Super Bowl XLVIII is five months away, but Fox Sports, which will carry the game on Feb. 2, will start NFL fans around the world thinking about it on Sunday, when the first NFL on Fox pregame show is broadcast live from a set in Times Square.
Although, to viewers, the pregame show location may seem a bit of hype, it actually serves a very practical purpose for the production team and Fox Sports. The network has big plans for the week leading up to the Super Bowl, and Times Square and the surrounding area will be at the center of those activities. The pregame show gives the production team a chance to do a run-through on the intricacies of New York City parking permits, trying to produce a live event from the crossroads of the world.
We have a big team in New York working on the pregame now, says Steve Grigely, director, technical and field operations, Fox Sports. We will have a big presence on Super Bowl Boulevard in February.
Super Bowl XLVIII may be the big story of the new season for Fox Sports but isn't the only one. Also important is the role the recently launched FS1 network will play not only during Super Bowl week but every week. For example, NFL pregame coverage actually begins an hour earlier on FS1, leading into the NFL on Fox pregame show on Fox Sports at noon ET. The Fox NFL Kickoff Show will be produced in Los Angeles and have different on-air talent (Joel Klatt hosts along with the Fox Football Daily crew) for a four-hour show airing from 11 a.m. ET to noon PT.
We will be ready to do two-way hits from the different stadiums an hour earlier each Sunday, says Grigely, On Fridays, we will do hits from remote sites like hotels and practice facilities.
Helping out for those hits will be Dejero Live+, the cellular-based transmission system that allows either live transmission or, if bandwidth is an issue, content to be recorded and then sent as a file when bandwidth increases.
As for the actual game coverage, Grigely says the biggest change is that there has been an attempt to equalize the equipment on the B and C shows (there is one A game, four B games, and then games 6, 7, and 8). The move gets all of the non-A games on a more equal level in terms of cost and functionality.
It makes it easier as we can get the formula down [to produce the game] and each crew knows what it has [technically] and can do, says Grigely. We are also trying to keep all the crews working on the same trucks; in the past, some crews have had to jump from truck to truck. This year, we're making an effort to keep all of our crews on the same trucks, especially since the equipment levels will be more harmonious across the board.
Game Creek's FX production unit will once again handle the Fox A game, and the B games will be produced out of NEP SS22, NEP SS32, Game Creek Northstar, F&F GTX-11 or -14, and NCPVI. Corplex Iridium is on tap as a swing truck, if needed.
In terms of camera complement, the B games will feature 13 cameras (including two POV cameras, a super-slo-mo from VER, and an Inertia Unlimited X-Mo), and the A shows will feature 18 cameras (including a Skycam, two POV cameras, four super-slo-mos and an Inertia Unlimited X-Mo).
All games feature ChyronHego graphics for player pointers and player tracking. We're happy with them, and they are a big part of our coverage, says Grigely. And we are looking to get more and more of that into the shows.
Fox Sports is also looking to get more and more of the 4K Fox Super Zoom system, complete with a Canon C500 camera, an Aja processor for the zoom function, and an EVS replay controller, into the show.
We're excited about using the EVS user interface because it gives our operator the best chance to get the right shot, says Grigely. It's the easiest user interface to use, and we'll be fine-tuning the use of 4K as a production tool.
The use of 4K camera systems as a production tool within an HD broadcast gives the director and producer an opportunity to zoom in on a close call, such as whether a knee is down before a fumble or feet are out of bounds on a pass.
There is a cost but also a learning curve, says Grigely. So it isn't something you slap into the B-game crew and have it work seamlessly. And the driving force to use it is always how it can help tell the story better.
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Super Bowl XLVIII is five months away, but Fox Sports, which will carry the game on Feb. 2, will start NFL fans around the world thinking about it on Sunday, when the first NFL on Fox pregame show is broadcast live from a set in Times Square.
