Young Bloods
Go behind the scenes with the next generation of Aussie Rules football players in this 28-part TikTok docuseries. With exclusive access to the Sydney Swans Academy, blending documentary footage with vision from the players themselves, follow their journey from locker-room to field as they immerse themselves in the Swans’ famed ‘bloods’ culture and compete for selection in the pathway towards the elite AFL or AFLW draft.
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Hugh HumphreysDirectorJust One: A Story of Hope (2021)
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Hugh HumphreysWriter
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Sarah NeillWriter
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Sarah NeillProducerJust One: A Story of Hope (2021)
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Hugh HumphreysProducerJust One: A Story of Hope (2021)
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Rosie LourdeExecutive Producer
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Project Type:Documentary, Web / New Media
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Genres:Documentary, Sports
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Runtime:52 minutes 1 second
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Completion Date:November 28, 2024
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Production Budget:280,000 AUD
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Country of Origin:Australia
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Country of Filming:Australia
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:9:16
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Hugh Humphreys is a Sydney-based producer and director, working across short and long form content in the commercial, narrative and documentary space.
After establishing a career in media and professional sporting clubs, he founded production company Hustle Media with Sarah Neill in 2016.
Hustle Media has extensive experience creating branded content, narrative and commercials in the sporting, corporate and non-profit sectors, and expanded into documentary in 2021, with Just One: A Story of Hope (2021), acquired by Kayo Sports.
This series look - in the end - almost two years of planning before the production team even applied for funding. Time spent building relationships with the Sydney Swans AFL club, staff and players, and really clarifying how to tell this story in a way that would feel authentic to the teenage cast who star in it. Mid-way through the head of the Academy left and they also got a new senior coach, so then we did it all over again.
So why bother with that process twice over? For our team, even though we haven’t played AFL (especially not at the highest levels!) we have over a decade of experience working in sport. That includes working inside professional teams, and with codes and teams from various sports. We understand athletes and what makes them tick, and through that we’ve fallen in love with the drama and joy of sporting team environments.
The bond that athletes form is intense and almost euphoric, while at the same time the challenges of attempting to make it at the top level can be crushing and brutal.
Looking in from the outside, on the next generation of athletes, is a fascinating world. It’s hopes and dreams it’s doe-eyed optimism, it’s coming to grips with reality.
And on a personal level - what does being in the Swans Academy mean for the athletes? How do they navigate school, personal lives and footy, all in the crazy teenage years when everything is changing and they’re figuring out what life is? That’s the fascinating part of the story that needs to be told.
And why on TikTok? We saw an opportunity to create a documentary series in a new format that can speak to young people where they are already sharing and viewing content, and in doing so combine traditional documentary footage with videos that the athletes have shot themselves.
The goal is to dive into storytelling that is partly created by the talent, and becomes a collaboration.
What made this project so exciting was that everyone involved embraced our vision, and was keen for us to make it with our own creative vision and full editorial control. In a world of branded content, that can be very rare.
The athletes, their families, the AFL club, and the supporters of Young Bloods all trusted us to make stories are honest, authentic, and show a range of people who at their core, really love football.