Producer Lance Barrow and director Mike Arnold are the guys in the truck. It is that tandem that will make sure you don’t miss a thing on the field during the CBS coverage of Super Bowl XLIV this Sunday in Miami.
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Meanwhile, play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and his partner, Phil Simms, will provide the sound track for the game.
Nantz » “I really think that we have hit our stride this season. The four of us have been together for six years and we are a team. I think the fans know Phil is going to give the best analysis in the game, I am going to follow the storylines and the guys in the truck are not going to miss a thing.”
Barrow » “We are ready for the Super Bowl and we are no different than the players on TV. As a production team you want to be able to do the big events and there are none bigger than the Super Bowl. As for the game on Sunday, we hope we don’t get rain — that does pose a problem for the equipment and the crew — but look, we are covering the biggest sporting event in America.”
Arnold » “I agree with Jim and Lance. We will be ready. As for challenges, I would say since both the Colts and the Saints like to run the no-huddle offense we might have to be rather creative in our use of replays, but our crew has done Super Bowls and we have everything covered.”
What about the new toys that Barrow and Arnold will be using on the game?
CBS will feature six high-speed cameras, known as Super Vision, which will be in both hard and hand-held configurations located on the field, in the stands and on sideline carts. Each camera will have the ability to shoot 300-500 frames per second (normal cameras shoot 60 fps) in 1080i high-definition format. These Vision Research Phantom V-640 cameras are supplied by Inertia Unlimited and are particularly used in determining questionable calls on the field (fumbles, receptions, out-of-bounds, etc.) from all different angles.
The graphics will be enhanced. In addition to the regular first-down line, Sports Vision will calibrate five other cameras with the first-down line — including the Skycam and endzone cameras. Eye Vision will be utilized as a multi-dimensional tool for Simms’ analysis. Given the situation of a field goal or an extra-point conversion that passes above the goal posts, virtual extensions of the goal posts can be added to determine the flight path of the ball and whether the kick was good or not.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.
