Madden NFL 19 Club Championship Production Heads to New Studio at EA Headquarters

Madden NFL 19 Club Championship Production Heads to New Studio at EA Headquarters In-house approach facilitates consistent creative control' By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Friday, February 1, 2019 - 4:00 pm

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This weekend isn't just about the biggest game in the pro-football universe; it's also the pinnacle for the Madden NFL esports scene. The Madden NFL 19 Club Championship features 32 competitors (one for each NFL team), who have been whittled down from hundreds of qualifiers, competing for a record $700,000 prize pool.

A has built a studio inside its Redwood City, CA headquarters for the Madden NFL 19 Club Championship

Last year's edition of the marquee Madden NFL Championship Series (MCS) event was played as part of the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl LII festivities in Orlando and Minneapolis, respectively. This year, however, EA has brought the Madden NFL 19 Club Championship home to its Redwood City, CA, headquarters, having transformed a large basketball court inside its facility into a custom-designed esports studio.

We built out the studio from scratch, and we're really happy with how it came out, says Joseph Lynch, head of broadcast, EA Sports. Also, bringing it home is a big very deal for us. Being on campus so that EA employees - who may not have an understanding of exactly what we do on the competitive-gaming side - can come by and watch it the event has been great. This is our biggest Madden event, so we want to make sure it feels and looks special.

The Madden NFL 19 Club Championship features 32 competitors representing NFL teams competing for a $700,000 prize pool.

EA's Madden NFL Commissioner Matt Marcou seconds the sentiment: It gives us a chance to do something in our backyard, as well as expose competitive gaming more to the company as a whole. Esports is one of those things where you can use all the sports analogies in the world, but, until you're in the studio feeling the energy, it's not going to hit you at the same level.

All four days of Madden NFL 19 Club Championship (Jan. 30-Feb. 2) are streaming live on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Mixer. The Grand Final Matchup on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET will be simulcast on ESPNews and re-air later on ESPN2.

Inside the Studio: Transforming a Gym Into a Studio

In addition to the primary competition stage, the newly erected studio features desks for announcers, as well as a players lounge where the competitors can watch the action. The studio design is heavy on wood and metal motifs intended to evoke a laid-back New York-loft-style look, according to Marcou.

Scott Cole (left) and Madden NFL analyst/game designer RG (right) man the desk at the Madden NFL 19 Club Championshp

The desk is manned by host/play-by-play caller Scott Cole and Madden NFL analyst/game designer RG.

We really wanted to simplify things in terms of our talent, says Lynch, so we have Scott, who is uber-talented, as both our play-by-play guy and our host for postgame interviews and to keep moving things along. I think it's really cleaned up the show a lot.

Several 85- and 65-in. LED displays are scattered throughout the studio, which also features a touchscreen display on which RG ( The John Madden of Madden, as Lynch calls him) can break down plays with a telestrator tool.

The players lounge for EA's Madden NFL 19 Club Championship is covered by four robos and is wired for full audio

In terms of cameras, the studio is equipped with an 18-ft. jib, Steadicam, and four hard cameras, as well as four robos in the players lounge (one in each corner).

Besides the four robos, the players lounge is wired for full audio and has a dedicated producer to monitor player conversations and capture key moments.

We are using this as a behind-the-scenes peek at these professionals and their reactions, says Marcou. One of our mantras is to make stars of all our players. Competitive gaming is about more than just the X's and O's of Madden football. These are competitors with amazing personalities, and they have a very deep bond and chemistry as community. We want to do everything we can to show that.

The single-elimination live tournament features 32 competitors vying for the title of Madden 19 Club Champion.

Since the MCS launch, its events have taken place on the road, at venues ranging from Super Bowl and Pro Bowl locales to the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, where the Madden 19 NFL 19 Classic took place in December.

However, Lynch believes that Redwood City offers a significant home-field advantage: I can definitely say that Day 1 was the best first-day production that we've ever done because we're working with crews that know our shows well and everyone was just more relaxed and focused. The best part about doing this in-house is, we can [produce] this exactly like we want in our own style. And we've been really happy with the results.

Inside the Truck: Balancing Traditional and Esports Workflows

EA has rolled out Gearhouse Broadcast's Columbus mobile production unit to house the Club Championship production, with Coordinating/Lead Producer Alex Strand at the front bench.

The production team cuts between the in-game feeds of the Madden action and in-studio camera feeds of players, sometimes using a two-box format.

The production team cuts between the in-game feeds of the Madden action and in-studio camera feeds of players, sometimes using a two-box format to show both or show players side-by-side. In addition, the in-game scorebug (graphics are driven by Ross Video Xpression) is constantly fixed at the top of the frame during the games, regardless of whether the in-game feed or in-studio camera feed is on-screen.

The in-game feed switches between Madden View (behind the line of scrimmage) and Spectator Mode (a more traditional third-pe

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/02/01/madden-nfl-19-club-championship...
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