Last year, global sports media company, ESPN, traveled to South Korea to document NFL player Hines Ward’s return to his home country. The video production was set to be a documentary covering shoots across Namsan Park, capturing the emotional journey of Ward and his Korean roots. The production involved traveling from the US to South Korea for the player and his family, as well as for the ESPN film crew. Upon arrival in South Korea, ESPN needed a local, on-the-ground production partner to manage location scouting and permits, deliver fixer services, handle local crew hiring, and handle additional logistics. That’s where we stepped in to support the production for this amazing project.
The brief
The nature of the project was a documentary feature in Namsan Park, Seoul. The vision ESPN had was clear from the start – to capture the emotion and authenticity of Hines Ward’s return to his home country. In terms of expectations, ESPN required seamless on-the-ground operations, including full fixer support, transportation, and on-set crew management.
The services our team provided included:
- Fixer work and coordination between local and ESPN production teams
- Local crew hire
- Filming permits for Namsan Park and the surrounding areas
- Transport for all crew members
- Dedicated translation support
Behind the scenes: challenges and solutions
Every production project comes with challenges and concerns. Whether it’s permit delays, language barriers, or last-minute location changes, such bottlenecks are part of the process. As industry professionals, we’ve developed a solutions-driven mindset. A proactive approach on-set is about adaptability and maintaining close collaboration across team members. Our job is to protect the client’s vision and leverage expertise and local know-how to ensure timely delivery. As a result, this is how we solved the challenges ahead.
Insurance logistics done right
A first challenge we had to manage was local insurance for our South Korean crew. Based on defined contractual terms with ESPN, it had to be done following specific terms and conditions. So as soon as we realized that we must adhere to the network’s compliance standards, we took full ownership of the task, contacted the right insurance provider, and arranged full coverage without creating any delays or impacting the project’s timeline.
Bridging the language gap: Korean vs English
We also had to watch out for miscommunication on set caused by language barriers. While Korean professionals can speak and understand English, the level of fluency required in a production project called for dedicated translation support. Our local team secured a proficient translator to make sure every conversation between ESPN staff members and local teams was accurately laid out.
The final result
The Hines Ward documentary for ESPN was a production project that required great attention to details. From managing crews on set to securing permits, our local teams collaborated successfully with the US teams abroad to deliver on-time, authentic results. As industry professionals with vetted expertise, our skills goes beyond production support for documentaries.
South Korea Fixer supports international clients across commercials, sports content, music videos, corporate productions, documentaries, feature films, short films, web series, branded content, social media campaigns, podcasts, news segments, and editorial projects. Regardless of project size or type, we’re committed to delivering excellence in production, bringing local expertise, precision, and dedication to every new project.
