Live From MLB All-Star 2022: DodgerVision Churns Out In-Venue Entertainment for Multiple Events The club's production department works closely with MLB, 29 other franchises By Kristian Hern ndez, Associate Editor Tuesday, July 19, 2022 - 10:15 am
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From Friday, July 15 until the evening of Tuesday, July 19, MLB All-Star has called Los Angeles home, but, inside venerable Dodger Stadium, the entertainment experienced by fans is supplied solely by the Los Angeles Dodgers. DodgerVision, the club's in-venue production department, was tasked with devising a script and pushing out content to multiple LED displays for nine separate events over the five-day span.
We've put in 95-100 hours of work this week, says Tom Darin, senior director, broadcast engineering, Los Angeles Dodgers, but it's always exciting to do something new and different. It has been a grind, but it's an honor to be hosting one of the biggest events on the MLB calendar.
Developing a Concept: Staff Works With MLB for Overall Creative Direction Two years ago, Major League Baseball and the Dodgers were preparing for the 2020 Midsummer Classic in Los Angeles: the league had begun working on production plans and graphics for the game, and Darin went to Cleveland's Progressive Field for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game to get a better idea of what to expect. Despite the arduous process of planning the massive event, the festivities were scrapped after COVID arrived. And the 2022 show is quite different from what was originally planned.
The overall concept is the same as what it was in 2020, says Darin, but the minute details have constantly changed. It continues to evolve, but we always adjust to get through what we need to get through.
The DodgerVision crew was at the center of in-venue entertainment for the 2022 MLB Home Run Derby on Monday.
Although Darin and his team will execute Tuesday night's showcase from their control room, the club has been supported by the league's events and operations team. Led by MLB VP, Events and Game Presentation, Brian O'Gara and VP, Global Events, Jeremiah Yolkut, the league and the club developed the script to inject the flair of Los Angeles while also catering to fans of other teams.
It's an MLB show, says Darin, but there are [pieces of] Los Angeles and Dodger Stadium within it. We worked with their designer to come up with scoreboard looks that aren't exactly the same as what we do here but are very similar.
Aside from stylistic changes, DodgerVision is also altering the process from an operational perspective. During a regular-season game, the videoboard in left field is dedicated to player headshots and live video, and the videoboard in right field is reserved for more-static information. For marquee events, the feeds are flipped so that video comes from the right-field display. After years of operating in the same way, there's a bit of an adjustment to get into this new routine.
Inside the DodgerVision control room at Dodger Stadium
It was hard to get my head around it since I'm used to seeing video in the left-field side, adds Darin, but [Major League Baseball and we] came to this decision because it's what made the most sense. Events like the MLB Futures Game and All-Star Game are familiar to us because it's what we do every home game, but the Home Run Derby has different camera positions, video feeds, and angles.
Back-to-Back-to-Back: Relentless Schedule Calls for Increased Personnel From a production standpoint, MLB All-Star is unrelenting, with shows done one after another. It's a treat for the fans in attendance, but it's a logistical hurdle for Darin and company to overcome. Mixing in production duties as well as rehearsals for other events, it has been a marathon for the staff over the past five days.
The action began on Friday with the 2022 MLB High School All-American Game and a rehearsal for the MGM Rewards All-Star Extra Innings Concert Featuring Becky G. One of the longest days for the crew was Saturday - a day that began at 8 a.m. local time and concluded at 10:30 p.m. It featured the 2022 MLB Jr. Home Run Derby, the 2022 MLB Jr. Softball Home Run Derby, the 2022 MLB High School Home Run Derby, the 2022 MLB Futures Game, the 2022 MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game, and the concert.
The production team has a perfect view of the playing field from the upper levels of the venue.
It was pretty constant the entire day, without much downtime, says Darin. We had about a half hour between events to change sets, but we still had to do a production for the fans that stayed in the stadium.
Working 14 hours in one day is extremely difficult, so Darin increased his staff from a normal game day's 32 to 56 to give individuals time to recharge and refuel.
Los Angeles Dodgers' Tom Darin will work his first MLB All-Star Game in his 25th season with the club.
Every couple of hours, I would have people swap out their positions, he says. For example, I'd give the [first group of] camera operators a break and have different camera operators fill in their positions while they rested.
After a dark day on Sunday to rehearse for the Derby, the crew was back for live entertainment of the Derby on Monday. For tonight's exhibition matchup, the in-venue show will leverage a total of 26 cameras, including 18 from the Dodgers (three hards, two handhelds, nine robos in the lower bowl and four in the centerfield plaza), eight camera feeds from Game Creek Video Encore mobile unit, and both the clean and dirty broadcast feed from Fox Sports. For last night's Home Run Derby and tonight's All-Star Game, four crew members were added, bringing the game-day number to 36.
The MLB Futures Game was one of nine All-Star events produced in fi
