Legends Behind the Lens: George Hoover

Legends Behind the Lens: George Hoover The technical genius became one of the godfathers of live remote production facilities By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - 12:00 pm

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The story of American sports television is engrained in the history of this nation, rising on the achievements of countless incredible men and women who never once appeared on our screens. During this pause in live sports, SVG is proud to present a celebration of this great industry. Legends Behind the Lens is a look at how we got here seen through the people who willed it to be. Each weekday, we will share with you the story of a person whose impact on the sports-television industry is indelible.

Legends Behind the Lens is presented in association with the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the SVG Sports Broadcasting Fund. In these trying times - with so many video-production professionals out of work - we hope that you will consider (if you are able) donating to the Sports Broadcasting Fund. Do so by visiting sportsbroadcastfund.org.

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By Ken Kerschbaumer

A sports-broadcasting career is often the sum of one's experiences: the vast majority of industry professionals have worked for a variety of networks, with numerous production crews, and on countless events.

George Hoover exemplifies that career trajectory - and then some. His career has been marked by the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the broadcasting business, from the day he began working for Ivan Tors Studios in 1964 as a high school student in Miami until his days at the top of his game as CTO of NEP Broadcasting.

NEP is very much a collaborative effort with our client, says Hoover. Part of the reason we have long relationships is, we have worked together, always looking for new technology and innovative ways to contribute to the art of storytelling.

The Technology of Storytelling

Within the sports-production community, Hoover has helped the storytelling by overseeing engineering and design of approximately 45 new production trucks and 25 major rebuilds. But he has also helped design studios for such programs as Sesame Street, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and Conan, giving him an influence well beyond stadiums, arenas, race tracks, and golf courses.

George was really responsible for engineering the way we do big events these days, says Ken Aagaard, EVP of Engineering, Operations and Production Services for CBS Sports. Super Bowls, Masters, U.S. Open Golf - they all jumped to new levels based on many of George's engineering ideas and principles. He has a unique ability to work with manufacturers on innovations that work for production. It is, in a large part, his efforts that moved NEP to the forefront.

Hoover's understanding of the art of storytelling, and the role technology plays, began at Ivan Tors Studios. For two years, he worked on such programs as Gentle Ben, Flipper, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, as well as on classic James Bond films Goldfinger and Thunderball. He also developed an important appreciation for how audio can enhance a visual medium.

In TV, there are audio people, and, in film, there are sound people, and there is a different approach to creating a sound environment for someone watching a movie, he says. You create a storytelling environment as opposed to, back in the '60s, just wearing a lavalier mic.

In 1966, Hoover began working at CBS station WTVJ Miami alongside future legends Larry King, Jeannie Wolf, Ed Goren, Dave Fruitman, Mike Pearl, Spears Mallis, and Jackie Gleason; Gleason's show was a remote production out of the WTVJ studio. At the time, TV stations owned the remote-production trucks that covered sports and other events, giving Hoover the opportunity to work on Apollo and Gemini space launches alongside arguably TV's greatest newsman: Walter Cronkite.

Under George's guidance, NEP took the art of truck design to a whole other level. It was no longer just what could you cram into the truck but how could you optimize the designs to meet each individual client need? Dave Mazza, NBC Sports

In 1970, Hoover attended Florida State University, where he studied theatrical lighting and sound design, studies that quickly led to a staff job at FSU. He later became chief engineer of Florida Public Broadcasting and worked there until 1977, covering Florida legislation sessions with seven cameras and multicore cable that ran through the entire government State House complex - ENG before camcorders.

It was there that I learned what TV needed to morph into, says Hoover. We were just starting to get compact cameras, and everything was recorded on 2-in. videotape.

The Systems Side

In 1977, Hoover transitioned to the manufacturer side, working in systems integration at RCA. Responsible for projects in the Caribbean and Latin America, he learned a broad skill set helping broadcasters in developing countries transition from black and white to color. He was also involved with the early launch of camcorders and 1-in. tape decks and worked alongside another Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer: Larry Thorpe.

Hoover learned much about technology and the business of broadcasting while at RCA, but he also learned something about himself: I like TV production more than manufacturing. One is applying technology, and the other is creating with it. They go hand in hand, but I like using the tools, not drawing circuit boards.

Back to Production

Leaving RCA, he began another transition, this time to WPHL Philadelphia, where he helped produce local sports events for the Phillies, 76ers, Penn State football, and a then-obscure outfit called the Worldwide Wrestling Federation (WWF).

Ultimately, the TV station was sold, and Henry Riggs and I l

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/06/16/legends-behind-the-lens-george-...
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