NEW YORK – Lighting programmer Matthew Piercy and LD Michael Franks helped the NFL Draft tackle the challenge of breaking into primetime TV with a series of live broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 and the NFL Network from New York's Radio City Music Hall. Franks, who heads bicoastal Michael Franks Productions, marked his 14th consecutive year with the draft. He teamed with Piercy for the second year in a row to design and program the shows.
"I love the challenges the draft presents as it continues to grow," said Franks. "We were lighting a TV event in a theatrical venue that combined elements of a live awards show and a talk show with the added component of a red carpet."
Franks required extensive lighting programming to cover all the areas he was responsible for: the red carpet and marquee, the main stage where the draft announcements were made, the green room out of sight upstage where the draft prospects waited, broadcast sets for ESPN and the NFL Network raised on platforms and situated in the orchestra just below the balconies, and other interview areas.
"There were a lot of separate elements, many of them happening at the same time," said Piercy. "Michael and I started talking in late January about the changes to the draft since last year. He wants to make a great show and has lots of ideas how to accomplish that, but is also open to my ideas of how to get the best results. That makes him really fun to work for."
Franks noted that Piercy's experience as a lighting designer as well as a programmer was an asset for the production. "We were lighting a theatrical event for TV, and there were many layers to it. I only needed to say a few words about something I wanted to try, and Matthew immediately got it and implemented it."
Franks and Piercy were challenged by a tight schedule that featured a three-day load in with 12 to 14 hour days followed by one rehearsal day. Scharff Weisberg provided the large conventional and moving light complement.
Outside Radio City Music Hall, five Zap Technology Littlebig 3.5K lights were deployed on top of the marquee to give the feel of a movie premiere. They were programmed with a grandMA console to run in loops over the three-day period. Thirteen 1.2K ARRI HMI fresnels and four 1.2K ARRI HMI PARs illuminated the red carpet.
Inside the theater, the conventional lighting rig included ETC Source 4 Lekos, assorted PARs and Fresnels and 1K and 2K softlights.
The Vari*Lite moving light rig included eight VL3500 spots, 12 VL3000 spots 12 VL1000 spots, 16 VL3000 washes and 6 VL500 washes. Used mainly to bathe the theater's walls with color and pattern, they also lit the main stage, served as backgrounds and enhanced the draft announcements with ballyhoos. Eight Martin MAC 700 spots and 10 Atomic Strobes lent an awards-show look as draft picks walked on the stage.
The expansive green room was lit 360º with conventional fixtures so cameras could shoot the 18 top players and their families from any angle and capture reaction shots.
Piercy controlled the majority of the conventional and moving lights on a grandMA 2 console.
"The grandMA 2 offers some great features like a new effects engine and big touch screens," he said. "It was a natural transition for me from the original grandMA.
"I had to keep track of four main sets as well as a number of standups and interview areas," Piercy noted. "The executors and executor buttons let me keep backgrounds and sweeping jib shots fresh and interesting over the course of the show."
"Matthew never looks at anything that comes up as a problem," Franks said. "He just asks how he can make it better."
John Trowbridge was Franks' production electrician for the NFL Draft. Matthew Piercy works with Vibrant Design.
For more information, visit www.vibrantdesign.tv and www.mfranksproductions.com.
