NFL on Fox's Sunday Symphony
November 28, 2013 11:16 PM Subscribe
SBNation, YouTube's independent sports network, presents "Sunday Symphony: How the NFL's most advanced game broadcast is made." "An exclusive, all access look at the people, technology, and highly organized chaos that results in the NFL's most advanced game broadcast."
Little known fact: one of the 53 foot trucks is dedicated entirely to the assortment of circuit boards, servos, and microprocessors necessary to assemble Joe Buck each and every week.
posted by nathancaswell at 11:39 PM on November 28, 2013 [8 favorites]
posted by nathancaswell at 11:39 PM on November 28, 2013 [8 favorites]
Just to clarify, SBNation isn't "Youtube's". It's a youtube channel, but doesn't belong to them. SBNation is a spin off of Dailykos, believe it or not.
posted by empath at 12:14 AM on November 29, 2013
posted by empath at 12:14 AM on November 29, 2013
empath: “Just to clarify, SBNation isn't "Youtube's". It's a youtube channel, but doesn't belong to them. SBNation is a spin off of Dailykos, believe it or not.”I should have quoted that phrase too. It's taken directly from the SB Nation channel 'about' page.
posted by ob1quixote at 1:47 AM on November 29, 2013
Expect to see a lot of pieces showing "behind the scenes" and the good hardworking folks that make the spectacle of the NFL possible. The league and the broadcasters will give journalists a lot of access to see if that distracts from the whole CTE thing.
posted by gertzedek at 5:55 AM on November 29, 2013
posted by gertzedek at 5:55 AM on November 29, 2013
Mod note: Comment deleted. This isn't the thread for "fuck football" rants. Also, we've had threads about CTE, and surely will again, but not every football-related topic needs to become a CTE outrage outlet.
posted by taz (staff) at 6:32 AM on November 29, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 6:32 AM on November 29, 2013 [5 favorites]
Those trucks also carry some extremely sensitive instruments that will verify whether we are, indeed, ready for some football.
posted by dr_dank at 6:40 AM on November 29, 2013 [10 favorites]
posted by dr_dank at 6:40 AM on November 29, 2013 [10 favorites]
"All access", but no dancing robot interview? I don't think so.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:49 AM on November 29, 2013
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:49 AM on November 29, 2013
THE STUPID GAME ENDED AT 6:55 AND YOU'RE STILL GOING TO PREEMPT FUTURAMA TO SHOW A HALF HOUR OF STUPID PEOPLE SITTING AROUND A STUPID DESK MAKING STUPID COMMENTS THAT DON'T EVEN MEAN ANYTHING. ARGH!
(Sorry, not enough time has passed to heal those old wounds)
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:33 AM on November 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
(Sorry, not enough time has passed to heal those old wounds)
posted by RonButNotStupid at 7:33 AM on November 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
That's exactly right, Joe.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:53 AM on November 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 7:53 AM on November 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
I worked many college games and a few university games back in the 90s. I was set up crew...that is, one of the people who show up the day before and string cables thousands of feet, assemble all the gear, haul cameras and gear up to the booths and fixed spots around the stadium, pre-wired the trucks, and general gofer. Tough hard work that starts the day before the event and often takes all night. Engineers show up in the morning and start doing test runs.
And right after the game, the talent and broadcast crew leave and then the stadium crew work through the night taking everything out and packing it back into the trucks to be hauled to the next game.
That said, the talent, the director, and those actually working the broadcast usually show up at the last minute, sit down, and expect everything to be perfect. If there is any kind of a glitch, someone is gonna be out of a job....
Sidebar: ever wonder how those yellow first down superimpositions appear on the field during the game? That is, they move and appear to be on the field...but are put there by the broadcast crew...that's a massive triangulation, fixed camera, and electronic marvel really.
These kinds of events are a massive undertaking with no room for error or delay--one of the last vestiges of truly "live" TV.
posted by CrowGoat at 8:31 AM on November 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
And right after the game, the talent and broadcast crew leave and then the stadium crew work through the night taking everything out and packing it back into the trucks to be hauled to the next game.
That said, the talent, the director, and those actually working the broadcast usually show up at the last minute, sit down, and expect everything to be perfect. If there is any kind of a glitch, someone is gonna be out of a job....
Sidebar: ever wonder how those yellow first down superimpositions appear on the field during the game? That is, they move and appear to be on the field...but are put there by the broadcast crew...that's a massive triangulation, fixed camera, and electronic marvel really.
These kinds of events are a massive undertaking with no room for error or delay--one of the last vestiges of truly "live" TV.
posted by CrowGoat at 8:31 AM on November 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
I've been looking for a while for a minimally-edited "backstage" video of an NFL broadcast and this is the closest I've seen. It'd be nice to see a longer, more technical, less talking version.
posted by kiltedtaco at 8:40 AM on November 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by kiltedtaco at 8:40 AM on November 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
The NFL is such a perfect product for television that I'm amazed that anyone shows up to watch it in person. Even with the best possible seats, you don't get one percent of the experience in person that you do watching on TV.
Yes, you get the cheering with fans and the stadium food and the experience of bonding with tens of thousands of your closest friends, but when I see a football game live, I find myself wishing I was watching on TV. Heck, I think I'd prefer going to the stadium and watching the TV broadcast on a video screen that takes up the entire field over watching actual human beings play the game.
This is totally antithetical to how I've always thought about sports. I grew up a hockey fan first and an everything else fan second, and hockey was (and to some extent still is) a terrible sport to watch on TV, and a great one to see in person. HDTV has made it more enjoyable on TV, but still, I'm far more entertained by NFL telecasts even though I've always considered myself more of a hockey fan. (Both sports have serious problems that are making me reconsider my allegiance to them, but that's a story for another FPP.)
posted by tonycpsu at 9:57 AM on November 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
Yes, you get the cheering with fans and the stadium food and the experience of bonding with tens of thousands of your closest friends, but when I see a football game live, I find myself wishing I was watching on TV. Heck, I think I'd prefer going to the stadium and watching the TV broadcast on a video screen that takes up the entire field over watching actual human beings play the game.
This is totally antithetical to how I've always thought about sports. I grew up a hockey fan first and an everything else fan second, and hockey was (and to some extent still is) a terrible sport to watch on TV, and a great one to see in person. HDTV has made it more enjoyable on TV, but still, I'm far more entertained by NFL telecasts even though I've always considered myself more of a hockey fan. (Both sports have serious problems that are making me reconsider my allegiance to them, but that's a story for another FPP.)
posted by tonycpsu at 9:57 AM on November 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
kiltedtaco: “I've been looking for a while for a minimally-edited "backstage" video of an NFL broadcast and this is the closest I've seen. It'd be nice to see a longer, more technical, less talking version.”In August of 2004, late one night ESPN aired a simulcast of the production crew for the Virginia Tech vs. USC college football game. I've been fascinated by live television production ever since. Sadly that clip is the only video I could find of it.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:58 AM on November 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
Yes! That's great! I need more of that!
I'll trade you the mission control audio loops for the STS-93 launch, because that's my current favorite behind-the-scenes video.
posted by kiltedtaco at 12:21 PM on November 29, 2013
I'll trade you the mission control audio loops for the STS-93 launch, because that's my current favorite behind-the-scenes video.
posted by kiltedtaco at 12:21 PM on November 29, 2013
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posted by ob1quixote at 11:20 PM on November 28, 2013 [2 favorites]