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Dare I say, Bills might be the pick for Hard Knocks this year


D521646

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On 4/11/2019 at 9:05 AM, stosh64 said:

 

If that's the list, rooting to see the Raiders or the Redskins. Both teams are dysfunctional as hell and should make for entertaining TV.

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I thought I might shed some light on what having a Hard Knocks production crew working in a team’s facility will actually entail. I haven’t worked on Hard Knocks, specifically, but I have worked on a fair share of reality shows, including Hell’s Kitchen, Dancing with the Stars, Americas Next Top Chef, American Ninja Warrior, and several smaller ones, including a brief stint on Big Brother. I’ve also done some freelance work for ESPN, NFL Films, NFL(dot)com, and Fox Sports, and I’ve worked on several HBO productions. And, I’ve been a set lighting professional in Los Angeles for 29 years, so I feel like I can write with some authority.

 

 A show like Hard Knocks will requires weeks to set up. 
-The grips will set up camera platforms, rigging, and various other rigging.
-The lighting techs will run cable, hang lights, and run data back to a lighting booth. The director of photography will be involved in all of that. 
-The camera department will install robotic lights, and run data back to the control room. 
-The control room will be either in a large room (like a large conference room) if that’s available, or set up in a 40’ trailer. It has to be big enough to accommodate 20, or so monitors, video colorist consoles, switchers, recordists, etc. This is also where the show runner, producers, director, and director of photography will spend most of their time while the show is being filmed, along with the colorist, DIT (digital imaging technician), and robotic camera operators.
-Several editing bays will also be set up. There will be literally thousands of hours of media to deal with. It all has to be organized, and catalogued. The editors have a monumental task in sifting through, and utilizing the thousands of shots available to them, and editing will begin literally as the show is being filmed.

 

When they start taping the show, things behind the scenes will become especially crazy.
-The lighting and grip crew will be paired down to about four, or five for each department.
-The camera crew will be large— at least a dozen camera operators, each with assistants, plus support personnel. There will be a team devoted to rigging, and operating Go Pros.
-The sound department will also be significant, with probably four, or more boom operators, recordists, and technicians. 
-There will be at least a dozen production assistants running around with radios. Several of them will be very attractive girls. They will be locking up various locations, getting people to sign release forms, shushing people when interviews are happening, etc.
-There will be a caterer set up to feed the crew breakfast, and lunch, a large tented area in the parking lot where the crew will eat, and a craft service department will have a snack table set up all day long.

 

Don’t get me wrong— the crew will do everything in their power to stay out of the team’s way. Crew members will be barred from talking to, or interacting with any of the cast. But, it won’t just be a couple cameras following people around. There will be a dozen, or more, along with some that are stationed at specific points. Several cameras will have a boom operator, and assistant camera in tow. There will be segment producers, assistant directors, and other personnel nearby some of these cameras, as well. There will be several areas around the facility that will be rigged with lights, cameras, and sound, as well as set dressing that will be used as interview spots. Production assistants, or liaisons will shuffle various players, and coaches off to these areas throughout the day. 

 

It’s not a small thing, and I can understand why no coach in their right mind would want it anywhere near their training camp. Even Jon Gruden, who clearly loves the camera, would most likely not want to deal with it— after all, he has seen first hand how disruptive a production crew can be.

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On 4/11/2019 at 8:05 AM, stosh64 said:

Are those rules or reasons a team can get a waiver? If the Bills wanted to be on Hard Knocks, I bet they could as long as HBO chose them. 

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8 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

There has never been a more perfect fit for Hard Knocks than the 2019 raiders. Gruden and Mayock are both used to being on tv, AB might get enough attention that he doesn’t need to jump on IG every 5 minutes, and I’m hoping to catch Carr’s makeup routine. I’ve been struggling with the eyeliner/mascara ratio.

Didn't they also sign Burfict, whom AB would have legitimate beef with?

 

Edited by BuffaloHokie13
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