
Live From the NBA Draft: ESPN Follows Future Stars in Green Room to Backstage With RailCam, Post-Pick Cam A four-point camera system also flew overhead at the Barclays Center By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Friday, June 21, 2019 - 3:35 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
If you're Zion Williamson, you were the first one to hit the stage and shake Commissioner Adam Silver's hand at the 2019 NBA Draft last night. From nervousness prior to selection to jubilation within the backstage pressroom, ESPN retraced the steps of Zion and the subsequent 59 picks courtesy of a RailCam, a four-point aerial camera system, dedicated RF wireless cameras, and more.
A four-point camera system hovered above the players in the green room.
The NBA is trying to enhance the player green room and where the players are going, so we're trying to do a better job covering them after they leave [the green room], says Lee Kalinsky, technical operations producer, ESPN. We can follow these players backstage [on their way to] radio interviews or whoever they're going to speak with.
The Happiest Walk of Their Lives: End-to-End Coverage
In the past, ESPN has consistently tinkered with an efficient yet intriguing way of recording the drafted player's figurative transition from amateurism to the professional ranks when his name gets called.
We've always been trying to figure out how to shoot players with regular cameras, says Kalinsky. [For prior Drafts], we put Marshall cameras in the player green room. We tried a cue ball [POV[ last year, but you don't know where everyone is going to sit.
In 2019, the network decided to deploy a wrinkle usually deployed for live sports productions. Using a technique typically reserved for basketball events, such as CBS and Turner Sports' production of the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four and the Big Ten Tournament, All Mobile Video supplied a Sony P1 with RF capabilities and mounted the camera on a 50-ft. track to slowly run parallel with the stage. The system served a dual purpose, knocking out two production birds with one stone.
This is the first time we're using a RailCam at the NBA Draft, he says. [The idea] was two-fold because it obviously shows the viewer what's happening on the stage but it can turn around and show you the players inside of the green room as well.
With RailCam working on the ground, aerial shots of the entire Draft floor were provided by a four-point camera system that emanated from the rafters. The crew upgraded this setup and moved away from the traditional point-to-point method.
A 50 ft. RailCam joined the draftees on their path to NBA superstardom.
When players ventured from the stage and into the media frenzy, including multiple sets dedicated to social media, the network comprised various teams that followed the players through the circuit with the help of eight RF cameras, including Steadicams and M Vis. Backstage, CP Communications supplied seamless connectivity that withstood the rigors of a packed arena and a cavalcade of media responsibilities. Admiral Video took care of capturing all the backstage activity via Marshall POVs planted in the ceilings of the backstage passageways. To stay connected, the ESPN team leveraged Riedel Communications' Bolero wireless intercom system.
We have some really high-powered communications here, so we can follow them anywhere, says Kalinsky. All the camera operators can pretty much get wherever they need to be in the building.
Overall, a total of 35 cameras were dispersed throughout the venue, including a jib camera that followed the players up the stage steps, three Fletcher robos (including one in the corner of the Draft stage that provided the jib camera with another angle), and an additional jib camera positioned outside the arena and used for virtual-reality graphics.
No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn: Familiar Setting at the Barclays Center
Kalinsky and his New York-based team had a little trick up their sleeve to ensure a smooth broadcast. With a calendar full of games that take place in Brooklyn and previous NBA Drafts taking place in the venue since 2013, the Barclays Center is not foreign territory to the people who produced the show.
[Thanks to] relationships with operations, events, and security staff, the electricians, and different union groups we deal with in the venue, it's a perfect building to work in. They also know what the NBA folks are looking for, Kalinsky says. A lot of this is local knowledge and knowing where to get cable from and where it needs to go.
One of those folks is Catherine Chalverus, operations producer, ESPN. Out of Kalinsky's 20 NBA Drafts, she has worked hand-in-hand with him for the past seven. To go about their business with precision, the duo and the rest of the onsite team meticulously worked out every detail of the production. As the event gets bigger and bigger, the staff takes just a bit longer to plan.
Planning for this takes a very long time, says Kalinsky. For my staff and me, it's a year-long project. We were able to come out and do a couple of surveys [to see] where the RailCam and Fletchers are going to go. We also needed to work out the heights in relationship with the rest of the rigging and the jumbotron. We've done Fletchers before that were behind the commissioner, but, as the NBA builds their stuff up more and more, we try keeping up with their progress.
ESPN claimed the biggest real estate of the night with a full on-air studio set.
In the compound, the A and B units of Game Creek Video's 79 mobile production unit is the heart of technical services. With more than 150 onsite staffers, departments were split in half. In the A unit, audio mixing and the production staff, including ESPN directors Ed Curran (in his 10th NBA Draft) and Jeff Nelson, work
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
05/08/2026
Thomson's Climate Crisis Toolkit for Media in Tanzania is being included in a new virtual library designed to ensure accurate and engaging storytelling arou...
05/08/2026
RSNs, teams, leagues, and streamers explore the present and future of local spor...
05/08/2026
As sports-production workflows generate larger volumes of unstructured data and ...
05/08/2026
Three aspiring broadcasters will contribute on-camera and inside the production ...
05/08/2026
Adam Meeks attends the premiere of his film Union County, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Sundance Institut...
05/08/2026
Major discounts, updates & remakes of early VST plug-ins
Steinberg are currently celebrating two significant anniversaries, with this week marking the 30th ...
05/08/2026
Flagship monitor range gains wireless remote control
KRK's flagship studio monitor range has just been upgraded, with three new fifth-generation models ...
05/08/2026
Rohde & Schwarz launches next phase of Airways New Zealand Air Traffic Control s...
05/08/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents the R&S MP007, a man-portable tactical direction findin...
05/08/2026
Advertisers invested $53.6 million in the retirement sector in the last 12 month...
05/08/2026
Nielsen CMI and Ad Intel data reveals who's visiting IKEA, where else they s...
05/08/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare deduplicated campaign reach across computer, mobile, connected TV and linear TV across all measurable CTV publishers in...
05/08/2026
Stranger Things' Leads All Streaming Titles with 23.3 Billion Minutes in Fir...
05/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/08/2026
QuickLink, the leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest integration solutions, announces the appointment of Kane Peterson to its Nort...
05/08/2026
XR research reveals marketers believe they have control over production costs, yet budget overruns, campaign delays and creative cutbacks remain commonplace
Se...
05/08/2026
Game On Live Studio Uses Blackmagic Design to Stream Tropical 7s
Brie Clayton August 4, 2026
0 Comments
Every match of world's largest youth rugby...
05/08/2026
Chris Fitzgerald to Head TDC's Experiential Growth
Brie Clayton August 4, 2026
0 Comments
Technical Direction Company promotes Chris Fitzgerald to...
05/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/08/2026
Profuz Digital is set to launch a powerful upgrade to its Profuz LAPIS digital media management platform at IBC this year at Stand 8.A88. France Galop, Canal+ F...
05/08/2026
KRK, a Gibson brand and leader in professional studio monitoring for nearly four decades, launches its new V Series Five Studio Monitors, the latest evolution o...
05/08/2026
Network expansion, continued customer growth and stable financial performance characterized Magyar Telekoms business results for the first half and second quart...
05/08/2026
Wednesday 5 August 2026
The Sky Foundation launches new bursary programme to su...
05/08/2026
Charlie Sheen Launches Mostly Sheenius in Partnership with Red Seat Ventures After Decades as One of the World's Most Recognizable and Interviewed Celebr...
04/08/2026
Live production in the cloud is a growing trend across the industry, and Major L...
04/08/2026
LAFC co-managing owner will succeed Don Garber on Jan. 1, 2027, as league prepar...
04/08/2026
In 2022, when the PGA TOUR was breaking ground on its new, state-of-the-art broa...
04/08/2026
Provided by POVORA, the new camera angle offers a dealer's-eye view of the c...
04/08/2026
Spiideo will provide the camera setup, with NEP handling broadcast integration and off-site video operations...
04/08/2026
Production team streamed more than 750 youth rugby matches using ATEM switchers,...
04/08/2026
Agreement gives KTC early access to NDI's Advanced SDK for integration across commercial displays, digital signage, and interactive panels...
04/08/2026
Twelve projects across four categories recognize collaborative work in productio...
04/08/2026
Multi-year agreement will introduce SkeleTRACK, semi-automated offside, automate...
04/08/2026
Three mc 56 consoles, dual A__UHD Core engines, RAVENNA networking, and HOME management supported live sound, monitoring, and international broadcast production...
04/08/2026
New contribution products support ultra-low-latency video transport across fixed, remote, and mobile production environments...
04/08/2026
Company will showcase updates across PRIME, Chyron LIVE, Paint, virtual production, newsroom workflows, and venue control...
04/08/2026
Exhibit will feature SilverBack, VersaBrix, VersaFrame, VF-9100, and FiberSaver-10G platforms...
04/08/2026
Platform updates target cloud-based production, high-density ST 2110 monitoring,...
04/08/2026
Live Media Group will take control of Gravity Media's U.S. mobile-unit fleet...
04/08/2026
Amp-modelling rigs get major upgrade
HeadRush have recently released a major firmware update that brings some powerful new features to their Prime, Core and...
04/08/2026
Generate a choir from a single voice track
Following years of development, Am I Audio have just officially launched their debut plug-in. Created in collabor...
04/08/2026
Official EMT-endorsed reverbs now available to all
Two more of Universal Audio's renowned UAD plug-ins have just gained new native versions that can be ...
04/08/2026
SBS helps Australians understand why every Census counts
Media releases
As Australia prepares for the 2026 Census on Tuesday 11 August, SBS is helping ensur...
04/08/2026
Canada invests in the future of HF communications with Rohde & Schwarz solutions After selection by the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) as the p...
04/08/2026
Blendkit Expands Beyond Blender
Brie Clayton August 4, 2026
0 Comments
Popular 3D Asset Library Launches Alpha Plugins for Maya, Godot, and Rhino
Blend...