
NBC Sports Headlines Premier Lacrosse League's Third Season With Keeper Cam, Cinematic Handheld, Full Onsite Effort Canon's EOS R5 will be the league's version of the popular Megalodon' By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Friday, June 4, 2021 - 2:33 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), building on the momentum of its 2019 first season, powered through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with a two-week-long bubble tournament in Herriman, UT. For its third year, the league and its broadcasting partner, NBC Sports, are upping the ante with technological enhancements, such as new POV angles from inside and near the cage and a new mirrorless camera for cinematic takes from the field.
The Premier Lacrosse League continues to be on the leading edge of broadcast quality and innovation, says Matt Borzello, producer, NBC Sports. NBC Sports Group prides itself on being the absolute best partners they can be, and these production enhancements reinforce our company's commitment to the PLL.
Between the Pipes: Keeper Cam, Pole Cams Offer Field-Level Look In an effort to supply new and engaging angles on the sport, NBC Sports is installing a handful of POV cameras in hard-to-reach areas of the field. Most notable is the Keeper Cam, a micro-HD camera embedded in the frame of the goal to highlight close plays in the crease and sniped shots scored in the top corners. This deployment is made possible by the league's relationship with its official ball and goal partner, Wolf Athletics, which has worked on this product over the past year.
The camera will give the viewer an unobstructed, super-wide-angle view of all the exciting action around the goal like never before, says Borzello. Wolf Athletics has developed this custom camera technology alongside a private camera engineering partner, so we're looking forward to its release during the 2021 season.
In addition to this camera embedded in the pipe, other technology will capture the run of play from field level. Two Pole Cams, fully operated robos attached to a stanchion about 20 yards from the net, will provide a closer look on how scoring opportunities are formulated. From a production standpoint, this pair of cameras (one located behind each goal) is intended to offer the close-up vantage points seen on other mainstream sports broadcasts.
The objective, Borzello notes, is to provide angles similar to what you see in hockey with robotic cameras behind each goal, as well as the Above the Rim cameras seen in basketball that allow more-dynamic looks in both replay sequences and live gameplay.
Best of the Rest: Cinematic Cameras, In-Game Comms Round Out Broadcast Tech Reflecting a trend that has swept across sports-video production, NBC Sports will leverage its version of a mirrorless, shallow-depth-of-field camera on selected broadcasts. In this case, the Cannon EOS R5 will roam the sidelines and on the field during play stoppages for cinematic shots of the game.
Fans will get a chance to see player personalities and what goes into the game via in-game interviews and analyst-to-player conversations. Created with the help of Gubser & Schnakenberg (GSC) and debuted during the inaugural season, audio devices will be installed in player helmets for seamless communication with the broadcast team of play-by-play Brendan Burke, analyst Ryan Boyle, and sideline reporter Paul Burmeister.
We will continue to push player access as far as possible, says Borzello. In addition to players with in-game communication devices, multiple other players will be miked up to help bring the viewer closer to the action.
In-game interviews will be captured with a standard RF handheld camera along with the Canon EOS R5.
In the Compound: Ross Production Services Powers Workflows Onsite NBC Sports will continue in-game interviews with players, like this one done in 2020.
Unlike many productions over the past year, remote workflows will not play a role in the upcoming PLL schedule. COVID-19-related protocols are still in effect - wearing of masks, a required PCR test 72 hours prior to each game, a rapid test on arrival at the venue - but the games will be conducted with traditional pre-pandemic workflows. In the compound, Ross Production Services is leading the way with its RMP6 mobile production unit along with a trailer for support.
At Gillette Stadium, the truck will have a handful of feeds coming from all sorts of cameras inside the venue. For example, all five of this weekend's games will have a total of 11 cameras: the main game camera, a tight follow, one located at low left attack, a player iso at high left slash, either a high end zone or slash, the two Pole Cams, the two Keeper Cams, the Canon EOS R5, and an RF handheld - and Ross PIERO Sports graphic analysis for in-depth breakdowns of recent plays.
National Tour: Production Crew To Travel to 11 Sports Venues Having produced a two-week tournament in the Utah bubble, the PLL is expanding to 11 markets across the U.S. for its 3 -month season: Boston's Gillette Stadium (June 4-6); Kennesaw State University's Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Atlanta (June 11-13); Baltimore's Homewood Field (June 25-27); Long Island, NY's Shuart Stadium (July 2-4); Minneapolis's TCO Stadium (July 9-11); All-Star Weekend at San Jose, CA's PayPal Park (July 18); Colorado Springs, CO's Weidner Field (July 30-Aug. 1); University of Albany's Tom and Mary Casey Stadium (Aug. 13-15); Quarterfinals at Salt Lake City's Rio Tinto Stadium (Aug. 20-21); Semifinals at Philadelphia's Subaru Park (Sept. 5); and the Championship at Washington, DC's Audi Field (Sept. 19). Despite the constant travel, productions won't be affected.
Travel itself should have minimal effect on the game production, says Borzello.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...