This year’s MLB World Series games on FOX Sports are being brought home to viewers by mobile production companies F&F Productions, in Clearwater, FL; Game Creek Video, based in Hudson, NH; New Century Productions, in Allentown, PA; and NEP Supershooters, based in Pittsburgh. All now have HD trucks on-site in either Philadelphia or Tampa, FL, and NEP now owns NCP.
The best-of-seven series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays started on Wednesday, Oct. 22, and is being produced live in the 720p HD format.
Game Creek Video is providing mobile facilities at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The company’s Yankee Clipper production unit as well as its Yankee Clipper B and FX D are being used for the domestic feed of the World Series. The trucks carry 15 Sony HDC 1500 HD cameras (with Canon HD lenses) and two Sony HDC 3300 super slow-motion cameras. FOX is also using 11 EVS HD replay systems, two Chyron HyperX2 graphics systems and two Final Cut Pro edit systems. Yankee Clipper features a Pesa 128 x 128 HD and 256 x 256 SD routing system, an NVISION 512 x 512 audio router, Grass Valley Kalypso video production switcher and a Calrec Alpha audio console.
F&F Productions was in Tampa to provide the MLB’s live international feed (which is viewed by millions throughout the world, but with different announcers per region). The company has its 53ft GTX-15 HD truck on-site, complete with a dozen Ikegami HDK-79EC HD CMOS cameras, numerous Fujinon HD lenses, an EVS server, a 90-input Thomson Grass Valley Kalypso HD production switcher, Calrec Alpha audio console, NVISION video router and Thomson Grass Valley Concerto audio router.
NCP has its NCP X expanding drop-deck trailer in Tampa for FOX Sports, featuring 16 Thomson Grass Valley LDK 8000 HD cameras, Canon HD lenses, a Panasonic AJ-HDC27H DVCPRO camera, a Kalypso HD switcher, Calrec Alpha console with Bluefin technology and a Utah Scientific 400 series router (288 x 705). They’ll cover the game from Tampa Bay live and in its entirety as well as the pre- and post-game shows with 10 LDK 8000 cameras in fixed locations throughout Tropicana Field stadium and six LDK 8000s in handheld configurations. One handheld roamed the field while the other five were used for the pre-game and locker room coverage.
NEP Supershooters supplied its SS17 all-HD production truck in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park to provide coverage for MLB. It carries 10 Ikegami HDK-79EC HD cameras, Canon HD lenses, two Sony HDC3300 super slow-motion cameras, a Thomson Grass Valley Kalypso HD switcher, a Thomson Grass Valley Trinix (160 x 128) HD/SDI video router and Calrec Sigma digital console. SS-17 also features a Thomson Grass Valley Concerto audio router with 288 x 288 I/O for AES sources and 64 x 64 for analog stereo signals.
