Behind the Broadcast: A Special Report on CSS’s A-Sun Coverage

- J. Andrew Lockwood -
Senior Editor of The Bear Zone/ Sports Columnist
james.andrew.lockwood@student.mercer.edu

            Their trailers move up and down the highways late every night.  Most weeks of the year, they’re at seven different stadiums or arena across the nation, broadcasting the events we watch on ESPN, FSN, or CSS.  It’s not exactly glamorous, but it’s necessary work, especially for a nation that consumes sports like America does.  While it’s intensive and tiring work, broadcasting for a major network isn’t your run-of-the-mill job either. 

            Maybe that’s what makes it so interesting to watch, especially when the large broadcasting trailers pull in next to the University Center.  Last month when CSS aired the Mercer women’s home game against in-state rival Kennesaw State, the Cluster as well as the Mercer ASun.TV staff got a behind the scenes look at what goes on behind the production. 

            The only noticeable faces from the broadcast were play-by-play and color commentators Paul Crane and Robin Muller.  While they were the only two outside faces on the broadcast, there were close to 15 others working during the course of the game to provide the different camera angles, stats, and graphics we’re so accustomed to seeing.  Coming from Hattiesburg, Mississippi the night before after broadcasting the Ole Miss upset over Kentucky, the broadcasting crew arrived in Macon mid-afternoon and began setting up their equipment several hours before the slated 9pm tip-off. 

            Five cameras positioned all of the University Center fed live shots into the broadcasting trailer where two directors managed the live shots as well as the flash graphics, stats, score bar, and other subtleties that popped up during the broadcast.  Inside the broadcasting trailer, two others managed all of the stats that popped up during the broadcast from an Excel spreadsheet.  Yet another controlled the 54 audio channels while other assistants provided real-time clock and scoring data. 

            It was impressive to say the least.  The coordination and split second decisions of the directors determined the course of the broadcast and while it appeared to be just another broadcast when watching in on live television, it seemed to be controlled chaos when in the broadcasting trailer.  Who knew that all of the stats you see on a player when he or she heads to the free throw line come from a $100,000 piece of equipment that turns stats from an Excel spreadsheet into graphical matrices that overlay a camera shot?  The trailer and the equipment had the likes of ‘NASA’ written all over it.  Most of the behind-the-scenes guys seemed to function with the help of their favorite energy drink.  If you asked a them though, they’d just say it was another day at the office.

            And so it was just another day at the office.  The Mercer women won a closely contested match against Kennesaw at Whiteout Night, but to the crew, it was just another game.  They would know best anyways.  They’d be in another arena in some other part of the country the next night doing it all again.  Such is the life behind the broadcast.