EUGENE -- When Oregon Ducks coach Mark Helfrich addressed a downcast locker room following a 41-38 loss at Autzen Stadium to Colorado on Sept. 24, he wasn't speaking only to the typical postgame audience of players, coaches, administrators and boosters.



Five others were listening, too -- and what they saw, as part of a film crew recording the Pac-12 Networks' documentary-style series, "The Drive," will be broadcast this Friday in a behind-the-scenes look inside the UO program. The half-hour episode on Oregon will air Friday at 10:30 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Networks, and 11:30 p.m. on Pac-12 Oregon, and re-air throughout the weekend.

This is the fourth season the conference-owned network has aired "The Drive," which in years prior has focused instead on a handful of schools for an entire season, such as Oregon State in 2015. That format changed this fall to include all 12 programs, one per week during the college football regular season.



This is UO's first appearance as the show's focus and if producers were seeking a storyline with which to hook viewers, they got it: The Ducks' loss to Colorado in the final minute of regulation handed UO consecutive regular-season losses for the first time in nine years.



"The primary reason for the show is to take you inside the program and give you a sense of what the program is all about, the coach is all about and tell some stories of the student-athletes," said Michael Tolajian, a senior coordinating producer of regional productions for the Pac-12 Networks.



The network sends universities a rough cut of the show prior to its airing, and schools are allowed to send notes back for possible revisions. In the past, Tolajian said, that might mean leaving out scenes that have included names of recruits or plays seen on a whiteboard in the background.

All editing and post-production is handled by the Pac-12 Networks, and the universities are not allowed final "creative control," Tolajian said.



Two camera operators, an audio specialist, a production assistant and Tolajian, who also directs, arrived in Eugene the Monday before kickoff and were allowed full access to UO's Hatfield-Dowlin football headquarters throughout the week. They also recorded during practices on Tuesday and Wednesday and inside the locker room before, during and after kickoff against the Buffaloes. The crew interviewed players such as quarterback Dakota Prukop, running backs Royce Freeman and Kani Benoit, receiver Charles Nelson and linebacker Johnny Ragin III.

Amid filming, defensive line coach Ron Aiken said the presence of extra cameras did not change the staff's habits.

"We're still handling everything in meetings exactly the same," Aiken said.



In one scene Aaron Wasson, Oregon's director of equipment operations, leads a tour of the new $19.2 million Marcus Mariota Sports Performance Center, where recruits are feted by seeing myriad uniform combinations and sitting in a 450-pound wooden throne with Nike co-founder Phil Knight's name on it.

Helfrich wore a microphone during one practice while running backs coach Gary Campbell and linebackers coach Don Pellum wore mics during another.



"One of my favorite parts was when I could listen to the wire and hear in my headset coach Helfrich coaching these kids and how he handles them," Tolajian said. "There's some great mic'd up stuff with him."



The Oregon athletic department's in-house video department also assisted with filming at times, such as a team meeting in which Helfrich reminded players they are in a "constant, relentless pursuit of better. That's what we're all about."

And now those at home will get a glimpse into how the Ducks go about it.



-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

@andrewgreif