From Sports Video Group

If it’s Super Bowl time, it’s also time for Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment Productions (VWSE Productions) to once again make sure fans in the stands have a top-quality in-stadium experience, courtesy of its own 10-person team, a total production team of nearly 80, a cutting-edge video-control room, and Daktronics LED videoboards.

“It’s great,” says Bob Becker, EVP, Van Wagner BSN Productions, of the opportunity to once again work in one of the nation’s newest and most technically advanced stadium control rooms (BSN has been onsite for Pac-12 Championship games and also the NHL Winter Classic.) “It’s nice to come to a new control room with brand-new shiny equipment that allows us to take our efforts to the next level.”

The video-control room, located in the suite tower in the northwest corner of the stadium, is actually a two-room configuration, with front-bench and back-bench areas separated by a hallway (only the front bench has an actual view of the playing field). The facility, designed by WJHW and systems integrator Diversified Systems, features a Sony MVS7000 production switcher and Evertz DreamCatcher replay servers will cut images from 14 Sony cameras, as well as from three GoPro cameras, which will be scattered around the stadium to capture fan reactions and transfer the signal to the control room via WiFi.

“We used [GoPro cameras] in the NFL games in London, and they were such a hit we decided to bring them over here,” says Becker. “It’s a gonzo style of shooting, where you just let things happen.”

The Daktronics scoreboard will be operated in a 3:1 aspect ratio with an A show taking place on two-thirds of the screen and a B show on the other third.

“The A show will show the game, replays, and highlights while the B show has game-in-progress stats, notes, and a heavy program of character-generated elements,” says Becker. “So, instead of having a traditional lower-third graphic on the A show, we can do a full slab of game stats, notes, and headshots.”

This marks the 31st Super Bowl that has featured VWSE Productions (formerly known as Big Screen Productions) overseeing the in-venue fan experience, and Becker says that, every year, the goal has been to take the production up a notch. Super Bowl 50 provides plenty of great production angles, and the team has responded with highlights from some of the best Super Bowls and more.

“Every year is different, and, this year, the beauty of the 50th anniversary is, it gives us a chance to look back at so many Super Bowls,” he says. “And we’ll still celebrate the season with some of the great moments and plays of the year.”

The video work will also be seen outside of the stadium. Interactive videos will be available to fans in interactive kiosks along the 50th Mile in Super Bowl City in San Francisco. And fans being transported to the game in buses will be able to watch a video on previous Super Bowls.

“One of the great things is getting to meet new people every year and work with them, and the people here at Levi’s® Stadium are great,” says Becker. “It opens my eyes to the way others do things, and it’s a great team effort. We’re blessed and excited to be doing this again.”

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