NFL Equipment: Playing in Style

If you grew up watching football in the 1970's, 80's, or 90's, you were viewing a league that is much different than the NFL we enjoy present day. From the clunky shoulder pads and baggy jerseys, all the way through to the actual game-play, rules, and regulations The game of football has transformed. Arguably leading the transformation are the talents of a Giant you may not see on the field, yet rest assured, without his efforts, player safety, style and performance would be greatly diminished.

Joe Skiba: Equipment Director, New York Football Giants.

Joe Skiba is the Equipment Director for the New York Football Giants and lives daily with transformation in the National Football League. Earlier this week we had a chance to sit down with Mr. Skiba to get the exclusive #FerroBTS scoop on the role of an NFL Equipment Director and the impact they have on the new-look-NFL.

We are in the football business but we are also fashion designers to a certain extent. Not only are our uniforms and equipment viewed by millions of eyes on television every week, but this stuff is also sold in the stores. EVERYTHING has to be perfect.

Joe continued the conversation by focusing on the unique creative process that the equipment department endures in order to make everything perfect for television. In particular, the G-men use Rush Blue and Gym Red for their jerseys, helmets, uniforms, gloves, socks, etc. The exact color code used for the uniforms is very specific, and entirely unique to Nike apparel.

Before the age of high-definition television, Skiba shares, This wasn't something we gave much thought to. Nowadays it is crucial that we use the correct color code for our equipment, otherwise it will not be in sync with the HD cameras, and it will look skewed on TV. In short, they can't have the Big Blue looking like the Big Purple for the viewers at home.

Ferro Productions being a premier television broadcast-productions company knows the importance of having every member of its team, from interns up, become familiar with the PRINCIPLES OF COLOR TELEVISION. Having a working knowledge of the physics of color adds to working effectively at every level and at every task. It helps eliminate production problems from white-balancing a camera to color-coordinating wardrobe and sets.

Big Blue's uniforms are on the shelves and ready to go for the 2013 season.

There are 2 prominent processes that must be understood for one to gain a fundamental understanding of color in television. They are the Subtractive Color Process and the Additive Color Process.

In short, subtractive color is defined due to an objects color being determined by the colors of the light it absorbs and reflects. THIS is the science behind the fact that black objects get much hotter in sunlight than white objects. Black absorbs (subtracts & turns into heat) all of the colors of light hitting it. While white reflects all colors (staying cooler by creating little heat exchange).

Additive color is an effect similar to mixing paint. When light of different colors are mixed (added) together, a new color is created. Hence the results are additive rather than subtractive. That's some of the really interesting science from behind the scenes as it relates to production technology and style. Let's now take a look at safety and performance.

Photo from this year's meeting with Nike.

Joe continues, We get together with Nike every year and figure out exactly what we are going to be looking at for the next season. We talk about how we can best protect the players while enabling maximum athletic performance; all the while creating a sleek look that will sell to the TV viewers and to the buyers in the store. Smaller pads and uniforms Everything. We go as far as having each players uniform tailored specifically for their body dimensions.

Design and creativity are everywhere you look nowadays, even in a locker room. Football is no longer just a game; it is a business. Ferro Productions hopes that our interview with Joe Skiba helps solidify this fact for you, our fans The fact that from the runways of Paris to the Gridiron of the NFL, fashion sells.

*TOMORROW, 08/18/13, the NFL is paying a special visit to Joe Skiba and the New York Giants to test two new uniforms. They will be suiting up specific players during the pre-season game against the Indianapolis Colts and testing how the colors appear from the stands, how the colors and numbers look together on the jersey, if the letters are eligible, and finally if it looks great on HD as well as SD. Keep an eye out to see if you can spot the test jerseys!

LINK:	http://www.ferroproductions.com/nfl-equipment-playing-in-style/...
	See more stories from ferro

Most recent headlines