Live From the NFL Draft: NFL Media Gets into Honky-Tonk Groove With Massive Operation in Nashville

Live From the NFL Draft: NFL Media Gets into Honky-Tonk Groove With Massive Operation in Nashville NFL Network has erected sets at both ends of Lower Broadway By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 6:57 pm

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NFL Media is fully embracing the Nashville scene this week at the NFL Draft, bookending Lower Broadway with a pair of sets located on the Draft Main Stage and attached to the legendary Tootsie's Orchid Lounge honky-tonk bar. While the downtown streetside locations make for breathtaking on-air visuals, the confined space on Lower Broadway also presents plenty of challenges for the NFL Media operations and production teams.

NFL Media VP of Production Dave Shaw at NFL Network's NFL Draft set at Tootsies in Nashville

We always try to tell the story of the city and give viewers the feel of being here at the Draft, says Dave Shaw, VP Production, NFL Media. Broadway truly highlights the fabric of Nashville - it's always crowded and hopping with music everywhere until 3 a.m. Of course, we wanted to be right in the middle of all that, so we knew we needed to find a way to make this work. The biggest challenge has been the limitations in terms of space here on Broadway, but I think we were able to handle that really well.

By week's end, NFL Media will have presented 76 hours of live coverage from Nashville, including coverage of the Draft itself and surrounding onsite studio shows, the Red Carpet Show on Thursday, live editions of Good Morning Football from inside Tootsie's, and Draft Tonight streaming on NFL.com following the conclusion of NFL Network's coverage each night.

From Tootsie's to the Main Stage, NFL Network Takes Over Lower Broad

Without a doubt, the star of NFL Network's show in Nashville is its custom set constructed outside Tootsie's, which has been designed to match the bar's iconic purple-brick exterior. Designed by Jack Morton Worldwide and the NFL Media creative team and architected and constructed by Filmwerks, the set is located four blocks up from the Draft Main Stage on Broadway and 1st Ave.

NFL Media's Draft set in Nashville protrudes out from Tootsie's and appears to be a direct extension of the three-story building.

Due to the secure perimeter, says Shaw, we couldn't quite get a set location right [by the Main Stage], so we did several surveys to find a location that would accomplish what we were trying to do, which is to showcase Nashville. When we found out Tootsie's was available and the city okayed it, we jumped at the opportunity. What says Nashville more than Tootsie's?

The structure protrudes out from Tootsie's and appears to be a direct extension of the three-story building (an overhang allows spectators to traverse the public sidewalk beneath). Inside the 30- x 30-ft. set on the second floor of the structure are four hard cameras and a jib covering the four-person desk. The interior has been custom-designed to match Tootsie's aesthetic, including guitars on display and framed photos of NFL legends ( la the Tootsie's Wall of Fame).

NFL Network's NFL Draft Main Stage set will be manned by Rich Eisen and company in Nashville

Simply put, the design team and Filmwerks created the best set I've seen since we've been doing the Draft, says Shaw. They truly captured the flavor of Tootsie's, including creating renderings of the purple brick to match it perfectly. And all the famous details - hanging pictures, lots of guitars, signing the wall - all of that's in there. The level of detail is just amazing. Tootsie's is so happy with it and they've been phenomenal to work with. It's the focal point of our [presence], and we couldn't be happier with it.

Among the key leaders at NFL Media who made the Tootsie's set happen are Rick Qualliotine, VP emerging production platforms; Jennifer Love, VP production and coordinating director; Adam Acone, senior director media operations; and Jesse Medieros, creative designer.

In addition, NFL Network's Good Morning Football is being produced live from the third floor of Tootsie's Thursday-Saturday, complete with a full house band. Each morning, the NFL Media team builds out the Good Morning Football set and then strikes it prior to the bar's opening at 10 a.m. GMFB is also being simulcast on ESPN2 Thursday and Friday.

NFL Network's Good Morning Football is being produced on the third floor of Tootsie's at the NFL Draft.

NFL Network's main set, where Rich Eisen and company will host Draft coverage each night, is located four blocks down Lower Broadway at the Draftville Main Stage, along with a small secondary set for NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport to deliver live reports.

NFL Media will also have a presence at the Red Carpet Show, which airs exclusively on NFL Network on Thursday evening.

Both the main set and the Tootsies set are fibered to the truck compound, where Game Creek Video's Encore is serving as home to NFL Media's Draft production. Both the Red Carpet Show and Good Morning Football are at-home productions, with camera and audio feeds being home-run back to dedicated control rooms at NFL Media's Culver City, CA, broadcast center. Filmwerks is providing power for the compound and all sets.

SupraCam, JITACam Headline 30-Plus Cameras

The star of NFL Media's camera complement this year is a SupraCam point-to-point aerial system that traverses more than 1,000 ft. over Lower Broadway. ESPN also has a SupraCam system, and the two extend in parallel all the way down the street.

Both NFL Media and ESPN have SupraCam two-point systems running over Lower Broadway for the NFL Draft.

We wanted to make sure we captured all that Broadway has to offer, and the point-to-point SupraCam system was the be

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/04/25/live-from-the-nfl-draft-nfl-med...
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