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MillimeterRough Ride
Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Bill Miller
Behind the scenes with the Versus HD production crew.
The Versus production team uses Ikegami HDK-79EC cameras and Fujinon XA101x8.9BESM and XA87x9.3BESM lenses with image stabilization to capture the action from beside the ring at Professional Bull Riders (PBR) shows.
All photos by Bill Miller
Their names are Tuffy, Turnbuckle, Double-D, and G-Rod. These aren't the bulls of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). These are crew members of the Versus television team. Thirty weekends a year, this band of digital gypsies comes together to broadcast one of the fastest-growing and dangerous sports in America: professional bull riding. It's extreme sports with a heartbeat. For eight long seconds, it's man against beast. But with each ride, every cowboy and bull, there is a story to be told.
According to the PBR, more than 100 million viewers around the world tune each year to 400 hours of television broadcasts. More than 1.5 million fans pack the auditoriums to watch what's billed as the toughest sport on dirt. This is not an article about a lone digital video producer, but an entire dedicated crew of men and women who get the show on the air, week after week, in high definition.
The setup
9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Worcester, Mass. Forty-five of the highest-caliber bucking bulls are quietly munching hay as the Yes Productions television production truck is jockeyed into a small alcove some 200 yards from the main arena. It's one of several high-definition broadcast units Versus sub-contracts each year. According to Versus technical manager Kevin Olden, the truck is selected for price, added value, and availability — not for specific cameras, editing gear, or switchers it may have. It has to meet the technical specifications as laid out by Olden and the show's producer, Joe Loverro. This truck carries the new Ikegami HDK-79EC cameras and XA101×8.9BESM and XA87×9.3BESM Fujinon lenses with image stabilization. “Ikegami reproduces blacks like no other camera,” Olden says. “That's why I like them.”
The rest of the day is spent rolling out cable, setting up cameras, and checking RF frequencies for wireless micro-phones. There's a relaxed atmosphere. A time to yawn, stretch, and store energy for three days of bovine bedlam. Friday night is round one of the three-day bull-riding event, but it won't be taped for full broadcast. The crew will only be shooting highlights of tonight's show for what has come to be known as “Rides and Wrecks.” If there is a bad injury or a great ride, Versus will have it for playback during Saturday's broadcast. It will also be a chance for some of the younger crew members to try their hand at the more difficult camera positions. It's a great learning opportunity, rare in this business.
Mike Weyer runs a floating handheld camera to get up close to the cowboys before and after their rides.
There is a regular set crew that works all of the PBR venues. Locals are added as needed. “We look for people who have had some professional experience with live television who can take direction. Guys who have shot basketball or hockey. It can't just be news or ENG. There's more to it than that,” Olden says. “We like to joke, ‘It's not brain surgery; it's more important than brain surgery.’”
Loverro, of Park City, Utah, is the show's producer. He's an inspiring young man who loves what he does — and after four years, he still finds it a challenge. “I couldn't dream of a crew better than this,” Loverro says. “Top to bottom, they are passionate about what they do. They love this sport and contribute ideas in ways beyond what their job title is — cameramen, editors, even the truck driver. I've worked on shows from the Olympics to beach volleyball, and have never worked with a crew so involved.” Loverro's biggest complaint is that there is not enough time each week; he and his team will cover PBR events 18 weeks in a row, spanning 21 cities coast to coast, before they can take a short break. It's a grueling schedule.
Loverro and Director David Hagen share the same philosophy: Blending sports and entertainment and telling a story. “There are two sets of athletes,” Hagen says. “You have 45 cowboys trying to ride the bulls and 45 bulls trying to buck them off.” Some bulls can earn $1 million a year, and the show spends as much time telling their stories as it does the cowboys.
“It's a tall order,” Loverro says. “Obviously, we have never gotten a good sound bite from a bull, but they provide great television moments.”
