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
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
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 
