Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

CFP National Championship 2025: It's All Hands on Deck for ESPN's Massive Production in Atlanta

20/01/2025

CFP National Championship 2025: It's All Hands on Deck for ESPN's Massive Production in Atlanta More than 100 cameras, 100 microphones power 11 viewing options for season finale By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Monday, January 20, 2025 - 1:08 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

In college sports, it doesn't get much bigger than this.

More than five months of work comes down to a blockbuster matchup between two of the nation's marquee brands: No. 8 Ohio State meets No. 7 Notre Dame in the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship Game tonight. ESPN has rolled into Downtown Atlanta with a massive production and operations plan to broadcast the festivities from every angle.

The College Football Playoff Championship Game returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the first time since 2019.

Among the highlights are an arsenal of more than 100 cameras, 100 microphones, and 23 mobile production facilities to support 11 viewing options in ESPN's annual MegaCast offering, as well as the first 4K presentation of the CFP National Championship Game's main telecast ever.

After an expanded 12-team playoff that added eight games to ESPN's CFP slate over the past month, it is familiar territory for the broadcaster's behind-the-scenes team of more than 850 credentialed staff: back at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium for one big bash.

It has been like seeing an old friend, says Jarrett Baker, senior manager, remote production operations, ESPN. You haven't talked for a long time, life has happened, and then you get back together, and it's like you never left. The expanded playoff has been incredible, and the team we work with is top-notch. This is why we do what we do.

MORE FROM THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:

ESPN To Deliver Main Game Telecast in 4K for the First Time

ESPN's MegaCast Menu Highlighted by REMI Production of Field Pass With The Pat McAfee Show

Van Wagner To Hype Up Buckeyes, Fighting Irish Fans From New IP-Based Control Room

Inside Ohio State Football's Creative Storytelling at Monday's Title Game

The Camera Plan ESPN's main game production - available to selected subscribers as an upconverted 4K viewing option - will be a fully 1080p HDR production onsite. Producer Bill Bonnell, director Jimmy Platt, and technical director Josh Miller will have more than 100 cameras and 100 microphones at their disposal to tell the story of this epic clash.

The camera layout comprises a total of 115 cameras. Among them are 12 cameras with super-slow-motion (SSMO) capabilities. There are also seven handhelds: three of them RF, one a cabled SSMO on the far sideline. All dedicated game hard and handheld cameras are Sony HDC-5500's.

ESPN has more than 800 credentialed staffers who have worked this week preparing for tonight's broadcast. Here, the production and operations groups take a team photo. (Photo: Allen Kee/ESPN Images)

The lineup of specialty cameras is impressive as well. There are eight end-zone PylonCams, including on the pylon at each end of both goal lines. Provided by NEP Specialty Capture, those systems have SMMO. Wireless line-to-gain PylonCams will follow the action with the first-down marker.

Two Skycams are rigged up inside the stadium, with one flying at two points in a side-to-side flight pattern. The other flies in a traditional four-point configuration with a 4K camera and AR capabilities. Aerial shots will also come from inside the stadium via an ESPN-owned and -operated drone and from outside via a fixed-wing plane.

Down on the turf, ESPN aims to take viewers deep into the action with an on-field shallow-depth-of-field rig. That RF rig is a Ronin RS3 Pro stabilizer outfitted with a Sony FX3 full-frame cinema camera.

ESPN director Jimmy Platt (left) and producer Bill Bonnell will call the shots on the main game telecast of tonight's College Football Playoff National Championship. (Photo: Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)

Additionally, three officials will wear MindFly BodyCams on their shirts to deliver live video feeds to the truck. The umpire, center judge, and head linesman will wear the AI-stabilized POV cameras with a built-in microphone that ESPN will monetize through its title sponsorship with AT&T as Connected Cam on the broadcast. The MindFly BodyCams made their CFP debuts in the semifinals at the Rose Bowl and Cotton Bowl.

To provide coverage depth, as well as potential officiating assistance, ESPN will have robotic Sony 4800's shooting at 8X speed on each goal line to catch any close break-the-plane visuals. There will also be a robo (Sony P1) on the crossbar of each goalpost.

Standard fixtures include a cart on each sideline, a jib, robos in the stadium tunnels for entrances, and hard cameras dedicated to each team's head coach.

Roof Camera Is Back To Blend Creative With Live The return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium - a stadium with a roof and walkable scaffolding - allows ESPN to bring back a camera angle that became popular a few years ago: a roof camera.

ESPN used a camera in the catwalk of Mercedes-Benz Stadium during the SEC Championship Game last month (Courtesy: ESPN PR)

The camera angle, first made popular by the Atlanta Falcons social- and digital-media team, blends trends in the postproduction creative space with the excitement of live. A Sony 4800 with a 24-300mm Fuji Duvo Lens will be configured as a handheld and operated by a camera operator approximately 285 ft. above the playing surface.

It is not for those who are bothered by working at heights, says Baker. It looks right down on the play. We're going to run that in 8X mode and through a Sony server, where we'll be able to make key frames and pan-and-scan to follow the ball and give some really neat effects where we ramp the playout speed
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/01/20/cfp-national-championship-2025-...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

10/02/2025

L3Harris Launches New Technology to Control Autonomous Swarms

MELBOURNE, Fla., Feb. 10, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has introduced AMORPHOUS , its new software that features a single user interface to operate ...

10/02/2025

TV Azteca Taps WSC Sports To Cut, Publish Digital Sports Content

NEW YORK and MEXICO CITY Spanish-language media conglomerate TV Azteca has inked a two-year deal with WSC Sports for the AI-powered sports content technology pr...

10/02/2025

Quickplay Names Jordan Bartow General Manager for North America

TORONTO Jordan Bartow, a 15-plus-year industry veteran with a history of driving artificial intelligence, media and enterprise cloud transformations, has joined...

10/02/2025

LA Wildfire Victims Fundraiser - Entertainment Industry

LA Wildfire Victims Fundraiser - Entertainment Industry Erik Smalls February 10, 2025 0 Comments Join us for an exclusive networking event designed fo...

10/02/2025

OWC and ARCHIWARE Partner to Deliver Seamless Shared Storage, Cloning, Backup, and Archiving for Collaborative Workflows

OWC and ARCHIWARE Partner to Deliver Seamless Shared Storage, Cloning, Backup, a...

10/02/2025

Berklee's Signature Series Celebrates the Music of Fleetwood Mac

Berklee's Signature Series Celebrates the Music of Fleetwood Mac The concert will feature a global cast of over 90 students performing a career-spanning s...

10/02/2025

Super Bowl LIX: Tubi Leads All Streaming Platforms in Least Lag Time, According to Phenix Report

Super Bowl LIX: Tubi Leads All Streaming Platforms in Least Lag Time, According ...

10/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Camera Operator Don Cornelli Works Final Game of His Career

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Camera Operator Don C...

10/02/2025

Netflix ISP Speed Index for January 2025

Back to All News Netflix ISP Speed Index for January 2025 Mulitcolor streaks on a black background curved right to foreground with the Netflix logo N at the t...

10/02/2025

Dive into the 1960s and 80s Korean Music Scene with Upcoming Series Show Business' (WT)

Back to All News Dive into the 1960s and 80s Korean Music Scene with Upcoming S...

09/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports Highlights Celebrity Fashion With Production of Tubi Red Carpet Show in 1080p HDR

Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports Highlights Celebrity Fashion With Productio...

09/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: NEP Specialty Capture Adds Key Cameras for Game Broadcast; NEP Mobile Units Support NFL, Halftime Show, Others

Live From Super Bowl LIX: NEP Specialty Capture Adds Key Cameras for Game Broadc...

09/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Augmented-Reality Graphics Play Starring Role in FOX Sports' Broadcast

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Augmented-Reality Graphics Play Starring Role in FOX S...

09/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Telemundo Deportes Goes All Out in Miami for Spanish-Language Telecast of Sunday's Game, Citywide Studio Shows

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Telemundo Deportes Goes All Out in Miami for Spanish-L...

09/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports Highlights Celebrity Fashion With Production of Sunday's Tubi Red Carpet in 1080p HDR

Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports Highlights Celebrity Fashion With Productio...

09/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Augmented Reality Graphics Play Starring Role in FOX Sports' Broadcast

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Augmented Reality Graphics Play Starring Role in FOX S...

09/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: NFL Tech Ops Rides Years of Experience for Biggest, Most Complex Broadcast of the Season

Live From Super Bowl LIX: NFL Tech Ops Rides Years of Experience for Biggest, Mo...

08/02/2025

American Forces Network Renews SLA with DigitalGlue for S...

The American Forces Network (AFN), the U.S. government's television and radio broadcast service for military personnel and their families stationed overseas...

08/02/2025

DP Timur Civan Lights Gothic Country Music Video with Sna...

In his Joshua Tree studio, cinematographer Timur Civan recently lensed a new music video Resurrection for gothic country artist Blood Nebraska. Working in col...

08/02/2025

New DoPchoice Spill Killer Stops Light Leaks

DoPchoice debuts Spill Killer designed to prevent light leakage and ensure a clean, professional look for set or location lighting. The elegantly designed butt...

08/02/2025

ESPN Signs Multiyear Deal to Air Major League Rugby

ESPN and Major League Rugby (MLR) have announced a multiyear media rights agreement that will bring MLR games to ESPN platforms. Under the new deal, live covera...

08/02/2025

Grammy-Nominated Alum Shares Berklee Wisdom with His Student Sister

Grammy-Nominated Alum Shares Berklee Wisdom with His Student Sister I thought graduating with a double major would be the key to success, Carlos Perez de An...

08/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the SkyCam and Sony Efforts To Make 4K 240-fps Imaging on SkyCam a Reality

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the SkyCam and Sony Efforts To Make 4K 240-fps ...

08/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the 10,000-Sq.-Ft. Tech Center With FOX Sports VP, Field Ops and Engineering, Kevin Callahan

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the 10,000-Sq.-Ft. Tech Center With FOX Sports ...

08/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: CMSI Uses the Big Game To Push Workflows Forward

Live From Super Bowl LIX: CMSI Uses the Big Game To Push Workflows Forward The company is providing edit support for pregame, Tubi Red Carpet Show By Ken Kersc...

08/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside SkyCam and Sony's Efforts to Make 4K 240 fps Imaging on SkyCam a Reality

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside SkyCam and Sony's Efforts to Make 4K 240 fp...

08/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports Digital Leans on Vizrt's TriCaster Vizion for HRP-Style Productions in New Orleans

Live From Super Bowl LIX: FOX Sports Digital Leans on Vizrt's TriCaster Vizi...

08/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: ESPN Studio Ops Spreads Across Big Easy From Fulton Street Square to Radio Row

Live From Super Bowl LIX: ESPN Studio Ops Spreads Across Big Easy From Fulton St...

08/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Verizon's Joe Russo on How 5G Can Get to the Next Level for Broadcasters, Fans

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Verizon's Joe Russo on How 5G Can Get to the Next ...

08/02/2025

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the 10,000 sq. ft. Tech Center with Fox Sports VP, Field Ops and Engineering Kevin Callahan

Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside the 10,000 sq. ft. Tech Center with Fox Sports ...

07/02/2025

L3Harris Grants Licensing Agreement To Flight Data Systems For SRVIVR25 Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorders

L3Harris Commercial Aviation sector has entered into a significant licensing par...

07/02/2025

Christmas 2024 is Nielsen's most-streamed TV day ever

NFL, Red One, Carry On, Elf, A Christmas Story, Home Alone and Virgin River Among Top Programming for the day Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, MAX, Disney , Peac...

07/02/2025

Stewards of the Big Game Ready To Take On the Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS Each broadcast network responsible for the production personnel, technologies and distribution deployed to present the Super Bowl takes the opportun...

07/02/2025

Gray Media Launches New NextGen TV Features for Super Bowl Sunday

ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that it will be using NextGen TV broadcasts to offer enhancements to its coverage of the Super Bowl. As part of the effort, Gra...

07/02/2025

Calrec Craft Interview with Jamie McCombs Fox Sports Audi...

This Sunday February 9 sees the annual return of the US biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio wil...

07/02/2025

Get all your Blender add-ons on BlenderKit

Get all your Blender add-ons on BlenderKit Brie Clayton February 7, 2025 0 Comments BlenderKit offers an ever-growing asset library seamlessly integr...

07/02/2025

Douglas Delaney Joins Light Iron as Supervising Colorist

Douglas Delaney Joins Light Iron as Supervising Colorist Brie Clayton February 7, 2025 0 Comments Esteemed colorist complements Light Iron's world...

07/02/2025

Resolve Fusion: Snow Settling Tutorial

Resolve Fusion: Snow Settling Tutorial Simon Ubsdell February 7, 2025 0 Comments How to create this snow settling effect in Fusion a simple but effe...

07/02/2025

Grammy Nominated Alum Shares Berklee Wisdom with His Student Sister

Grammy Nominated Alum Shares Berklee Wisdom with His Student Sister I thought graduating with a double major would be the key to success, Carlos Perez de An...

07/02/2025

FCC's Carr Calls for New Spectrum Auction for First Responders

WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has called for new spectrum auctions for wireless mobile as well as revisiting rules regulating TV loudness....

07/02/2025

Long-Form Content Viewing on YouTube Rose 8% in 2024

BRISTOL, UK Consumption of long-form YouTube content is rising rapidly in the U.S., accounting for 73% of all viewing time on the platform by the end of October...

07/02/2025

Gray Stations To Simulcast 10 Kansas City Royals Games

ATLANTA Gray Media has announced a deal with baseball's Kansas City Royals in which its stations will simulcast 10 regular-season game telecasts with incumb...

07/02/2025

IBC Extends Deadline for Technical Papers Until Feb. 14

LONDON The IBC has extended the deadline for the 2025 Technical Papers Program to February 14. Entries can be submitted here....

07/02/2025

Samba TV: Streaming, Linear TV Set New Viewing Records

SAN FRANCISCO New data from Samba TV shows, as expected, that time spent streaming continues to grow at a rapid pace, growing year-over-year by 56% in the secon...

07/02/2025

BrightLine, TripleLift Launch Marketplace for Interactive CTV Advertising

NEW YORK BrightLine, a provider of interactive, and shoppable CTV ads, and the ad tech platform TripleLift have announced that they have planning to offer premi...

07/02/2025

American Forces Network Renews Service Agreement with DigitalGlue

MURRIETA, Calif. The American Forces Network (AFN), the U.S. government's television and radio broadcast service for military personnel and their families s...

07/02/2025

Sony Electronics Enhances Creators' Cloud with Addition of Direct Transfers to Google Drive or Adobe Lightroom

Sony Electronics Enhances Creators' Cloud with Addition of Direct Transfers ...

07/02/2025

World Chase Tag Uses Blackmagic Replay

World Chase Tag Uses Blackmagic Replay Brie Clayton February 6, 2025 0 Comments Replay solution enhances fast turnaround highlights for social media a...

07/02/2025

Getting the Right Creative Content in Front of the Right Audience

Getting the Right Creative Content in Front of the Right Audience Andy Marken February 6, 2025 0 Comments Just relax, darlin'. This is the Big Ea...