FIND YOUR PEOPLE
A cinematic brand film
Director's treatment by Alex Paulsen
THE OPPORTUNITY
ALEX PAULSEN
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Volo has built something rare.
A brand people love. A product that changes lives. A community that keeps showing up — every Tuesday, every season, every city.
Photography captures the games. UGC captures the moment. What neither captures is the feeling.
And a cinematic brand film does just that.
It makes you feel what VOLO is. Premium content changes perception. It adds cultural weight.
And right now, the story Volo tells is more timely than ever. Loneliness and isolation are at record levels across the country. Volo is part of the answer to that.This film makes that case.
VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
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With the acquisition of ZogSports, securing a $21M investment, and expanding to LA, Volo has never been bigger.
That kind of growth demands a new kind of creative. A cinematic brand film will propel Volo even further.
This is the time to define what Volo stands for.
WHY NOW
VOLO SPORTS
FIND YOUR PEOPLE
Most sports brands sell the game. Volo sells what happens because of it.
This film follows one woman's journey from isolation to connection: through the quiet miracle of showing up on a Tuesday night and finding your people.
The story is centered around soccer, but at its core, it's about belonging.
ALEX PAULSEN
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THE IDEA
VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
THE CHARACTER
Isabella. Mid/late twenties. New to the city.
She has an apartment. She has a job. But not a fulfilling life...yet.
Isabella is in transition and a little lost. She goes through the motions: the commute, the desk, the quiet apartment. She's waiting for something, even if she doesn't know what.
She plays soccer. Or she used to. A ball, a pair of cleats, shin guards — they follow her through her days like a reminder of a version of herself she left behind.
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VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
STORY & SCRIPT
ACT I. :00-:45
We open on Isabella's voicemail to her mom. Her voice is guarded and uncertain, but trying to remain confident. She doesn't want to worry anyone.
"Hey, Mom. Just checking in. The city's good. Work is good. I don't know — I think it just takes time to feel at home somewhere."
As she speaks, we move through her days. The morning commute. The office. The walk home alone. Her apartment, half-unpacked, a soccer ball sitting in the corner. The ball appears in the margins of her life — on the subway floor, beside her bag at work — never explained, never commented on. Like a reminder of what's missing.
The mood is solemn. She moves through the city disconnected, in her own world.
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VOLO SPORTS
ACT I. :00-:45
As Isabella gets off the bus one day after work she finally notices the ball, motionless in the sidewalk. It starts to roll. And she follows. Half-curious, half-automatic — until she turns a corner and stops.
A lit soccer field. Night. A coed team mid-game. Laughing. Scrappy. Real.
She watches.
ALEX PAULSEN
STORY & SCRIPT
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VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
STORY & SCRIPT
ACT II. :45-:90
Cut. Isabella in a Volo jersey, mid-play. She's in it now.
A new voicemail begins. Her voice is different — looser, almost laughing.
"Mom. Okay. I have an update."
We move through her new Tuesday night. A goal. A bad pass she laughs off. Teammates whose names she's learning. The ritual handshake after the game. The walk to the bar — the whole team, sweaty and loud and together.
The second half is warmer. Louder. Bodies in motion. The energy of the camera mirrors Isabella's arc: dynamic, free, full of life. We're inside it now, not watching from outside.
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VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
ACT II. :45-:90
The film ends on Isabella at the bar, mid-conversation, mid-laugh, with her people.
"Now this place feels like home."
The final shot: a close-up of the soccer ball — the same ball we've seen tucked in the corner of her apartment, rolling down the sidewalk, leading her to the field. For the first time, we see it clearly. The Volo logo.
It was always a Volo ball.
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STORY & SCRIPT
VOLO SPORTS
FIND YOUR PEOPLE
TONE
ALEX PAULSEN
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VOLO SPORTS
Two Films. One Story.
The first half is quiet and observational: shot with restraint, unhurried, chugging along slowly. We're watching Isabella from a distance. The city feels large. She feels small. The color palette is cool and muted.
TONE
ALEX PAULSEN
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VOLO SPORTS
Two Films. One Story.
The second half opens up. The camera gets closer and is handheld. The light gets warmer. The editing has rhythm. We cut on movement. We hold on faces. It feels like a different film — because for Isabella, it is.
The voiceover threads both halves together without over explaining them.
It trusts the audience. It trusts the images.
This is not an ad about sports. It's a film about the people who play them.
ALEX PAULSEN
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MUSIC & SOUND
Act One: Ambient score. Sparse. A single instrument quietly building in the background. The city's sounds are present: trains, footsteps, distant traffic. The music doesn't try to make you feel something. It just keeps you company.
Act Two: The second track enters with percussion. With the first hit, the energy has completely changed. And it builds through the game sequence. By the time we're at the bar, it has momentum — not hype, but warmth. Like the feeling of a room you don't want to leave.
The transition between tracks lands on the cut from Isabella watching the field to Isabella playing on it.
VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
LOCATION
San Francisco. Shot across one day and one night.
Day locations: A MUNI line. A mid-market office block. Volo team office. A small apartment interior — minimal, a little sparse. A sidewalk or quiet neighborhood street at dusk.
Night location: A lit outdoor soccer field with a Volo league game already in progress. This is the turning point — and it needs to feel cinematic. The lights, the green of the field against the dark, the sound of the game. This is where the film changes.
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VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
CASTING
Isabella: We're looking for a woman in her mid/late twenties who plays — or has played — soccer. The physical comfort with the ball matters. She doesn't need to be a professional, but the body language needs to be authentic. She should read as real before she reads as beautiful.
The team: Real Volo players. Not actors. Their energy, their dynamic, their comfort with each other — that's what no casting call can manufacture.
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VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
DELIVERABLES
VOLO SPORTS
One day. One crew. One story. Multiple assets.
The hero film (:90) is produced alongside a photographer working in parallel — meaning every location, every setup, and every moment of production generates stills for social, editorial, and brand use simultaneously.
Video Deliverables:
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:90 — Hero narrative film (primary deliverable)
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:30 — Platform ad (Instagram, YouTube, CTV)
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:15 — Story and Reel format
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:06 — Bumper / brand awareness
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Vertical versions (:30, :15, :06) for Instagram Stories, TikTok, Reels
Photo Deliverables:
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Lifestyle stills from day and night locations
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Team/community shots from the field sequence
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Portrait selects of Isabella
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18 stills total
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ALEX PAULSEN
BTS OPPORTUNITY
Have someone from the Volo team on set filming and capturing images with a phone. This behind-the-scenes content — raw, unpolished, real — becomes its own UGC campaign on Instagram and TikTok. One shoot day, two content streams.
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VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
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VOLO'S MARKETING STRATEGY
Paid Social — The :30 and :15 cuts run as geo-targeted paid ads on Meta and Instagram. Vertical cuts live in Stories and Reels. The same creative works across all 11 cities with simple localized overlays:
Play in Denver. Belong in Denver.
CTV — The :30 runs as a non-skippable ad on Hulu, Peacock, or YouTube TV, targeted by age, location, and interest. Volo's audience (21–35, urban, active) is exactly who these platforms can isolate.
Brand Partnerships — A cinematic film is a different asset to bring into sponsor conversations than an Instagram post. It shows potential partners what a collaboration could look like.
Owned Channels — Website hero, YouTube, email, league registration pages. Every touchpoint gets content worthy of the brand.
VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
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What we'd need from Volo.
Two co-ed soccer teams: approximately two hours at the field. Players just play. We handle the rest.
A portion of a local bar: one hour after the field sequence for the postgame scene to capture one scene.
SF office access: a half-day at Volo's offices for the workplace scene.
That's it. These three things are what make the one-day shoot possible.
SUPPORT
VOLO SPORTS
ALEX PAULSEN
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One-day shoot. Small crew. Professional result.
Because I'm invested in making this type of work and want it to live in my portfolio for a long time, I'm offering this production at a discounted rate.
Total: $10,000
This includes directing, producing, a small experienced crew, locations, casting, and post-production through final delivery of all video deliverables listed above. Photography is an add-on we can discuss.
This is the cost of one piece of content that works across every channel, for every market, for as long as the brand runs it.
VOLO SPORTS
BUDGET
ALEX PAULSEN
VOLO SPORTS
DIRECTOR'S NOTE
I grew up playing sports year-round. I know what it feels like to walk into a gym or onto a field as the new person, and how quickly that goes away once the game starts.
Sports gave me community. They gave me confidence, belonging, a way of connecting with people I had nothing else in common with. That's something that transcends language, culture, background. You get on the field and it just works.
That's what this film is really about. And it's why I know how to make it.
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