you know, whatever occurs, and to do it to the best, you know, the highest possible

production quality. So you know, I think when you look at our productions over the years, they've obviously like steadily improved, and you know we've been you know, more and more prepared for everything. But I think, you know, obviously, you know, you said it to Dan's credit, like we've really to me like we want to set the standard across the league in terms of what we're doing. I think this production in particular, does that do.

my dream was to produce you know, sports documentaries. I love thirty for thirties. I love you know, ESPN films, you know, really hard knocks everything. And I think it was just, you know, one of those things where like once we kind of open that can of worms, like we're going to go down this path. It was you know, I think it really helped build the brand of the organization.

You know, I was I was trying to tell somebody this the other day and they were wondering why, Like we flashed back to Joe and Roberts like first days as a jet in this past episode and things like that, and I was like, well, the story didn't start with Rogers. It started, you know, a couple of years ago. And I think if you go through even what One Jets Drive is, you know for the past five or six seasons,

you kind of see the beginnings of the story. And I think that's the really cool part about like documentaries is it's it's not really like we won't document, we'll document the twenty three season, but it really was it's really been building to this, like the story kind of starts. If Sony went back and watched like the past two years of One Just Drive or Flight twenty twenty one and twenty twenty two, it's like you kind of see

what's what's been happening here. And I think that's that's kind of the cool thing is you know, we get an opportunity to tell these stories, and you know, I really like my goal with one JD Films was to create like a thirty for thirty style umbrella here that you know allowed us to tell, you know, do more than just one Just Drive, do more than Flight, And we have some really unique stories coming out around the Hall of Fame and Breese Hall's you know, Road to

Recovery and things like that. So in the diards as you mentioned, So there's there's just a lot coming and you know, I think, you know, it's for me growing up a sports fan, this has been a dream for me to like be able to kind of like tell these stories and and help this organization kind of you know, build this brand.

of started from there. You have to buy and from the player, but then you also have to buy and from the staff, you know, so Dave's aufalleto you know, his crew downstairs. The training staff has been all in on us kind of showing Breee coming back, and it's going to be a you know, a documentary that you know, comes out when he returns to the field, because we

need to be able to tell the story fully. Yeah, but I think you know, fans are gonna just it's just gonna be more access than they've probably ever seen in terms of what it's like, you know, the long days. You know, a rehab session lasts you know, usually around like three hours, and our crew will be in there the entire time. You capture the struggle, you capture you know, the moments. But we're also gonna tell Breece's story, you know. You know, I think that's the cool part is it's

not just gonna be the rehab. It's going to be who he is as a player. And obviously we saw, you know, how great of a player Brese you know is and can can be in the league last year, and I think everyone was so devastated when he went down. But I think seeing his road back I think it's gonna be something very special for fans.

in production with ever changing content world. What kind of advice do you give people who are in college right now, and maybe can you shed some light on your background and how it helped you get to this point.

career on the right path. But like once I you know, kind of started to see what direction my career would go in terms of you know, I always wanted to work in sports. I always wanted to be around football, you know. So I've you know, worked in college sports for a couple of years in the SEC and Penn State and you know, obviously, and then get a job

at the Jets in twenty fourteen. You know, I think for anybody let's coming out of college and you know, looking for what's next, I think it's important to be open minded. It's important to learn as much as you can. It's important to you know, not necessarily be focused on where you're working, but what you're doing. You know. I think there's a lot you know, I worked for a lot of like smaller companies you know, prior to the Jets, and I think that's an important part of it is.

I think you can be like I want to work for NFL Films or I want to work for ESPN, but it you might be a you know, a small fish in a big pond there. You might not necessary be like learning all the skills you need to do it.

So I always tell people, like, look at what a job description is for, you know, a position you might want five or six years down the road and start to kind of think about the skills you're learning, you know, so by the time you get to a spot where you want to apply somewhere that you can be doing that job, you have all the necessary tools to do it.

You know. I think, you know, first and foremost here is like we're looking for, you know, ultimately, the most creative people that are great storytellers, because I think you know a lot of people are, you know, great editors, great shooters, But I think combining all that to be able to tell a story is what's going to be the key, you know, And I think that's that's really the biggest thing. But I my biggest piece of advice is be ready to get turned down for a lot.

I got to turn down for a lot of jobs prior to you know, coming to the Jets. I can't I can probably name most of them, you know, and you know it was it was hard at the time to take. But I think every less and you learn from those is you know, ultimately you're gonna end up

where you're supposed to be. And I think for me, like it's obviously it's just been a dream come true for me to be able to like work in the NFL, and you know, we we want people here, and you know, I'm sure you feel the same way that their dream is to be here. You know you want to you know, to me, like every day driving in here, I still feel a little a little bit like, man, like this

is pretty cool. Like I get to, you know, work for the Jets and you have so many people that will like tell you, you know, wow, like that must be like the coolest job, and it, honestly is. It's a lot of long hours. Sports is hard. You work nights, weekends, holidays. But I think at the end of the day, you have to love what you do, and I think that's that's the biggest part of this. So I think anybody that wants to be in sports, like just keep climbing,

you know, be ready to get turned down. But then ultimately, like just try to get your foot in the door somewhere.

of those documentaries we did before before that. So it's kind of cool for me to even look back, like we did a shoot at Josh McCown's house, which was, you know, somebody that's played for so many teams and you know, things like that and had this crazy career. You know, I think Dance mccowsi has a picture of me holding all of his jerseys as a part of the production. But it's Josh came up to us after that came out. I said, I can't tell you how I appreciate it if I am of of that, you know,

of you guys doing this piece. But favorite episodes, that's a that's a hard one.

a rap report. There were so many others a part of that you know production process. I think it was really cool. But honestly, like there's probably so many like one just drive episodes I can go back to and and think about, you know, they were my favorite in their own way, but obviously, like I think the you know, the episode with with Aaron from this past weeks is going to be up there just because of you know what it meant for everybody in the excitement around the fans.