The Fighting Season
Under the direction of Ricky Schroder Productions, Geogram supported a six-part mini-documentary series for DirecTV's Audience channel—delivering VFX, map transitions, main titles, and visual direction as American forces prepared to hand Afghanistan back to its people.
The series
The Fighting Season is an American documentary series about the war in Afghanistan—produced by Ricky Schroder Productions and premiering on DirecTV's Audience network in May 2015. Schroder and embedded camera crews spent more than 100 days with U.S. troops during the spring and summer 2014 fighting season, capturing operations in the run-up to Afghanistan's historic presidential elections.
The six-episode arc follows multiple storylines under Lieutenant General Joe Anderson and the 18th Airborne Corps—the last American commander of combat operations in Afghanistan—from election security and night raids to the hunt for high-value targets. The footage is raw, operational, and unflinching: the kind of access that required Pentagon review on every frame.
Geogram's role
Geogram joined the production under Ricky Schroder Productions to shape how the series looked on screen—not just polish in post, but help define the visual language of a show that had to feel cinematic, journalistic, and geographically grounded at the same time.
Our team handled the full stack of motion graphics and effects work, plus ongoing consulting on visual direction as episodes moved through edit.
What we delivered
Main title sequence
Opening title design and animation that sets the tone for the series—soldiers under a star field, type that carries weight, and a pace that earns the story before frame one of episode content.
Map transition animations
Custom map graphics and animated transitions to orient viewers across Afghanistan's complex geography—route moves between FOBs and objectives, plus explanatory graphics like the Ring of Steel checkpoint system protecting Kabul's city center during the elections.
Visual effects
Episode VFX across the series: compositing, enhancement, and motion graphics that support clarity and drama while respecting the documentary's vérité footage.
Visual direction consulting
Collaboration with production on graphic tone, transition language, and on-screen information design—keeping the show cohesive from premiere night through the full six-episode run.
Main title sequence
Geogram's opening titles set the tone before episode one—soldiers under a star field, executive producer credits, and a pace that earns the weight of the story.
Map transitions
Geogram built a library of animated map moves across Afghanistan—Google Earth–based transitions that carry viewers from FOB to objective, province to province, without losing spatial context. Some graphics explain operational concepts on the ground; others timed moves between locations, all tuned for clarity on a living-room screen.
Production context
A fast-turnaround original series for DirecTV's Audience channel—acquired and scheduled for a Memorial Day premiere while edits were still racing to picture lock.
The result
The Fighting Season gave American audiences an unfiltered look at the final chapter of U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan—on a network built for bold original programming. Geogram's motion work helped viewers follow the geography, stakes, and human cost of a war entering its endgame.