Marcus Aurelio Jiu-Jitsu — Beyond the Mat

Disciplines: Filmmaking, video production, creative direction
Platform: Instagram Reels
Role: Ideation, filming and editing

This project documents the evolution of short-form video content created for Marcus Aurelio Jiu-Jitsu. What began as a way to capture the energy and community of the academy's kids' classes gradually developed into a more intentional approach to visual storytelling.

As I became more familiar with the academy's needs, I identified an opportunity to give greater visibility to its adult classes. This led to a shift in the content, placing more emphasis on Marcus Aurelio as an instructor, his expertise, and the techniques and skills students could learn through Jiu-Jitsu.

 The challenge

The initial content focused on the academy's kids' classes, capturing the training environment and the community built around Jiu-Jitsu.

As the project developed, I began to recognize a different need. While the kids' classes had a visible presence, the adult classes presented an opportunity for further audience development.

The challenge was to adapt the content without losing the identity of the academy. Instead of simply documenting what happened during training, I began exploring how video could better communicate the instructor's value and the learning experience offered to adult students.

Observe. Understand. Adapt. Create.

My creative process began with observing the academy and understanding its evolving content needs. As I recognized an opportunity to better represent the adult classes, I adjusted the ideas and visual focus of the videos accordingly.

Ideation informed what each video needed to communicate. Filming captured the instructor, techniques and training environment, while editing shaped the footage into short-form content designed for Instagram Reels.

The objective was to make each piece more intentional: not just showing Jiu-Jitsu, but helping viewers understand the people, knowledge and experience behind it.

A more intentional approach to content

The main outcome of this project was a qualitative evolution in the direction of the content. The work moved from primarily documenting the academy's kids' classes toward a more varied approach that included instructor-focused storytelling and educational content for adult audiences.

This process reinforced the importance of understanding a client's needs before deciding what to create. It also demonstrated how ideation, filming and editing can work together to make short-form video more purposeful.