September 25, 2024
From Fan to Filmmaker: SCA Senior Flint Tanquary’s USC Legacy Comes Full Circle
By Desa Philadelphia
Flint Tanquary grew up attending USC Football games. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all attended SC, and football games were quality family time. But while the rest of the family focused on the field, Flint had other interests. “The only reason I wanted to go was to watch the jumbotron video. I was always so fascinated by the bright colors and the loud sounds and how it got the crowd and fans full of energy waiting for the game to start,” says Tanquary. “Watching the jumbotron video is actually the reason why I started making videos.”
Things have come full circle. Tanquary, a senior in the School of Cinematic Arts (SCA), conceived and directed “Arrival of the Trojan,” the hype trailer that plays at home games on the LA Memorial Coliseum jumbotron, as the Trojans take the field. A play on the Trojan Horse myth, it features USC players dive bombing the coliseum field. Tanquary says he got the idea as he walked from the cinema school to the football office one day. “I looked up and I saw a plane flying overhead and I had the idea of just putting USC players in a plane and have them jump out and land in the coliseum,” says Tanquary. “Especially with the plane fly overs at football games, those can be so menacing. It’s such a key component of the experience but something that people don’t usually think about.” He also wanted to honor the Trojan legacy he grew up with. “Go deep into Trojan and Greek mythology and tie that into the future,” he says.
The fact that USC is also making its arrival in the Big Ten conference this year gives the trailer even more significance, and the storytelling isn’t lost on college football fans. The trailer has racked up millions of views on USC Football’s social media channels, a viral hit that has hyped up Trojan fans everywhere.
Tanquary began his filmmaking journey as an elementary school student, on Vine, the six-second video platform that became obsolete after being bought by Twitter. “There was a certain section of it that had only sports videos and that really sparked something in me to create videos that sparked some emotion,” says Tanquary. “It was a feeling, and I felt that.” He started downloading highlights of his favorite sports stars (hello Kobe and LeBron) and using them to create vines set to music.
His obsession with hype videos took off when he was gifted a camera in high school. “I would film my friends playing basketball, surfing, skateboarding. It was really just for fun.” A summer job at an extreme sports camp for kids helped hone his skills, and by senior year he was creating videos for Red Bull athletes. “It was really all passion projects.”
Tanquary continued the family legacy and enrolled at USC in 2021 with his twin brother Cole, who is studying at the Levanthal School of Accounting (their older sister Whitney graduated from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 2022). He then immediately began pursuing professional jobs. By constantly DM’ing in-demand music video director Gibson Hazard, he was hired to do effects on Heroes & Villains, Hazard’s short film for the billboard-topping album from producer Metro Boomin. The experience gave Tanquary the confidence he needed to pursue a dream target, ESPN. He successfully pitched and created “The Nonstop NBA” the hype video for the 2022 season, that featured past and current legends of the game. Another viral hype, “Don’t Call It a Comeback,” marked the audacious comeback of NFL standout DeAndre Hopkins from a six-game suspension. Other standout projects include promo videos for music festivals Rolling Loud and Coachella, as well as videos Tanquary created for music superstar The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn tour.
Tanquary says all his projects are united by the same goal. “I want to create moments. I want people to remember where they were when they first watched a video of mine.” He chose to attend SCA, because he believed having all the cinema disciplines in one place could help expand his creativity. “I’ve always had a different taste and look on making videos, and I’ve always wanted to make something new,” he says, adding that his parents always supported that outlook. “Anytime I showed them anything they were always so supportive.” He says he was looking for a program that would support his independent thinking, and was overjoyed to find that perspective in descriptions of the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts at SCA. “What stuck with me and what has stayed true is that alongside the technical skills they teach us, is their ability to teach students to think outside the box.”
Tanquary is not the first School of Cinematic Arts student to make their way over to the athletic department. The School of Cinematic Arts and the athletics office share an alley, and Trojan athletes regularly shortcut through the SCA complex on their way to classes and practice. Working with USC Athletics gives cinema students opportunities to discover and hone their storytelling styles, regardless of their chosen disciplines. Tanquary loves fantastical world building, and his visual effects-driven style is a perfect match for football hype. Senior Zach Shenouda, a colorist, worked with Tanquary on Arrival of the Trojan, making sure every frame seemed to explode. Contrast that with work from sophomore Massimo Soto, who also films for USC Football, capturing the same emotions in a quieter, documentary style.
The job can also be a calling card for building a dynamic professional career. Spring 2024 graduate Kai Hashimoto, who focused on production/cinematography at SCA, and was an athletics videographer for two years, recently started working on the filmmaking team for the Cincinnati Bengals. It doesn’t hurt that Head Football Coach Lincoln Riley loves to have the filmmakers on board, enjoying the content they create about the team. “USC SCA students have a unique opportunity to partner with our creative team to collaborate and promote our program’s national brand on the brightest stage,” says Riley. “We have the best cinema school in the nation just 50 yards from our practice field. We’ve been thrilled with the partnership, and we’re excited to see the work that will continue to be produced. This is just another example of how USC is different than any other place in the country."
This weekend the Trojans will play their first Big Ten game at the Coliseum, taking on the Wisconsin Badgers. It’s Trojan Family Weekend—when parents and guardians fly in to check on their students— and every seat in the stadium is accounted for. The Trojans are coming off a tough loss to the Michigan Wolverines last week, that came down to the very last play. Trojan Nation is on edge, rabid for a comeback.
Cue the perfect hype video to get them going!