Ferro Productions

Wednesday in Indy

Team Ferro had quite the day here in Indianapolis on this Super Bowl Wednesday.   The morning consisted of two shoots: an ENG at the team practice facility with NYG Equipment Manager Joe Skiba, and a fully produced sit-down discussion at the team hotel with Howard Cross and the Giants Tight Ends.  The crew stopped down for lunch around noon, and it was at that time when some unanticipated news was relayed to the guys.

Today marked the first day of rehearsal for the Super Bowl Halftime Show at Lucas Oil Stadium.  NFL Officials informed the crew that they needed to have their entire set removed from the stadium by 3 PM because the building was going to be used exclusively for halftime rehersals for the remainder of the week.  This was quite the curveball for Ferro.  The breathtaking set at the stadium that took the crew four hours to build now needed to be removed, transported to the hotel, and rebuilt… all before 6 o’clock.  WHY 6 o’clock?  Well, every night this week the crew is shooting Giants Road to the Super Bowl for MSG, and the show needs to be taped, edited, and sent to “The Garden” via FTP all before it airs at 10:30 PM.

Keeping his calm, Executive Producer Joe Scacciaferro held a brief production meeting detailing exactly what needed to be done in order to get the show out in time for MSG.  After the meeting broke it was off to the races.  In little over an hour the crew managed to get to the stadium and strike the entire set.  Most of the equipment was able to go in the crew’s van, but there were two pieces that wouldn’t fit.  One of those being the Jib Camera.  It was time for a leap of faith.  Two members of the Ferro team literally walked the 13 foot CamMate Jib five blocks through the crowded streets of Indianapolis to the team hotel.

Where there’s a will there’s a way… and the crew proved that by transforming a hotel meeting room into a fully functional television set in two hours.  From the back drop to the control center, and everything in between… the set was built and the tapes were rolling by 6 o’clock.  After the show closed, the XD tapes were handed over to the Ferro/NYG editors and the show was sucessfully passed on to MSG in time for its 10:30 slot.

Another day is in the books here in Indianapolis as Super Bowl 46 approaches.  Stay tuned for much more here on the site AND make sure you visit Giants.com tomorrow to check out the Ferro produced “Social Media Livestream” at 6:30 PM….

Follow @FerroProduction

Film Breakdown: Cruz Control and Technical Analysis Capture

Perusing story

after story across all the media, the focus of coverage is starting to shift from the arrival festivities to the much more serious “strategy and analysis” article.

If you had ever wanted to know the specifics of the complex and fascinating system the NFL Competition Committee requires each team to use to shoot games, home and away, from a sideline and endzone perspective capturing the alignment and movement of all 22 players participating in every play, we wrote a pretty cool story about just that. The stuff shot is also fed to the Officiating Crew for contested plays as well as to the “Color Guys” on the telestrator.

All that content and more end up of the CGE Network. Read on and learn just how.

Ferro has a fascinating feature story written December 27, 2011 Read It Here.
Technical vs Technical vs Technology by Vic DiCorbo… It’s full of technical facts about the equipment and process and makes an interesting comparison of two types of “Technical Analysis”

Enjoy the 24 EXCLUSIVE behind the scenes photo’s as well

Follow @FerroProduction

Day 2 #SB46

Production was in full swing on Tuesday for the Ferro crew here in Indianapolis.  After the guys worked into the late hours of Monday night building their set  at the stadium (control center, audio configuration, lighting, stage settings, and cameras) it was time for a brief slumber back at the hotel, followed by an early wake up call.

Subsequently the crew made their way back over to the site of Super Bowl XLVI  to begin a long day of taping.  The first shoot featured former Giants Linebacker Carl Banks and four current rookie linebackers.  Having five people on set is something that the Ferro crew does do too often, especially on a three camera shoot.   But never the less, the two Sony PDW 700’s on sticks (tripods)  and one Sony PDW 700 on a 13 foot CamMate Jib proved to be the perfect ingredients for an unblemished production.

At this point in the morning Media Day was occuring on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium.  Simultaneous to the crew’s shows being taped on set, there was also a Ferro ENG crew on the field equipped with a Sony EX3, audio mixer, and boom pole.  Most of the footage captured by the on-field crew was one on one player interviews, and media avails (media surrounds one player and interrogates him until they have received enough info for their stories/shows).  Content from these shoots will air on a few of Ferro Productions television broadcasts this week, as well as on the web at Giants.com.

Meanwhile back at the set…

Bob Papa had his weekly sit down with Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin to talk about the match up with New England.  The discussion can be seen on a special Super Bowl edition of Opening Drive Live this Sunday on MSG.

Following Coach Coughlin’s exit from the set was the taping of Papa’s Perspective.  In this two minute weekly segment Bob Papa shares his opinions of the upcoming game, and what he thinks are the keys to a Giant victory.  Papa’s Perspective can be viewed on Giants Access Blue, and also on Verizon FIOS VOD (video on demand).

AT THIS POINT IN TIME the crew is about half way done with taping for the day.  Next on the list was the MSG show Giants Online.  During the show Bob Papa sits down with NYG VP of Communications, Pat Hanlon, as well as two New York reporters to discuss Giants football.  For this weeks episode, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News and Paul Schwartz of the New York Post joined the set at Lucas Oil Stadium.  During the season this show gets captured by four cameras: three studio pedestal cameras and one Jib camera. This week required an extra effort from Ferro’s Technical Director and Camera Operators because there were only three cameras on set.  No worries though… as the show reached it’s closing Jib bump, it was another one in the books.

Now it was time for a well deserved lunch break.  The crew took a short stroll to the team hotel and relaxed for an hour as they enjoyed their sandwiches.  After a quick trip to Starbucks it was back to the Stadium for the final shoot of day 2.  It was a live to tape show that featured hosts Paul Dottino and Anita Marks.  The show, titled Giants Road to the Super Bowl,  provides an in-depth run down of the days events in Indianapolis and features press conference footage and  player interviews captured by Ferro crew members.  You can watch MSG each and every night this week at 10:30 to check it out.

That’s all for tonight folks.  Stay tuned until tomorrow for much more … and  follow us on Twitter @FerroProduction for tons of behind the scenes photos this week!

Follow @FerroProduction

View more photos from our Facebook

 

FOLLOW Media Day Schedule 4 BTS Exclusives

Twitter is our tool of choice on Media Day feel free to follow @FerroProduction. We’re moving fast and will be Tweeting pics every chance we get.

Media Day is ALWAYS a crazy fun day as things are moving at breakneck speed. As the Ferro Crew is completely engrossed in doing the work of the work, FOLLOW @FerroProduction on Twitter for EXCLUSIVE live photo’s taken from a behind the scene lens eye view of what the production team is seeing…

We thought we would share the Ferro “Actual” production schedule we are working from today. It’ll give you a glimpse of what the “work of the work” really looks like on paper.

Ferro Schedule for Media Day

Crew Call in Production Room.

Follow @FerroProduction

Touchdown Giants

The day has finally come. The New York Giants and Ferro Productions have landed in Indianapolis and are ready for the business trip of a lifetime. The crew was equipped with two Sony EX 3 cameras for the flight, which were used to capture the highly exclusive player arrivals on board the plane for Indy. That footage will be used for the teams web coverage, as well as this week’s broadcast programming.

Following the speedy

hour and forty minute flight it was time to check-in at the hotel and receive credentials and room keys. After a brief dinner this evening, the Ferro team will be making a trip over to Lucas Oil Stadium to build their set for Giants Online (MSG), which will be taped tomorrow morning. Immediately after the conclusion of Giants Online tomorrow, it will be time for the infamous “Media Day.” Ferro will be gathering player and coach interviews at Media Day to be used for their programming, all in the midst of a full schedule filled with simultaneous productions.

Stay tuned for much more behind the scenes stories and photos from Indianapolis, here, on FerroProductions.com

Follow @FerroProduction

One Small Step For Manning, One GIANT Game for Fan-Kind

Fast approaching and already fully scheduled out for Ferro Productions, this Super Bowl rematch of 2008, between the New York Football Giants and The New England Patriots may just be an “air show” of events both on and off the field.  Specifically for opposing quarterbacks, Eli Manning and Tom Brady and an “air show” of a different kind, behind the scenes, for the Ferro Production crew as they bring you exclusive NY Giants coverage for this Super Bowl XLVI.

Eli Manning is looking toward his second ring, which will one-up brother Payton, and for a majority of the Ferro crew it’s their second time to bring broadcast excellence to the fans from what is arguably the biggest stage in the world.  This year being Super Bowl XLVI at the Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN.

Twenty Four times in Super Bowl history a quarterback has been named MVP.  When covering an event such as this, Ferros’ entire team has to bring their A game and each perform their individual Most Valuable Player role to perfection as there aren’t 4 downs when it comes to advancing broadcast coverage.  Every shot has to be right, every angle covered, all audio heard, together, one, each his own MVP in relations to the rest. Kinda like the Zen of Super Bowl Production.

Often there is debate over which is most impressive, winning the NFL’s MVP or the Super Bowls MVP.  I believe for both on and off the field, in production and play, attaining MVP status at the Super Bowl level is second to none.  Why? Because for each team (Giants and Ferro) it meant that for one individual on the Giants and for the entire Ferro crew, operating as one unit, their contributions were the best of the best at the biggest of football sporting event, when the league with all it’s national and global attention has been distilled down to a “league” of 2.  That’s a lot of eyes and focus once spread out across this great football nation, now culminating in a high pressure crescendo week that culminates in the presentation of sporting excellence and production excellence on Sunday.  That’s just the right amount of pressure to either make champions perform or wanna-be’s fold. It’s where leadership, experience and teamwork matters.

Much like the fine example of grace and leadership under pressure, Eli Manning demonstrated, after the 20 hits from The 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, he was able to manage the pressure, keep focused and lead his team to a successful outcome.

With that “One Small Step For Manning” on and off the plane today, let the “One Giant Game” week begin for all Fan-Kind, both on and off the field.

It was just after Super Bowl XLII that Peyton Manning put out there that his brother Eli would win more than one Super Bowl.  Here’s to #2 and accurate predictions.

The very best to Eli, the entire NY Giants and everyone behind the scenes at Ferro…

Follow @FerroProduction

NFL, SNL, Baldwin, Eisen

We at Ferro have always appreciated the talent and chops Alec Baldwin has as an

actor and after listening to last weeks Rich Eisen Podcast: Alec Baldwin and Mike Mayock, may we take a moment for an ATTABOY! slap on the back for BOTH Alec and his brother Daniel who we’ve learned each can talk football with the best of ‘em!!!!!

Follow @FerroProduction

Day of Rest

He said on This day yagara pills I Rest ..

viagra

With the playoff madness behind them and a “Super” week of madness in front of them the Ferro crew takes some well-earned down time.

Make sure you stop back tomorrow as the advance crew heads out to Indy to scout locations and prep equipment for the crews arrival. Shadowing their flight out is a 27’ box truck filled with enough equipment to produce a live nightly wrap up show airing Tuesday – Friday on MSG, a live to tape round table discussion with NY’s top beat reporters co-hosted by Bob Papa and Pat Halon, a special Super Bowl edition of Access Blue (a year round magazine show covering the NYG of the field), a live pre and post game show on game day and dozens of live web shows and segments posting on the Giants website.

Stay tuned …. the best is botox online yet to egg white mucus clomid come!

 

Follow @FerroProduction

The Show Must Go On

In a facility built to be a simple 3 camera, 25’x25’ studio with a 2 channel Sony switcher and limited transmission abilities, the Ferro team was challenged to produce multiple live network telecasts while still maintaining their normal weekly production schedule.

Distillation and intoxication just about captures the essence and climate of what’s happening behind the scenes in production on the march toward Super Bowl XLVI.

XXXII NFL teams distilled down to the essential II – The New York Football Giants vs. the New England Patriots and the show must go on. LITERALLY! Thanks to the well-oiled machine that IS Ferro Productions, with incredible speed and accuracy the Ferro team aka the Giants’ Broadcast Department prepares for the trip to Indianapolis to bring its award winning content, serving the demands of the Giants, the NFL and worldwide media.

“Our patch bay [in the control room] was being completely overworked to the point where we had to dedicate one Engineer to just monitor the router so we didn’t lose any feeds,” Kiley said.

Jamie Kiley and Dave Ryan in the control room faced perhaps the biggest challenge of the day as they were responsible for supplying live feeds to MSG, ESPN, and the NFL Network simultaneously IN ADDITION TO their role in producing our, Ferros’, usual programming as most of the crew worked in the field building and shooting press conferences.

Mr. Kiley, director / acting EIC, and Mr. Ryan, audio engineer, both consummate professionals, are no strangers to what it takes to air a press conference live to a network while the growing attention at the Giants facilities left the two with a bit more to manage this time around.

“We had to patch several different video and audio configurations from multiple parts of the building,” Kiley commented.

With press conferences being held in the facility’s auditorium as well as the team’s field house, Kiley and Ryan had to make sure the video and audio signals from each press conference where making their way back to Ferro’s control room and then out to their respective networks. All pretty much par for the course except this time some networks needed a fully produced version with graphics, intro and close. While some just needed mixed audio and others requested all raw elements.

The bonus round came, in having to send out all these various configurations in four different formats. ALL Simultaneously! AHHH INTOXICATING, doing what a pro does best under pressure, all performed perfectly.

Naturally this did not make Ryan’s job easier as he’s mixing one press conference sent live to MSG, while making sure the NFL Network was getting their audio embedded with the video from their feed.

Ryan was also responsible for making sure that the NFL Network’s talent could hear his network correspondents through his IFB earpiece.

And would the Networks like their content “shaken or stirred”!!!!!!

With great concentration and flawless execution, the crew in the control room have essentially “just one last sip” to have made it through the day problem free.

As things wound down and the Ferro crew prepared to shoot their final show of the day in studio, a concluding live hit with ESPN remained in the field house. With the end in sight, a feeling overcomes all. That of an event reminiscent of peering down into the Martini glass and contemplating just how good it’s going to be to finish off the very last olive on the skewer. The task of patching this hit to the network was married to the additional responsibility of Ferro moving one of the studio cameras to the field house for the ESPN crew to use for the said hit. Seems a bit excessive? Maybe, yet when you have to send a video signal a great distance from the camera’s location to the control room, sometimes you have no choice, this being one of them.

A simple solution for sending a video signal anywhere would be the use of a copper. Although, at some point you reach a distance between A and B that is too much for copper to handle, in times like these – it’s best to turn to fiber.

Fiber cables, such as those used by the Sony XDcam 1400s in our studio, have the ability to send video signals farther and faster without any signal break up. Moving the ped camera out of it’s home in the studio for a little while was well worth the extra effort. Just like using Olive’s to make a Martini and Onions to make a Gibson. The subtle change to the garnish makes all the difference to the basic texture, flavor and composite of the cocktail. We at Ferro are glad to have Onions and Olives, Copper and Fiber to make our mix perfect for public consumption.

Follow @FerroProduction

Final Cut for Indy

Preparation and execution make a great recipe for success in television.  Producing a brilliant idea, Directing a smooth circulating show, and capturing it all on camera… BUT, there is still one very important piece of the puzzle missing.  Let us not forget about the designers and editors that are the de facto finishing pieces to the puzzle.

When Ferro travels to Indianapolis on Monday they will not only be bringing a full production team, but a small group of post production specialists as well.  The crew has been granted full access to a 20×20 room at the hotel which will be transformed into an edit station for the week. Transporting thousands of dollars worth of computers and software to set up a temporary edit room is nothing new for the guys at Ferro.

“It’s going to be very similar to training camp every year in Albany.  Setting three full edit stations and cutting footage all day and night” says Ferro Productions Graphic Designer, Matthew Swensen.  Along with editing,  Matthew will be building graphics for a few of Ferro’s shows during Super Bowl Week.  There will also be two additional Mac Book Pro laptops on location with the crew that will strictly be used for editing on Final Cut Pro.

With ten shows to produce next week, the Ferro Post Production Crew may be facing a few sleepless nights in Indianapolis. But, as Matthew Swensen shares, “This is what we live for.”

Follow @FerroProduction

The Giants Top 10 Pivotal Plays of the Year & Cablecams Role as Eye In The Sky

The Giants top 10 pivotal plays of the years, per the New York Post and what it takes to get a real life view from an unreal perspective. Only through the evolution of technology and the well honed technical craftsmanship of men like Don Canfield a world class Motion Control Camera Operator, are we able to enjoy play after play from a “God’s-eye view” of the game.

 

Ferro Productions has an excellent featured article “6 DEGREES FROM ANIMATION“. Check it out!

Eli Speaks: You Listen

When Eli Manning speaks, the Giants listen.  That led us here at Ferro Productions to think about exactly how we make sure  when Eli talks at the podium during press conferences, the whole world is able to listen.

Prepping for Indianapolis

East Rutherford, NJ- In case you haven’t heard, the New York Giants are headed to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis for a rematch with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Ferro Productions will be shipping out to Indy on Monday for a monumental week of production, therefore the crew will need this entire week to be spent in preparation. There has been a detailed strategy laid out by Executive Producer, Joe Scacciaferro, for the crew to abide by during the next two weeks. This will be Joe’s third time working the Super Bowl.

The run-down for Indianapolis has been written down on the crew’s white board in the studio at the Timex Performance Center. This includes a preliminary production schedule for the whole week, starting with the plane

landing up until the end of the final press conference after the confetti has been dropped.

Ferro will be producing ten, yes TEN shows on location next week, along with covering game action and press conferences. This means a LOT of equipment. From cameras to clothes pins, everything must get faxed out to make sure it is working properly before it is packed.

In addition to in depth equipment checks and scheduling decisions, the crew was still responsible for the entire press conference yesterday. The stage, back drop, podium, chairs, risers, audio, and live camera feed for NFL Network… all supplied by the crew. Following the 12:30 PM press conference it was back to prepping until the early hours of night.

Stay tuned for more…

Follow @FerroProduction

View more photos from our facebook

 

Candlestick Madness

Follow @FerroProduction

San Francisco, CA- Game day was finally upon us yesterday in the Bay Area.  It was an early morning for the Ferro crew, who made the bus ride from the hotel to “the stick” hours before kick off.  Although they say it never rains in California, the Niners welcomed the Giants and nation’s media with a watery hello.

Once the crew arrived on location at the stadium it was time for business.  After changing out of their suits into game gear, Ferro unpacks all of the equipment and scouts out the field.  The initial field walk about found conditions very challenging, not only for playing football, but for production purposes as well.  The stadium grounds crew worked very diligently to remove as much excess water as they could before the game began.

While all this is going on, the major networks were beginning to unwrap stages and cameras for the numerous pre-game shows leading up to the championship game.

Beyond the weather issues, Candlestick Park holds various production challenges.  Being that it is one of the oldest stadiums in the league, the basic infrastructure is simply not 2012 media friendly.  To give you all an example: Ferro’s staging area for equipment was also used as the Giants team training room, and post-game press conference area!

As it would turn out, through all of the fog and rain, the New York Giants and Ferro Productions were able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The G-Men walked away from San Francisco with the NFC Championship and Ferro walked away with a flawless day of production.

Tune in to Ferro’s regularly scheduled MSG and My9 Programing this week to check out all of the Post Season coverage, and stay tuned for much more from the Giants Road to the Superbowl, here, on FerroProductions.com

Follow @FerroProduction

View more photos from our facebook

Welcome to the Bay

Follow @FerroProduction

San Francisco, CA– The New York

Football Giants and Ferro Productions crew shipped off to the west coast yesterday for the long awaited NFC Championship game. For this trip Ferro has increased the crew’s size to cover the anticipated increase in player interviews, behind the scenes coverage, field level game action, and (hopefully) the championship post-game celebration. After the crew settled in at the hotel last night there was a brief production meeting held to reiterate everyones jobs and responsibilities for the game at Candlestick Park this evening. Following the meeting the crew broke off for some R&R in downtown San Francisco. Stay tuned for more updates and insight, and enjoy the game!

**Follow our twitter @ferroproduction during the game for sideline pics from Candlestick**

Follow @FerroProduction

Next Stop: San Francisco

 

Although the NFL Playoffs officially began on January 7th, the New York Giants have been in playoff mode since week 16 of the regular season. The Giants were able to overcome Rex Ryan and the Jets in that week 16 matchup on Christmas Eve and Big Blue hasn’t looked back.

Since then they have steam rolled over the Cowboys, Falcons, and Packers. With each Giants victory comes more madness. Although the team is accustomed to the New York media all season long, the playoffs introduce a whole new plethora of television and press coverage.

Seeing as though Ferro Productions is the exclusive broadcast provider for the New York Giants, not only does the team come under the national spotlight, the Ferro crew does as well. Game day becomes a bit more challenging because of the over abundance of media, and because of the sheer chaos that is playoff football. But, the real challenges come during the week leading up to the game.

On top of the seven shows that need to get produced and recorded during the week there are a few new responsibilities that Ferro tackles come playoff time. Whether it be extra work for press conferences, or player satellite hits for networks such as ESPN and YES, there is never a dull moment.

 

The actual coverage of the press conferences hasn’t changed, it is the

location and set up that have been switched. They have now been moved from the auditorium of the Timex Performance Center to the Field House (indoor practice field). At the conclusion of each practice, Ferro has a total of 15 minutes to set the whole press conference before it goes live to TV. This not only involves technical set up (lighting, audio, camera) but also the setting of the stage, podium, seating (40 chairs), and risers for the media to station their cameras.

 

Madness? Yes. But truly no match for the hard work and knowledge of the Ferro crew.

This weekend the Giants travel to San Francisco to take on the 49er’s in the NFC Championship Game. FerroProductions.com will be keeping you informed on all of the events leading up to the game this week, so stay tuned for more!

Follow @FerroProduction

Synth Evolution

It’s difficult to listen to music today and ignore the dominating presence of electronics that stretches across almost every genre.

Although some artists might rely more on electronic instruments to craft their sound than others, it is rare these days to find a musician who is unfamiliar with synthesizer technology.

Over thirty years ago it was the early analog synthesizers that would start a movement proving the art form behind electronics in the music world.

In the upcoming weeks Ferro Productions.com will dive into the history of synthesizer technology and bring you face to face with some of the unique minds that introduced synthesizers to the digital world and pioneered this timeless technical art form.

 

Follow @FerroProduction

A Real Look At Reality TV

In entertainment today it seems that many are quick to discredit reality TV without considering the skill it takes to produce it while facing the challenges that are met along the way.

 

For Ferro Productions, who have produced pilots for reality programming such as “At The Gym…” and “Making It Kool”, reality TV is going into a situation with certain characters expecting to get a certain finished product, all on the spot.

 

While dealing with non-professional actors in situations that can turn unexpected at any second in environments that that can quickly become unfriendly to a production crew, it does not seem far off to say that the true art behind reality TV is the art of creating something from nothing right in front of your eyes.

Follow @FerroProduction

A Giant Legacy

East Rutherford, NJ–Earlier this week Ferro had a crew on location at MetLife Stadium for a shoot with Bob Papa. On the second level of the stadium lies the prestigious and limited access Giants Legacy Club, and that’s exactly where the crew was. Essentially a hall of fame for the organization, the Legacy Club holds priceless pieces of memorabilia including Super Bowl trophies, legendary jerseys used in game play, and even old letters written by the late Wellington Mara.

Follow @FerroProduction

NYG Radio Broadcast

Producing a two hour pre-game show, a three hour game broadcast, and a two hour post-game show for New York Giants football games is no walk in the park.  All you have to do is ask John Schmeelk, because he does it every week.  John is not only a host and reporter for the Giants on wFAN Sports Radio 66 during the week, he is the Managing Producer for all game day radio broadcasts.

 

Ferro sat down with John to discuss how he prepares for and executes seven continuous hours of live production for the most popular sports radio station in the New York City metro area.  The discussion included insight into the technology that is used, the people that are involved, and the knowledge that is needed in order to be successful. The full feature story of John Schmeelk and the New York Giants radio broadcast will be coming soon, exclusively here on FerroProductions.com.
Follow @FerroProduction

NFL Play60 Event

West New York, NJ — Ferro Productions covered an NFL Play60 event in Northeastern New Jersey on Tuesday.  The New York Giants teamed up with The United Way and Play60 to help donate a youth fitness area at Public School 1 in West New York.  Chris Snee, Jake Ballard, Bear Pascoe, and Kevin Boothe were there to cut the ribbon at the new playground and also help instruct a group of excited students through a series of speed and agility drills.

Ferro used a Sony EX 3 camera and one audio package to capture the day.  Following the ribbon cutting ceremony there was a large group photo taken of the Giants players with local school and Play60 officials.  There were numerous media outlets on location covering the event, therefore it was a bit chaotic.  Amidst the media madness, Ferro’s Supervising Producer was able to conduct a few on-camera interviews with members of the School Board, along with Play60 and United Way members.

NFL Play60’s main goal is to end childhood obesity and to have all children get at least sixty minutes of exercise per day.  Ferro is humbled to cover an event that is aimed at such an honorable cause.  You can catch the footage from the Play60 event on the local Giants Broadcast programming stations.

Follow @FerroProduction

Video-Game View on Life!

Captured the Running of the Bulls – Pamplona. Participated in 5 Olympics. Spotted at the Academy, MTV, BET and Kid’s Choice Awards. Hung with Paul McCartney, James Brown, Garth Brooks, Madonna, Metallica, The Stones, Black Eyed Peas and Celine Dion. On set with Batman, Catwoman, Spiderman and the Terminator. Arguably has the best seats in the house for Football, NASCAR, Boxing, Baseball, Hockey, Soccer, and Basketball.  Shot many a commercial. Fly’s 25 mph, 40 feet off the ground strung out with Kevlar!

Follow @FerroProduction

Audio: 9/11 Ten Year Ceremony

New York, NY– On September 11th, 2011 in downtown New York City, a ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9-11 was held honoring those who lost their lives that horrific morning a decade ago. The term Black Swan never had more meaning. In magnitude and solemnity this article in no way equates the events of 9-11 and our topic, the nexus is only that of a common binding principle and the fact that it was the background of a much smaller “Black Swan Event”

A Black Swan – an event that transforms the typical into the random and unexpected. And by unexpected we are speaking of an occurrence that deviates FAR beyond what is normally expected. Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his NY Times best selling book The Black Swan, a book about unpredictable events, which was reviewed as one of the twelve most influential books since World War II, focuses on randomness and it’s effects on probability. If what you’ve just read makes you want to “theoretically” learn more, BUY THE BOOK. Should you desire to experientially live in that world, GO INTO PRODUCTION!

On a this day of remembrance, a day which included the inaugural opening of the 9/11 Memorial Park, with commemorative speeches given by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Musical performances included some of the biggest names in the business. Michael Fortunato, a long time affiliate of Ferro Productions, was called upon to do the audio for such an important event. Much like all the important and major events Michael’s skills and trade craft have been called upon.

Fortunato, who’s role that day as the A2, (second assistant audio engineer) included the technical engineering and set up of the microphones and audio system used for the musical performances. Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Yo-Yo Ma counted on Mike’s years of experience, attention to detail and ability to figure out even the most complex matters on the fly. With miles of cables, hundreds of switches and thousands of lights and amps… the BLACK SWAN is always “which one”? Which one, in the myriad of planning, prepping, securing, checking and rechecking would be at the root cause of making all the work, NOT WORK! The answer is oh so obvious, postmortem. It was the ON switch, it’s always the ON switch and here’s is exactly how this black swan sang her song.

While James Taylor was on stage performing in front of thousands, initially there was no sound or signal coming out of his guitar. Fortunato knew that his audio set up was correct, there was only 1 ON switch that wasn’t directly in Mike’s line of fire, and that was the one ON Taylor’s guitar which, in fact, WASN’T ON. Michael literally crawled onto the stage and flipped the “ON” switch, ON the guitar, ON, and problem was solved. “The show must go ON” and Mike figured out exactly how to make it happen!

And so goes “another day in the office”. Not your regular office, rather an office that’s housed in random places, occurrences and events on a daily basis. Where predictability can only take you so far and field expediency (the ability to improvise, to be flexible enough to use ones knowledge creatively, audaciously and pragmatically) brings you back home at the end of the day.

For Michael Fortunato, this event held a very special place in his heart. ”I felt honored to help orchestrate an event that payed tribute to the brave men and women who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001.”

September 11th, 2001 a Black Swan Event America will never forget.

Follow @FerroProduction

Behind The Scenes at NYG

“FOOTBALL IS BACK!” as the collective sighs of relief are heard nationwide from a loyal, dedicated and often times rabid fan-base. Arguably, America’s most popular sport ends it’s lockout. To many people, many things.The NFL, in fact, will be hosting a 2011-2012 season. The FANS can pencil in the fact that they now have at least 16 confirmed “Dates” over 17 weeks, further to include an occasional Monday and Thursday reprieve.

For the PLAYERS it’s “GO TIME”! Vince Lombardi said of the game “Individual commitment to a group effort – thats what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” For Ferro Productions and it’s team, it’s back to work and it’s not that far of a stretch to apply Coach Lombardi’s words across the board to the inner workings of Ferro.

Grant it, it’s not quite the pressure of loosing a football game in a stadium of thousands, however, it could easily be a fumble ON THE AIR viewed by millions. There’s nothing like pressure to motivate a true professional. In addition to a demanding schedule matched to that of the NFL’s, Ferro’s crew produces seven shows a week for the Giants, with and about the intensity of winning and loosing. Given the analogy of a teams playbook, flawless production and execution, often at a moments notice (read “calling an audible”) is mandatory to stay on top be it a professional football player or an individual team member of the Ferro production group.

With the Ferro crew producing eight shows a week for the Giants, let’s make that 128 shows, driven by 16 games over a “regular” season, it’s obvious there is an extraordinary level of intensity, responsibility and applied talent to produce that type and frequency of flawless programming.

As exclusive providers of broadcast programming for the New York Giants affording viewer’s the best possible coverage of their favorite football team, the Ferro crew’s schedule has to mirror, as well as work around and beyond, the schedule’s of the players and coaches while managing any restrictions of the physical space. While this might sound easy, some members of the crew assuredly will tell a different tale.

“It’s stressful when you have to wait for a player’s meeting to end so you can scramble to set up a full press conference in the team’s auditorium in less than ten minutes so it can be aired live on one of the most popular networks for New York sports [MSG Networks], but we get it done week after week,” expressed Dave Ryan, Ferro Productions lead audio engineer.

All season long, Ferro Productions will continue to produce all of it’s programing out of a state of the art broadcast studio located at the Timex Performance Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Of these shows, five are aired on MSG Networks, one on My9, and one on FIOS TV and Giants.com.

“Our feedback on all the Social Media frontiers (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and from Giant’s fans worldwide, send us the clear message that they enjoy viewing our shows as much as we enjoy creating them.” said Frank Scacciaferro, “There is no [ i ] in [team] while [work] shares not a single letter with [play], [game] nor [NFL]. What is the common ground for all, are the collective, individual and committed efforts that connect what we do for “work” as a team and company, up through to a societal level, hopefully making this world, by our work, a more civilized place.”
Follow @FerroProduction

The Parabolic Revolution

First know use: 1669. No way! It couldn’t be! The “parabolic microphone” wasn’t even around back then! EXACTLY! What was around back then was the first known use of the word PARABOLIC from the Late Latin parabola parable, so say’s Merrian-Webster. So what does that bit of trivia have to do with the parabolic revolution? Well it really sets the stage for going way back when, let’s see, when movies had no sound or even further back when amphitheaters, resembling the parabolic design, were built to let the crowd hear.

For clarity’s sake and material for another story, perhaps you, as I had thought the shape of an amphitheater was key to having audiences of up to 14,000 such as in the 4th century B.C. enjoy the shows at the theater in Epidaurus, Greece. Even the ‘nose bleed’ section at the top of the 55 semi-circular rows heard clearly, the unamplified offerings of the actors and musicians. It’s pretty easy to guess that with the technology available at the time, Polykleitos the Younger and builder, believed it was in the shape as well.

Well it wasn’t!!! So there! The secret is in the seats. Not where they were, rather WHAT they were. Researchers at the Georgetown Institute of Technology uncovered the filtering effects of limestone had minimized the crowds background noise by suppressing the low frequencies of voices while reflecting back the high-frequencies towards the audience to further enhance the effect. For those interested, the specifics can be further read about beyond the fact that with ultrasonic wave models, frequencies up to 500 hertz were lowered, and above 500 hertz remained undiminished.

Again I ask, so what’s that got to do with the Parabolic Revolution? I’ll tell you what, it’s through the parabolic revolution that the din of the crowd and sole or joint offerings of the commentators had taken on the dimension and impact, comparable only to that of the fateful day, October 6th, 1927 when the very first spoken words in a feature film were heard. Quite prophetically those very first words were “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” in the voice of Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer.

 

And more currently, over the past twenty years the parabolic microphone has been used in sports broadcasting to capture all of the up close and personal sounds of the games.

The parabolic microphone first arrived in sports broadcasting in the early eighties. In its early days the device was praised for its ability to pick up sound from great distances. While its use became prominent, it

was often overlooked due to its original design, which proved heavy (not quite amphitheater heavy) and difficult to use. Despite its flaws, hope was not lost for this new tool of the trade. By the mid-eighties, 1980’s not 1680’s, most major networks in sports broadcasting had turned much of their focus onto improving game day audio and for the first time , personalizing sound as if everyone in the audience or stadium or arena were front and center.

It was around this time when Ferro Productions Founder, Joe Scacciaferro, got his hands on the technology after meeting a television producer associated with the New York Giants.

“They were talking about trying to get audio closer on the field for all of their local shows,” explained Scacciaferro, who’s already successful career included several years working and pioneering in the music and audio industry.

While lending the Giants’ producers some help, Scacciaferro came across a company called Big Ears, founded by Bill Russell. They had pioneered a new lightweight, plastic design for the parabolic microphone. Again we are back to materials and how critical they are to the successful design and implementation of technology. Finding Russell’s new design much easier and more efficient, Scacciaferro was able to use it as an easy fix for the Giant’s audio challenges.

Although it was the folks at ESPN’s Monday Night Football who would be responsible for the outbreak of parabolic microphones across the league, Scacciaferro’s efforts held a long lasting impact on the broadcast department at the New York Giants.

“Parabolics established the fact that the sounds of the games are just as important as the visuals.” Scacciaferro said. And just like the scripted line of Al Jolson, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!” in closing may I offer this from Oscar Wilde’s 1889 essay The Decay of Lying that “”Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life”.

Follow @FerroProduction

Youth at the Superbowl

Most Camera Operator’s will never have the opportunity to shoot an NFL game from the sidelines. Frank Scacciaferro has been doing it since the age of 14. Frank is a Camera Operator for Ferro Productions, and has been working with the Giants since he was in the eighth grade.

2007 was a very special year for Frank and the Giants. The Big Blue won Superbowl XLll, and Scacciaferro, at the time a senior in high school, was in Arizona working with Ferro Productions covering the big game.

The legendary playoff run of 2007 started in Tampa. Next it was Dallas, where the Giants defeated Tony Romo and the Cowboys. The following week Eli and the Giants defeated Brett Favre in his final game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Frank was on the field at each victory, shooting game action from the end zone. The seventeen year old was about to become the youngest Camera Operator ever to work at a Superbowl.

Ferro spent the week of the Superbowl on location at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, covering all of the events leading up to the game. Frank worked camera on numerous sets that week, including press conferences, player and coach interviews, and reporter shows. “It was very stressful and chaotic at the time, but looking back, it was one of the best weeks of my life.”

The night of the Giants Superbowl victory, Frank was shooting his Sony BetaCam SP from the end zone, covering game action. He also covered behind the bench action of players, and the post-game celebration

and Trophy ceremony. After the confetti had dropped and the champagne was been poured, Frank was on a plane back to New Jersey, and sitting in first period English the very next day.

After experiencing such a monumental event as a teenager, I asked Frank, now in his early twenties, what type of work could ever compare to the Superbowl. “As far as sports shooting goes, there is nothing else that could ever compare. I am just working on

continuing my experience as a Camera Operator. I’m also looking forward to a few other projects I’ve got going on now.” Frank is one of a few young talents that work with Ferro Productions, and will undoubtedly be a big name in production over the remainder of his career.

Follow @FerroProduction

MetLife Event

NEW YORK CITY, Ny- Ferro Productions traveled to Bryant Park in New York City last Friday to cover a ceremony held by MetLife which celebrated the company’s purchasing of the naming rights to the former New Meadowlands Stadium. Under it’s new name, MetLife Stadium, the building will serve it’s second season as a home to one of Ferro’s biggest clients, the New York Giants, as well as the New York Jets this year. On the Giant’s behalf, Ferro was sent to the event to cover the entire ceremony, which featured players and coaches from both NFL teams.

 

With four camera operators covering the event the Ferro crew never missed a beat, even while streaming the feed from one of their cameras live to Giants.com using the LiveU portable uplink system. In a lightweight pack that sits on your back like any standard size book bag, the LiveU system allows you to stream live video to the internet from virtually any location without sacrificing picture quality.

 

 

While using a new piece of technology like LiveU for the first time might add some unwanted nerves to a shoot, the Ferro crew was able to send every minute of the ceremony to giants.com without hitting any bumps along the way. The rest of the footage shot by Ferro Productions is set to be cut into a package that will be sent over to the people at MetLife for their own use.

 

Follow @FerroProduction

Lights, Camera, Access

Welcome to FerroProductions.com, the all-new home of Ferro Productions. Here we will showcase the work and accomplishments of Ferro Productions. Through a collection of featured stories and news articles we will also provide you with an insider’s view into the world of production in music and television through the first hand accounts of Ferro’s team and associates.

 

Each week our staff writers will provide you with up to date coverage on all things Ferro; from weekly features and behind the scenes pictorials, to the hottest happenings in production. FerroProductions.com will be your all access backstage pass to the professional world of production.

 

In the upcoming months look for stories that will take you to center stage at the ten year anniversary of 9/11 at ground zero, take a look at how 3D technology was applied at the U.S Open, experience the new LiveU camera pack as it streamed live from the latest Incubus tour.  Each week you’ll have access to these stories and hundreds more keeping you up to speed with all things production.

 

For nearly twenty years, Ferro Productions has been considered an elite name in production and applied technology for television and music production. Founded in 1993 by 5 time Emmy award winner, Joe Scacciaferro, Ferro Productions’ client list reads as who’s who of broadcast and music production, Sony Music, NBC, A&E, FOX, MTV, VH1, and artists such as Michael Jackson, The Police, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel, and more. With crews planted in almost every area of broadcast production FerroProductions.com will provide you with a detailed look at everything that happens behind the cameras and backstage.

After twenty years on the frontlines of production, our new site will allow us to bring those experience and more directly to you. The ride starts here and with a calendar full of upcoming projects, we promise you that this ride won’t be over anytime soon.

 

Ray Charles: Learn To See

Giants Today Open Sequence

Follow @FerroProduction

Stop & Shop Commercial

East Rutherford, NJ — Ferro Productions was at the Timex Performance Center last week to produce a commercial for Stop & Shop grocery stores.  Stop & Shop, a leading supermarket in the New York Metro area, was promoting a sale that they are having for all tailgate items.

From chips to charcoal, all of the essential tailgating items were featured in the shoot. Ferro had a crew of one camera, one audio package, and one producer on location to complete the commercial. After the camera man completed making his unique moves on the food items, the crew moved on to a field shoot for the commercial with Giants great, Howard Cross.  Cross was promoting  all of the sales that Stop & Shop was hosting, and urged Giants fans to check out the value and choices offered by the supermarket.

**The commercial will air during local news and sports programming, and during all Giants games.**

Follow @FerroProduction

9/11/2001

In the recent waking of the ten year anniversary of September 11th, 2001, Ferro Productions took time to reflect back on that horrifying day. The events that transpired on 9/11 will forever be engraved in the history books of this country and although all Americans were affected by the terrorist attacks, people living in the New York and D.C. metro areas were undoubtably hit the hardest.

September 11th began like any other Tuesday. The Ferro crew had a 9 AM call time at Giants Stadium. Joe Scacciaferro, Ferro’s Executive Producer, recalls pulling up to the stadium in the morning and seeing a hint of smoke around the skyline. As he stood outside talking to a security guard, wondering what the cause of the smoke was, Joe witnessed the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. The mayhem had begun.

Roughly six miles west of Midtown Manhattan, Scacciaferro instructed his camera crew to capture footage of the New York City skyline as it stood in shambles. The footage shows downtown Manhattan completely engulfed in a cloud of smoke. ” I didn’t know if we were at war, or what. All I knew was that this was going to be big, and we needed to capture it on tape.” The

crew captured hours of footage.

Joe started receiving calls from local news stations, informing him that his studio was going to be used to output news coverage of the event because the studio’s in the Manhattan were all being evacuated. The news camera men were in the city gathering footage, and then ferrying across the river to Giants stadium and using Ferro’s control room to release some of the most historical news coverage in history.

The very next day, on 9/12/01, the New York Giants participated in a relief effort in Jersey City. Wellington Mara requested for Ferro to be on location covering the event. The day started at Giants Stadium with players loading up trucks with food and supplies. Once the trucks were loaded, the team took a caravan to the water front in Jersey City, just across the river from Manhattan’s financial district. With smoke still lingering and police boats patrolling the Hudson, the harsh realities began to set in for Ferro’s crew and the Giants. Giants players, police officers, and volunteers all worked as one in an assembly line fashion as they unloaded supplies off the trucks and onto boats. The boats then took all the supplies across the Hudson to downtown Manhattan.

Scacciaferro was on one of those boats that went across the Hudson to Ground Zero. Although there were no cameras allowed, Joe says he will never forget the images of the pit that was the World Trade Center. “Everything was black and white. It was like I was on the set of an old 1960’s movie. Everything was covered in ash. I truly felt like I had entered hell.”

On the eighteenth of September the Giants organization visited NYFD Ladders in the downtown area. Players, coaches, and Giants

owner Wellington Mara were in attendance to show support and give thanks to the hero’s. Once again, Ferro was on location covering the event. It is hard to describe with words the emotions that were felt that day but video footage shows it all. Giants players and firefighters crying and hugging each other. New Yorkers covering fire stations with thousands of “thank you” cards. One poster on the wall outside of the Ladder may best describe the attitude and strong will of Americans after the attacks. “Beloved Saviors- We weep with you; there are no worries.”

No one will ever forget the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Ferro Productions was selected by fate to be on the front lines of this historical tragedy. It was by professional courage and commitment to their craft that propelled them to respond . “It’s very hard for me to look back at that footage because it brings me back into the nightmare. I’m just glad we were able to capture a glimpse of the heroism of so many and lay to rest the myth about the pampered self involved pro athletes .”

Follow @FerroProduction

The Pilot Studio w/ Dave Ryan

The entertainment industry is filled with young, talented people who have a deep appreciation and commitment for the work that they do.  Dave Ryan of Ferro Productions is one of these people.  Dave is a freelance Audio Engineer currently working for the New York Football Giants Broadcast Crew.  After a normal ten hour day doing audio for multiple interviews and television sets with the Giants, Dave is only halfway done with his work.

Aside from working audio for television, Dave is a well respected member of the music community.  Not only is he a successful musician who has performed at countless venues in the New York/New Jersey area, he also works with artists in the studio, recording and editing songs.  After a day with the Giants Dave then heads over the The Pilot Studio in Boonton, NJ to work on music projects.

The Pilot Studio has been in business for roughly a decade and is run independently by Rob Freeman.  Dave and Rob became familiar with each other over the years through the music industry, and Dave has been fortunate enough to be granted full use of the the studio whenever he is working on a project.  The studio features some of the most premier equipment on the market and includes an edit room, a live recording room, a spacious vocal booth, and a very impressive control room.  Gym Class Heroes are one of the most recent groups to do some work at The Pilot Studio.

In the entertainment industry it is challenging to stand out above the rest.  It takes hard work, sleepless nights, and most importantly, a strong passion for the work you are doing to truly stand out and make a name for yourself in the business.  Ferro is fortunate enough to have a couple of these dedicated  talents, like Dave, that genuinely enjoy the work that they do.

Follow @FerroProduction