Sharing The Story of Live Emmy Awards Production

Sharing The Story of Live Emmy Awards Production

Nic Dugger April 18, 2023

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Live event production takes numerous forms with diverse approaches to spectator immersion. Sports production emphasizes the fan experience. Whether taking in the game from inside the venue or on the couch at home, a compelling sports production will expertly follow and capture game action in ways that makes fans feel as though they are part of the experience, with a healthy dose of dramatic flair that to create a deeper connection.

Live concert production puts the focus on immersion into the performance. When we work outdoor festivals and arena events, we consider the fan inside the venue and the viewer taking in the live stream. Technical directors are making split-second decisions about which angles are ripe for projection on large portrait screens, and how to capture the staging and backdrops along with performers to bring a more intimate feel the streaming community. Beyond that, there is the need to record everything for potential later use by the artist or client, with considerations of camera angles for the subsequent line cut.

Some of the most interesting live production work in our experience has been with Awards programming. From our years at the Stellar Awards of Gospel Music to our decade long relationship with both the CMA and ACM awards to shows as unique as the American Football Coaches Awards and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, each show of this nature deserves time and attention to ensure the honorees and viewers alike have experience they deserve.

The scope and size of these programs vary greatly; some are televised, some are live-streamed, and some are simply in-the-moment live events. This is perhaps most true when it comes to the Emmy Awards, a community that spans three organizations (NATAS, ATAS, and IATAS) and their various awards programs. TNDV has been lucky to be part of the larger productions for NATAS including the national Daytime Emmys to the News and Documentary Emmys, an event that TNDV has provided in-house AV production over the past three years.

The Storytelling Journey

While immersion is always in the mix when producing live events, the approach to awards show production put the focus on storytelling. Telling a story in live awards ceremony production shares the same rudimentary philosophy with any other form of storytelling: there is a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion, and the production team is tasked with ushering viewers through that journey. There is the long-view of the journey where the focus is on captivating audiences through the typical three-hour program. That requires the 30,000-foot view of laying out the production in a way that captures the rising action to the emotional climax. Within that broad spectrum are the miniature journeys that correlate with each segment of the program. There are storytelling events for each category, that capture the rise and the apex, followed by a thoughtful fade that gently guides the audience into the next segment.

Within each segment, the rise introduces the category with color, and tells the story of each nominee's exceptional work. The middle portion anticipates the winner, and the conclusion brings the excitement of the winner unveiled. That means not only capturing the presenter at the lectern and the winner upon announcement - a very split-second moment that required immediate reaction from the production team - but capturing audience members with different reactions, and often from multiple angles.

Video brings the facial expressions and the obvious reactions that come with them, which accentuates the importance of camera counts and positions for immersing presenters, nominees, and audiences into the storytelling process. Video only tells part of the story, however. Where does audio fit into the mix? There is naturally the lectern microphone to hear the presenter, but do microphones need to be placed within the crowd- and where - to capture amusing banter and responses, and hear the joy and disappointment when an award winner is announced? Lighting goes hand in hand with the audio and visual, as the lighting element brings the dramatic flair that sets and establishes different moods throughout the storytelling process.

Taking all of this into account, a significant number of technology and production decisions must be made to ensure effective storytelling when planning and laying out an awards show's technicalstrategy. Let's look at three distinct Emmy Awards show examples that demonstrate the diversity of these programs, and the different approaches taken to ensure a memorable experience for all involved.

No Second Chances

The Daytime Emmys represent the most high-profile Emmy program we have technically produced to date. First held in 1974, the Daytime Emmy Awards recognize both artistic and technical excellence in daytime television programming. The 2022 ceremony was the first Daytime Emmy Awards broadcast where TNDV assumed live production responsibilities.

The Awards broadcast has been a prime-time televised event through most of its history. The 2022 broadcast aired nationally on CBS at 9pm ET on June 24. Being a live broadcast means that there are no second chances, which puts the impetus on the live production team to ensure a rock-solid infrastructure from origination to the delivery point.

NATAS had the added safety net of a warmup show (the Lifestyle Emmy Awards, which award non-televised categories) to test the infrastructure we put into place. That began with the cameras and audio inside the venue through to the redundant transmission architecture, along with the master control, signal processing and live production systems on board the mobile production truck in between. The ceremony was held at the Pasadena Convention Center near Los Angeles, which that h

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