How to go
What: “The Fall League”
Where: The Neon, 130 E. Fifth St., Dayton
When: 3:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8. Doors open at 3 p.m.
Cost: $7
More info: 937-222-8452, www.neonmovies.com or www.thefallleague.com
There is no obvious connection between senior slow pitch softball and the Dayton music scene, but the two worlds are completely linked in the locally produced documentary “The Fall League.”
The new film — premiering at The Neon next Sunday — follows more than 100 male softball players age 63 and older from Dayton-based Cuny-Zink American League. It was created by a first-time crew that met through original music.
“Jennifer Taylor, who directed the movie, does a lot photography work on the Dayton music scene,” producer Tim Gebard said. “Todd the Fox, one of our narrators, is a local musician, and we all met each other at shows around town. Jennifer and Todd introduced the idea that they’d be interested in trying out a documentary film of some sort.”
When they were tossing out potential ideas in the spring of 2013, Gebard, a 64 year-old singer-songwriter, suggested senior softball.
“I am a senior slow pitch player, and I found that everybody in the senior league has a story, and they’re pretty interesting stories,” he said. “You don’t get to be in your 60s unless some things have happened in your life, so I suggested the idea. We kicked it around for a while and decided to do this project.”
Filming on “The Fall League” began in autumn 2013 and was completed a year later.
“We interviewed a lot of players,” Gebard said. “We also did interviews with subject matter experts like Dr. Leon Speroff, who also happens to be a slow pitch player in Washington state, and Dennis Turner, who is the slow pitch manager from Louisville Slugger.”
Turner and a crew from Louisville Slugger will be in the area to help promote the documentary with a batting demo at Englewood Fun Center from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 1.
“At Louisville Slugger, we recognize the growth of senior slow-pitch softball leagues throughout North America,” Turner said. “Since Dayton has such an active regional slow-pitch market, Louisville Slugger is really pleased to be here as a part of the rollout for our new HyperZ senior bat and the Z4000.”
The documentary was very self-contained. Gebard composed and performed the soundtrack, working with co-producer Dean Vincent, a seasoned audio engineer.
“I have produced corporate videos but never anything like a documentary,” Gebard said. “This was definitely a Daytoncentric project. We recorded the music with a lot of local players at Studio D in New Carlisle. Dean has also produced other film work and some music videos. Jennifer Taylor was more involved with still photography and was very interested in the Dayton music scene so she was more on that side of it. Music was integral to the movie and she has a really good ear with synching up music and video.
“We wanted to make a film about seniors and slow-pitch softball that people who are not very interested in either topic would find interesting and rewarding,” Gebard said. “The biggest thing was gathering all the footage and making a coherent film out of the pieces of the puzzle. I’m happy with how it came together, and we were able to do it because we had great resources and a talented crew.”
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