Funday Football in Andy's Room: ESPN Invites Fans to Toy Story-Themed Alternative Broadcast NFL's Next Gen Stats, Beyond Sports, Silver Spoon support animated effort for Falcons-Jags By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor Friday, September 29, 2023 - 1:33 pm
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Story Highlights
When it comes to animation, there's no bigger name than The Walt Disney Co. When it comes to broadcast innovation, ESPN doesn't shy away from something new. In a stroke of corporate synergy, the broadcaster is expanding its Monday Night Football offerings with the first-ever alternative broadcast based on Pixar classic Toy Story on ESPN and Disney . During the Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars matchup from London's Wembley Stadium at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 1, fans will be able to enter Andy's Room for Funday Football with the help of ESPN's Creative Studios, motion-capture technology by Silver Spoon, and real-time automated tracking by Beyond Sports.
I can honestly say that this is probably the most fun project I'll ever get to work on, says Michael Spike Szykowny, senior director, motion graphics and production planning, ESPN Creative Studio. We have some great IP to work with, and we're looking forward to something that's really special.
High Expectations: NHL Big City Greens Classic Provides Blueprint ESPN worked for 2 months with Pixar to redevelop Andy's room with an NFL twist.
Heading into Sunday's matchup in London, ESPN has some useful experience in this type of production. Nearly seven months ago, at the tail end of the 2022-23 NHL regular season, the network aired a similar alternative alongside the traditional telecast for the New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals on March 14: the NHL Big City Greens Classic introduced the concept of a real-time, fully animated alternative broadcast leveraging the personalities and environment of the hit Disney show. Aimed at cultivating a kids-centric production suitable for the whole family, the endeavor opened up doors for expansion. Looking to bolster broadcast options on the NFL front, ESPN found the perfect opportunity to build off this highly successful activation in the spring.
When we decided to do this, we wanted to start from what worked on the NHL Big City Greens and what we learned from that experience, says Szykowny. We wanted to be respectful to [the NFL and Pixar], so we had to balance the elements that both entities wanted to do.
Iconography related to London, such as the Green Army Men protecting Big Ben, will surround the field.
On the technical front, Szykowny and his team are working with similar partners for the NHL Big City Greens Classic, including Beyond Sports and Silver Spoon. Beyond Sports will handle the automated tracking and rendering for the virtual playing field, combining single-point tracking via the NFL's Next Gen Stats with the optical tracking provided by the league's Hawkeye system. Silver Spoon will once again lead the motion-capture efforts of turning the live-commentary team into toys. Instead of the broadcast duo of Kevin Weekes and Drew Carter for the NHL Big City Greens Classic, the company will animate the broadcast trio of Carter, Booger McFarland, and Pepper Persley. Persley, the 12-year-old reporter who has become a staple of ESPN's KidsCast on the MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport, PA, will provide a younger fan's view of the action.
Like the NHL alternative broadcast, which was produced simultaneously with the traditional Rangers-Capitals telecast, Funday Football will be put together in Studio Z and a control room in Bristol, CT. With many moving parts, there is the possibility of potential hiccups on game day, but the crew plans for such possibilities and will take them in stride.
We have to make sure that, if something doesn't work exactly right, says Szykowny, we have to be ready to deal with it in a fashion that keeps the game flowing in a fun way and plays to the spirit of the broadcast.
Planning and Prep: Broadcaster, Pixar Adjust to Each Other's Work Tempo ESPN Creative Studios made sure the players wear the NFL's latest helmets, visors, and uniforms
On the creative side, ESPN Creative Studios has worked closely with Pixar for 2 months. In this phase of the process, the hardest obstacle to overcome was both companies' re-adjusting to how the other operates: for instance, Pixar specializes in long-form media that is fine-tuned and crafted over a long period of time; ESPN, on the other hand, is accustomed to accomplishing a task more quickly.
Working with Pixar, who's used to taking 2 years to make a movie, we had to get our cadence and rhythm down to put this together in 2 months, says Szykowny. They've been wonderful, and we have a great relationship.
NFL and ESPN imagery, like Falcons and Jaguars posters, will decorate the walls of Andy's room.
With the guidance of the Toy Story creators, Szykowny and his colleagues were armed with the support to give this alternative broadcast the utmost creativity. Unfortunately, given the recent Writers Guild of America strike, ESPN was unable to recruit actors to voice Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the Toy Story characters. Whereas the NHL Big City Greens Classic deployed the TV show's characters, voices, and mannerisms, the NFL production has taken another course of action.
We knew [voice actors] weren't an option, says Szykowny. We had to create other ways, events, and moments during the show that would make up for it. Since the characters from Toy Story are surrounding the field and not participating in the actual game, there's a lot less need for them to be talking.
Some key events will be scattered throughout the broadcast. Deploying the creative toolkit supplied
