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NFL Films Retains Its Name as It Goes Digital


Jeff Wexler

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- from New York Times article

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For 50 years, NFL Films has built its reputation by immersing viewers in a cinematic experience unlike watching games on television. Spiraling footballs, muddy linemen battling at the line of scrimmage, wired coaches, leaping receptions and vapor rising from bald heads looked like Hollywood movies, especially when augmented with martial music and over-the-top narration by baritone voices.

 

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... But that era is about to end: starting this season, NFL Films will shoot all regular-season and postseason games with digital video cameras.

 
“This is revolutionary,” said Howard Katz, the chief operating officer of NFL Films. “We’ll still be called NFL Films even if we’re not shooting with film.”
 
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NFL Films used to be one of Kodak's biggest customers, consuming millions of feet of 16mm negative a year. I can remember them telling me as recently as 6-7 years ago that digital "couldn't give us the detail we needed in slow motion." Obviously, that's no longer true.

 

Definitely one of those pivotal technological sea changes.

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And the Amira can do 200fps in 1080 HD, which is more than enough to see subtle details in slo-mo NFL plays. To me, I think great HD looks better than the 16mm negative I worked with over the last 20 years, at least in terms of sharpness and stability. Color and dynamic range... I'd still give the edge to film, but not by a gigantic margin.

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From ARRI News

 

The New York Times recently profiled National Football League (NFL) Films' transition to digital. The award-winning production company will shoot regular-season and postseason games on the ARRI AMIRA. NFL Films evaluated a variety of cameras before purchasing a total of 30 AMIRAs. The documentary-style camera is optimized for handheld, single operation with the ability to shoot up to 200 frames per second.

 

From capturing bone-crushing tackles to the ballet-like grace of a wide receiver, NFL Films has won over 100 Sports Emmys. The team of shooters, sound mixers, editors and more, continually elevate sports cinematography into emotionally engaging content. Reporter Richard Sandomir of the New York Times writes:

 

"For 50 years, NFL Films has built its reputation by immersing viewers in a cinematic experience unlike watching games on television. Spiraling footballs, muddy linemen battling at the line of scrimmage, wired coaches, leaping receptions and vapor rising from bald heads looked like Hollywood movies, especially when augmented with martial music and over-the-top narration by baritone voices…"

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