Emerald Isle Football: Pico Facility Handles Production for Game in Ireland
For the first time in five years – Boston College and Georgia Tech faced off in Dublin on September 3, 2016 – college football was televised from Ireland. For the season opener against Northwestern and Nebraska, the broadcaster deployed its Home Run Production workflow and 10 cameras, including four 6X super-slow-mo and one RF handheld. With that game just four days away from tonight’s Big Ten night in West Lafayette, IN — plus the uncertainty of international travel circumstances when the game was announced in the spring — producing the show in Dublin via HRP was the logical solution.
Fox Sports kicked off its 2022 college football schedule with Northwestern vs. Read also : Tee Grizzley Claims To Make Close To $200000 A Month Playing Video Games. Nebraska at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Aug. 27.
Operationally, Fox Sports’ Pico facility in Los Angeles ran the majority of production with a small contingent of employees working out of Dublin. Fox Sports Vice President, Field Operations and Engineering, Brad Cheney and Technical Producers Bill Moore and Tom Lynch led the team on the field at the Aviva Stadium. Using a local workforce for almost 90% of the location staff, the broadcaster worked closely with NEP Ireland on this broadcast.
“A lot of [the workers] live in Ireland,” notes Jones, “but a few people who travel from England have done some other work with us for NFL Europe and MLB games in London. NEP Ireland has been fantastic to work with and the decision to play this game as a Home Run was the right one for this year.”
Marquee Matchups: Alabama vs. Texas Headline Jam-Packed Week 2 Schedule
Stateside, the Big Noon Kickoff and Big Noon Saturday officially kick off tonight, but really get going and enjoy No. 1 Alabama vs. Texas in Austin on Saturday, September 10th. As one of the many headliners on Fox Sports’ A Game Package, this game will feature a Game Creek Video Gridiron mobile unit outside Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium and will house three EVS operators. Inside the stadium’s lower bowl, the 16-camera addition will include an end zone camera pylon, an RF Steadicam, an additional hand-held device and, potentially, other devices. For these high profile games, all hard cameras will be Sony HDC-5500 at 6X speed.
The Big Noon Kickoff begins tonight with Penn State–Purdue in West Lafayette, IN. To see also : USA and Honduras secure U20 World Cup berths.
From a hardware standpoint, a traveling show like Big Noon Saturday must adhere to the available space in each stadium. “The challenge is finding a property to house all of our equipment,” says Jones. “There are some other cameras we’d like to use, but free space can be hard to come by.”
Beyond the on-site production and operations teams, several remote work processes will be deployed for this fight in the Lone Star State. Fox Box operation and additional statistical implementation, for example, will be done from the Pico facility.
On the talent front, Saturday’s Big Noon contests will once again be hosted by commentator Gus Johnson, analyst Joel Klatt and reporter Jenny Taft for the sixth year in a row. New Fox Sports play-by-play commentator Jason Benetti joined analyst Brock Huard and reporter Allison Williams at the game in Dublin. Other personalities featured on college football packages include Tim Brand and Spencer Tillman for University of Illinois vs. Indiana University on Friday, Sept. 2; Noah Eagle and Mark Helfrich for South Dakota State vs. University of Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 3; Alex Faust and Petros Papadakis, who called UConn against Utah State on Saturday, August 27; and Devin Gardner and Eric Collins for Cal Poly vs. Fresno State on Thursday, Sept. 1.
Heading to Campus: Studio Team Sets Up Onsite Pregame Presence
One of the more entertaining aspects of Fox Sports’ involvement in college football, the Big Noon Kickoff will air from a new campus each week of the season, joining each institution’s passionate fan base for the first time. With host Rob Stone and analysts Brady Quinn, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Urban Meyer, the show will also feature Tom Rinaldi, Bruce Feldman, Clay Travis, Emmanuel Acho, Chris Petersen and Mike Hill throughout the season.
Apart from the camera equipment, NEP Ireland supplied most of the staff on site in Dublin. Read also : Update: Green Bay Packers Roster Projection 3.1.
Creatively speaking, the pre-game show adds a handful of toys to enhance the viewing experience. Assisted by Fletcher, the show will have new robotic camera positions to show the crowd. The crew for each telecast will be led by SVP, Production, Ken Camera; VP, Production, Bardia Shah-Rais; Coordinating Producer Jonathan Kaplan; senior producer Scott Riddell; and director David Faller.
Logistically, putting together this year’s performances required a lot of preparation and planning. Since each campus has its own schedule, site surveys began in May to identify any physical obstacles and how to work with each university to get the most out of the campus.
“We look at everything from the outlet to where the students will be housed,” said Rob Mikulicka, director of remote studio operations, Fox Sports. “Because our show is split between our outdoor set and our indoor set on the field or in the auditorium, we have to be in close proximity [between outdoor and indoor] to get to the new table by the time we get back on the air.”
In previous seasons, the Big Noon Kickoff studio show featured (from left) analysts Brady Quinn and Reggie Bush and then-analyst Matt Leinert.
Developed by Filmwerks, the table located outside the stadium combines multiple designs from previous sets that prioritize efficiency for quick setup. According to VP of Remote Studio Operations, Rod Conti, the main set also needed to be flexible, durable and mobile to withstand any environment as well as any type of terrain. With a Big Noon Kickoff schedule that includes locations across the country at different times of the year — for example, No. 9 Oklahoma at Nebraska in Lincoln, NE on Saturday, Sept. 17; No. 8 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus, OH, on Saturday, Nov. 26 — the structure will be put to the test.
“One of the biggest challenges is tying [our set] to the game truck in the complex because we share the cameras and, occasionally, the transmission,” says Mikulicka. “Adding another layer on top of that, if I’m going to a school I’ve never been to before, I have to build a relationship with them and make sure they trust what we’re doing.”
Busy Stretch Ahead: College Football Will Give Way to FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar
A busy year for Fox Sports will get even busier as the year comes to a close. Upcoming college football can be considered a starting point for the broadcaster, which will also have to carry games on the NFL schedule and the massive production of the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup on the other side of the world in Qatar. To carry that 28-day international football competition while providing high-quality college football productions, Jones and his crew — technical producer Carlos Gonzalez and Brian Obert; Technical Managers Mike Vaughn and Kory Scudder; and senior operations manager Lindsay Waine — focused on planning.
Former USC running back Reggie Bush returns this season as an analyst on the Big Noon Kickoff.
“We’ve had meetings after meetings and even pulled back a few weeks ago to talk about [this time of year],” says Jones.
Mikulicka and his team share tasks on both studio operations and game operations fronts. For example, Mikulicka will remain in the U.S. as the Big Noon Kickoff’s lead host, and Conti will lead the lead role in Qatar. Despite the challenge of fall and winter on Fox Sports, teamwork and cooperation will be the guiding light.
“It was a lot of going back to the drawing board and seeing how we could support each other in our shows,” says Mikulicka. “Qatar has definitely thrown a wrench into our schedule plans, but we will be able to pull through this. What we’ve been doing so far has worked, so now it’s just about managing our time and setting our teams up for success.
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How can I watch the Hawkeye basketball game today? Hawkeye fans can watch the action on the Big Ten Network and can stream on the FOX Sports app with a cable provider subscription.
What channel is the Hawkeye game on?
For the Hawkeyes, that includes the season opener on FS1 with South Dakota State, followed by a pair of Big Ten Network specials. That includes a 3:00 PM CT kickoff for the Cy-Hawk showdown with Iowa State and a surprise 6:30 PM kick-off for Iowa’s final non-conference game against Nevada.
How can I watch the Iowa Hawkeye game?
Iowa Hawkeyes football games are broadcast live on several local and sports networks. These include ABC, Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN 2, FOX and FS1. Over-the-top (OTT) cable alternative streaming services offer these networks along with hundreds of other premium channels.
Where is College GameDay at this Saturday?
In this story: Few things are as synonymous with the college football season as ESPN’s College GameDay, and on Wednesday, the pregame show revealed its first destination for 2022: Columbus, Ohio. The GameDay crew announced Tuesday that they will be on site for the Week 1 game between Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Where is ESPN College Football GameDay? College GameDay will be held in St. John Areni 410 Woody Hayes Drive, Columbus, OH 43210. Fans can start arriving at 5am ET. Click here for more details on College GameDay directions, parking instructions and everything else you need for Notre Dame at Ohio State on September 3rd.
What time does ESPN College GameDay start?
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot kicks off its 36th season on Saturday, Aug. 27, with a two-hour kickoff show (10:00 a.m. ET, ESPN) that will preview the 2022-23 college football season.
Where is College GameDay at this week?
ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot returns for the 2022 college football season with a special stop in Pittsburgh before opening week one Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
Who hosts FOX Big Noon Kickoff?
Meyer spent two seasons with the Nets before becoming the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. FOX Sports announced Friday afternoon that former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer will return to the Big Noon Kickoff pregame show this fall.
Where can I watch the start of High Noon? Big noon start | Watch full episodes online on FOX.
Who hosts FOX College Football?
On Saturday, Sept. 3, play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle, a new addition to the FOX Sports college football roster, kicks off the action alongside former Oregon head coach and Pac-12 champion Mark Helfrich when South Dakota State takes on Iowa at 12:00 p.m. ET on FS1.
