Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 13, 1995 TAG: 9504200037
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY JO SHANNON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``I was always getting phone calls from Sandlot and Little League coaches asking why we didn't cover their games,'' he said. ``They said it would mean so much to the kids - and right then I knew there was an untapped market out there.''
Frizzell also knew that the field of sportscasting was overcrowded and his dream of becoming ``big time'' was unrealistic.
``There are 200 people for every job,'' he said. ``I had been told I had a 'good eye for video' - I had to gather the news as well as report it - and I started to develop the idea of starting a business that would do everything that is not being done in TV.''
Before taking the job at Channel 10 in 1991, Frizzell had spent three years at a station in Bluefield, W.Va., and had done some free-lance work for ESPN and CNN. That experience, combined with a degree from the University of Oklahoma in Journalism: Radio and Television Film, gave him confidence that he could succeed in business.
The Small Business Association helped with literature on how to market his product. He produced flyers advertising his business, and contacted coaches, offering them the service they had been unable to attain elsewhere. With editing equipment rented from Eye Video Productions at $30 an hour, he produced professional quality videos, complete with ESPN-type graphics and music.
Tapes are professionally copied, labeled, dated and wrapped by a company in Lynchburg and are available for $15 in 10 days to two weeks.
``Response has been overwhelming,'' Frizzell said. ``It's not unusual to produce 10 to 15 copies for a game. For the Sandlot Super Bowl, the Vinton team had 21 players and bought 26 tapes. Parents like to send a tape to grandparents out-of-town who don't get to see the games.''
Frizzell believes that the secret to success in a small business is quality. Because of his professional experience, his work has credibility. The 30-minute finished product includes highlights of the games with personal close-ups of players.
``I even take the camera into the huddle,'' he said, ``The coaches welcome it, except sometimes when the tension is high, they might ask me to stand back so the players will not be distracted. Parents are delighted to be able to hear what goes on when the coach is talking to the players.''
Frizzell takes a VCR-TV with him to the games to play the game back for the teams. He also distributes order forms for copies of the edited video.
``As soon as the game is over, they gather around the TV. They really enjoy seeing themselves on TV - it isn't about winning or losing it's about having a record of the game to remember it in years to come.''
During the approximate 20 months he has been in business, Frizzell has covered the state's Commonwealth Games, the Salem High School State Football Championship, the Virginia State Wrestling Tournament and the Roanoke Catholic State Football Championship. He has also produced documentaries on the Grundy High School wrestling team, which won state championships nine years in a row, and Salem coach Willis White, ``The Winning Ways - Offensive Line Strategy.'' They will be used as a teaching tool by high school coaches.
Local high schools and some outside the state, send footage of their championship games to be condensed and made into highlight videos. Frizzell will sell the tapes below cost to let the schools use them as fund raisers. He also continues to free lance for ESPN and CNN.
The most difficult part of Via Video, Frizzell said, is being his own secretary - answering phone calls, doing marketing forms, keeping up with the details.
Because of the increasing volume of orders, he may contract some of the work to professional videographers in the future. About three months ago he moved into new quarters at the Fralin Waldron Office complex on Chapparral Drive.
``I'm way back here in the corner on purpose,'' he said. ``I don't want to disturb others - I like loud music and crowd noises when I work on my editer [his brand new $12,000 editing equipment] - and I'll have room to expand. My real goal is to grow and establish a mini-ESPN with ability to cover sports and teams that never get other coverage.''
Via Video is at 3140 Chapparral Drive, and can be reached by calling 774-6257.
by CNB