Headline: Behind the scenes at Mariucci
Publish Date: 11/09/1994
Brian DeRoy
For The Daily
 
When tuning into Gophers hockey on Midwest Sports Channel, many
viewers notice announcers Frank Mazzocco and Tom Reid, and the on-ice
action. What they don't see is the behind-the-scenes activity and the
equipment required to broadcast the game.
 
MSC contracts Northwest Mobile Television, a company that provides
equipment and personnel for the telecasts. MSC supplies a producer,
director and announcers, and NMT supplies the rest.
 
Game day goes something like this:
 
1 p.m.: The NMT truck -- which contains $3 million worth of equipment
-- pulls up to the Mariucci Arena loading dock to unload. Graphic
workers begin assembling stats and other visual aids. Producer Mike
Connelly reviews video of Wisconsin players and assembles still-store
face shots. Technical director Sue Duffy goes through the video
frame-by-frame and freezes the best picture of each player. Those
images are transferred to computer disks with added graphics.
 
Connelly is responsible for the broadcast's visual elements. ``I
set up the entire broadcast, including how the game looks,'' he said.
``Our job is to personalize the players and put faces with the names.
It's amazing the amount of work that goes into the preparation of a
broadcast.''
 
The game is referred to as a ``five and three,'' meaning five cameras
and three tape machines. Technically, there are six cameras, with the
sixth permanently focused on the scoreboard to record the time. Of
the five active cameras, three are stand-up while two hand-held
cameras remain at ice level. The three Ikegami stand-up cameras are
brand-new, each has a 66-to-1 zoom lens (a normal home video camera
has a 10-to-1 lens). They cost approximately $115,000 each.
 
Inside the NMT truck, more than 25 miles of cable and two
five-ton air conditioners keep the equipment cool. Connelly estimates
it costs MSC around $10,000 a night to lease the truck and equipment.
NMT charges per piece of equipment, with each camera costing $500 a
night.
 
3:50 p.m.: Director Dave Higgins arrives. Higgins, a University
graduate, is a veteran with MSC. His credits include directing Twins
games, state hockey tournaments and some Gophers basketball games.
Higgins reviews the script and chats with Connelly while looking over
video for the pregame tease.
 
Higgins is responsible for camera shots, replay selection, cueing
graphics, etc.
 
``My ultimate responsibility is the selections made,'' Higgins said.
``It means simply taking responsibility of being the viewers' eyes
and ears while trying to give the flavor of what's going on.
Experience and dumb luck play a part of live television.''
 
5:45 p.m.: Announcers Mazzocco and Reid tape interviews with Gophers
coach Doug Woog and Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer. While Mazzocco
interviews Sauer, Reid is nearby taking notes for his pending
interview with Woog. When Woog arrives, Sauer quips, ``You going to
give any secrets?''
 
Reid's interview is disturbed by worker noise. While crew
members motion to the workers to keep quiet, Reid is not fazed by the
distraction and producer's instructions in his earpiece. He completes
the interview without incident.
 
6:10 p.m.: Connelly, Higgins, Mazzocco and Reid head to the press box
and review the game plan. Higgins tells the announcers and crew ``not
to screw anything up.''
 
Mazzocco then goes over the script for the opening tease,
editing as he reads it aloud. Mazzocco looks at his monitor and
performs the voice-over as the video rolls. After a couple of takes
and more rewriting, the tease is complete.
 
6:30 p.m.: The teams begin their on-ice warm-ups. In the booth,
Mazzocco and Reid are like students the night before a big exam,
flipping through pages of notes and line-up cards. Reid highlights
and jots down notes for each player. Mazzocco constructs his own
lineup and score card, sharing hints with Reid.
 
6:55 p.m.: Mazzocco and Reid ready themselves for the show. With one
of his special ``slippery elm'' throat lozenges and a sip of coffee,
Mazzocco is ready to go. Reid munches a hot dog. The press-box camera
and lights are positioned while Mazzocco and Reid take their places.
 
Stage manager Jim Pellinger urges the announcers to move closer.
Mazzocco jokes they need a wider lens.
 
7 p.m.: Showtime! Pellinger cues Mazzocco to begin the live opening.
Both announcers have to holler to be heard over the crowd noise. The
national anthem plays while Mazzocco and Reid switch to their
headsets.
 
7:20 p.m.: With the game under way, Mazzocco and Reid hold their
lineup cards while standing to announce the game. ``It's better for
the voice to stand,'' Mazzocco said.
 
During replays, Reid sits down and looks directly at his monitor
while giving analysis complete with hand gestures. Mazzocco sips his
coffee and looks at his monitor during Reid's analysis.
 
Inside the truck, only overhead spotlights illuminate the dim
scene. Audio from the announcers comes in from a speaker. Higgins
leans back and scans 26 active monitors to decide what camera, replay
or graphic to use. With soft and soothing tones, Higgins instructs
Sue Duffy -- ``take one please, take two, font in, lose it.''
 
``I want to live past 50, and being hyper in this business isn't a
way to accomplish that,'' Higgins said.
 
Connelly -- who tells Mazzocco and Reid which stats,
commercials, and promos are coming up -- constantly chatters with the
announcers. When plugging the next evening's game and ticket
availability, Mazzocco stumbles for the ticket office phone number.
Connelly immediately feeds Mazzocco the information.
 
In the back of the truck, two tape operators scan four cameras
for potential replays. They cheer and shout at the action, and
quickly mark spots with digital numbers for upcoming replays.
 
Cameramen Michael Dolan and Eric Jernall capture all of the rinkside
action with the hand-held cameras.
 
``You have to really anticipate what's going on, or you'll be lost,''
Dolan said.
 
The rest of the night continues in this technical pattern.
 
Even after the final sign-off, the work is not complete. Since the
following night's game was played at Target Center, the crew had to
pack up and transport the equipment. The wrap-up operation took
almost two hours.
 
With a collective thanks from Connelly and Higgins for a game well
done, the night is complete.
 
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