In our increasingly informationalized society, 'stories' are available instantaneously and ubiquitously. Orange Lion Productions is fascinated with the process, the dynamics, of shining the light on both the important and entertaining tales in our midst. In revealing the protagonist and the antagonist, stories grant us the subconscious opportunity to ‘choose a side’ (and isn't it fascinating when the battle waged is within the same individual?) While we relate to the characters and the forces within, stories subtly provide context to our lives and give us opportunities to shape our own values.
For Orange Lion Productions, much of this dynamic between story and attraction is based on something that inspired us as toddlers: curiosity. Regardless of the subject matter—and we’ve dealt in genres including sports, war, music, business, prison, religion, and the non-profit realm—we respond to the topic through the sense that this particular story is an important piece within the jigsaw puzzle of ‘life.’
Orange Lion’s founders, Scott Henry and Marc Kinderman, have collaborated on numerous projects. They worked side-by-side – or at least through a cubicle partition - on ESPN’s landmark 50 Greatest Athletes countdown in 1999, which sparked the idea for a company focusing on the long-form. They have studied the inner complexities of the modern athlete, both in the Versus series Soul of a Champion and the MOJO-HD Olympic compilation, A Shot at Glory. In 2009, Orange Lion completed two series for the NHL Network, spotlighting announcers in Voices, and taking a behind-the-curtain look at players through Day in the Life.
Not only does Orange Lion Productions have expertise in the mainstream media, but we also have the strong desire and experience to tell the stories of good works around us through both broadcast and non-broadcast venues.
“You May Ask Yourself, Well, How Did I Get Here?”
Once in a Lifetime – Talking Heads
Scott posing at the former location of the Berlin wall on a shoot.
Good question.
In any life there are seminal moments that—while maybe not noticeable at first—turn out to be choices that alter the directions of those lives. Within Scott Henry’s professional existence, three of those moments take chief billing. In 1988, while entering his junior year at Penn State, Scott got the itch do “do more” than just schoolwork, tailgate, and, um, other extra-curriculars. After asking himself “hmmm, what do I like to do?” his action response was to apply for the student radio station (‘apply’ is actually a generous term—in those days if you were willing to troll through the mud to cover a women’s field hockey game, well, the cassette recorder and microphone were all yours). In his final 3 years in Happy Valley (yes that math is correct), Scott fulfilled many roles not only with WPSU, but also with commercial station WMAJ. Some semblance of a career path was forming.
Nine years later—having worked at a newspaper, a community cable outfit, and as an intern with the New York Yankees—Scott was employed at ESPN when the second such moment occurred. In his undersized mailbox was a company-wide memo announcing the beginning of project that would celebrate and investigate the 20th century in sports. Yo. Instantly, he knew this would be much more satisfying, rewarding, and aligned with his talents than the weekly SportsCenter piece currently on his plate. Weeks of interviews and borderline stalking led to the position that has defined his career ever since: long-form non-fiction work that allows for marination of the subject matter before taking its final form.
Finally, as the co-founder of Orange Lion Productions with Marc, Scott took a call from another colleague in the months immediately post-9/11. Having just been released from an international show that was cancelled for security reasons, the call was perfectly timed. A documentary focusing on two New Mexico based US Coast Artillery units from World War II had just been commissioned and needed a producer. The film, titled Colors of Courage, received great praise for its emotional storytelling, and opened up Scott's eyes to the broad array of human stories present in all facets of life. It’s easy to see a broader tone to his projects and goals since that film, through to his current independent production Touching Base, which profiles a unique prison ministry group and one of the inmates who was forever altered by their message.
There will be more of these moments, these revelations… God willing (hey, it’s the internet, there’s always room for more paragraphs). Away from the field shoots and edit bays, Scott lives with his family in Fairfield, CT.
And so this is “how he got here.”
Marc with Doug E. Fresh during shooting of Ali Rap for ESPN
Marc still can’t believe that his parents wouldn’t let him go to the 76ers parade down Broad Street in 1983 – even though Dr. J told all Philadelphians they had a note to take the day off from school. So he made a vow to be in the throng the next time some team in Philadelphia won something that merited getting everybody up on floats.
25 years later, not only did he make the Phillies parade, but got back to Connecticut in time to take his son out for Halloween. He’s already planning take his son and possible grandchildren to the next Philly parade in 2033… although he has heard that there are cities that have them more than once every quarter century. A touching story of patience or a complete lunatic – you be the judge. Those of you going with ‘complete lunatic’ would be in complete agreement his wife.
Born and raised a Philadelphian with an unhealthy appetite for scrapple, Marc graduated from Syracuse in 1993 and moved on to ESPN, where he learned the joys of cutting 20-second NHL highlights at 1:45 in the morning. From there he moved up to cutting features, eventually hooking on with the SportsCentury project, where he would produce three shows in 1999’s 50 Greatest Athletes Series – Martina Navratilova, Ted Williams, and Bobby Orr. When SportsCentury branched out to hour-long specials in the 2000’s, he produced shows on Charles Barkley, Wilt Chamberlain, Jim Brown, Hank Aaron, Pete Maravich, Pedro Martinez and Larry Brown.
He has also done other specials for ESPN, including:
* The Greatest Game Ever Played (2008) – at the time the most-watched documentary in ESPN history – a combination of past and present New York Giants and Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts watch the colorized version of the 1958 classic between the two teams.
* Super Bowl XL Project (2007) - A pair of shows that included “40 Things You Didn’t Know About the Super Bowl” and “40 Minutes That Defined The Super Bowl” – all in tribute of the 40th anniversary of the NFL’s championship game.
* Ali Rap (2006) - A tribute to the linguistic stylings of Muhammad Ali. Featuring an all-star cast that included Ludacris, Rakim, MC Lyte, Doug E. Fresh, Rev. Al Sharpton, Sylvester Stallone, Bill Maher, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and many others.
Going freelance in 2000 gave Scott and Marc the chance to do projects outside the ESPN family of networks, and for Marc that opportunity began when he had the opportunity to do three music-related episodes of A&E Biography. The 2-hour special on concert promoter Bill Graham that aired in 2002 might still rank as his favorite show ever produced. Interviewing Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Ray Manzarek from The Doors, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner from Jefferson Airplane was something he’ll remember for awhile. He also produced Biography episodes on Deborah Harry and Pat Benatar in 2003.
Marc also has had the opportunity to work both sides of the business news industry – producing features on the UFC, the New England Patriots and New Orleans businesses re-emerging from Hurricane Katrina for CNBC, and several IPO Road Show and Annual Report videos for Integrated Corporate Relations (ICR).
Besides doing special events for the University of Oklahoma and The Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, Marc has also teamed up with Scott for multi-episode projects, including the Soul of a Champion series for Versus and the Voices and Day in the Life series for NHL Network.
Marc and his family live in Orange, CT.