Live From Super Bowl LII: BSI RF Cameras, Mics, and More All Over Minneapolis for NBC, NFL Media
Engineer-in-charge Lou Meyers: ‘A huge chunk of our entire [inventory] is here.’
BSI is once again a major player at the Super Bowl, this year providing a cavalcade of RF cameras, microphones, comms, and coordination for NBC Sports and NFL Network in Minneapolis. In all, BSI and its 26 onsite employees are supplying nearly a dozen RF cameras, 30-plus wireless mics, and much more.
BSI’s Lou Meyers (center) and his crew leaders
“As a company — from a scale and revenue standpoint – this is one of the biggest weeks that we have ever had, so it’s very significant,” says Lou Meyers, engineer-in-charge and one-off event logistics supervisor, BSI. “We have elements all over the city this week, including at Nicollet Mall, the Convention Center, NFL Honors, Opening Night, and other places as well, so it has entailed a lot of preparation. The other challenge is getting all the frequencies coordinated, which was extremely difficult here.”
NBC’sRF Operation: Super Bowl Sunday at the Stadium and Nicollet Mall
For NBC, BSI is providing four stick mics, four PA mics, six IFBs, and four PLs for the Super Bowl LII game production, along with 14 wireless mics with 14 associated IFBs and four PLs for NBC’s Super Bowl Pre-Game Show.
In addition, at a yurt set at Nicollet Mall, NBC is using five BSI wireless mics, five IFBs, and four PLs.
NFL Network: A Packed Week of Production With Plenty of RF Needs
On the NFL Network side, BSI has deployed two RF Steadicams for pre/postgame coverage (one is converted to a handheld for postgame), two wireless mics with IFBs, two wireless return monitors, and nine PLs.
At Nicollet Mall, NFL Network has one RF handheld and one Steadicam, as well as a wireless link for the wired aerial SupraCam. NFL also has two BSI talent mics, two wireless program monitors, eight IFBs, and 10 PLs.
At the Convention Center for the NFL Experience all week, BSI has deployed two Steadicams for NFL Network, along with four talent mics with associated IFBS, two wireless program monitors, and 10 PLs.
On Opening Night at Xcel Energy Center on Monday, NBC had one Steadicam, three handhelds, four talent mics with IFBs, two wireless return monitors, and one PL.
BSI also provided an RF camera with return video and a PL at the NFL Honors event at Northrop Memorial Auditorium on Friday night.
“We basically had to build four different trucks,” says Meyers. “We rolled in one truck at the stadium, but all the other venues are running out of cases. This process started back in August when we got an idea of what we would need to provide for the game, but we built all of that in only a week, which is pretty impressive. A huge chunk of our entire [inventory] is here.”