Overnight at the IceDen!

That’s a wrap on Florida Panthers Media Day! Our crew worked with both the team and the broadcast partner Bally Sports Florida to provide AV support for the pre-season shoot. It took place at the Florida Panthers IceDen this year and call time was set for 1:30am; we rolled right through from set to show to strike. It was a full day, and a very successful one.

On the team side, we placed a 13’ x 24’ center rear projection screen behind which we double stacked two 4K 22,000-lumen laser projectors to provide backdrop imagery for the players. We built two lighting trees to hit the set along with ample backlight and movers overhead to provide additional effects.

The camera we used was a techno-crane jib that was able to quickly and efficiently zoom in so we could capture player gladiator shots from multiple distances.

For Bally Sports Florida, we crewed an audio operator to mix and patch sound into their camera records for marketing one-liners. A lighting operator and two general technicians assisted in dressing their set with up-lighting and Astera tubes to supplement a black netting backdrop. They had an additional social media set in the locker room where we added some scenic elements for those player interviews.

Along with the nuances of a long schedule and an overnight load-in, other factors we had to keep in mind were safety and communication. For the team set, we were working directly on the ice, so we had to be very careful while moving gear around. We provided 12 radios for our crew and for the people the team had enlisted to help direct the players around.

Thank you to all of our partners at the Florida Panthers and Bally Sports Florida for trusting us with this event once again! Go Cats!!!