ESPN visited Nutmeg Audio Post (www.nutmegaudiopost.com) to bring audio reality to their latest retro-flavored campaign for “Baseball Tonight.” Nutmeg’s tag team of Rob Fielack and Matt Richman created a full sound design and mix that helped some comedic myths about ESPN and baseball come alive.
Creative Juices:
The humorous campaign from Wieden + Kennedy NY takes a few liberties with history, putting ESPN announcers at the center of legendary moments on the baseball diamond. In the :30 “Bugs”, “The Shot”, and “Bloody Sock”, the commentators accidentally become key figures in momentous occasions like 2007’s “The Bug Game” in Cleveland, “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” by Bobby Thomson in 1951, and pitcher Curt Schilling’s bloody sock from the 2004 playoffs.
“These spots are all really funny, with ESPN’s trademark dry sense of humor,” says Nutmeg Senior Engineer Matt Richman. “I love the way these spots put them in the dugout, the announcer’s booth, on the fields, and even transforms them into the players themselves. The challenge was to maintain the storytelling distance, while still keeping viewers closely connected to the moment of the event. It all plays well into the tag line, ‘Part of the Game.’ When history happens, ESPN is there.”
It’s in the Mix:
Set in 1951, “The Shot” comes complete with grainy footage that was edited along with the rest of the campaign by Maury Loeb of PS260. The spot suggests that Bobby Thomson (portrayed by ESPN announcer Karl Ravech) was inspired to hit his legendary home run by a radio announcer who accidentally shouts “He’s bringing the heat!” – referring to his colleague’s hot sauce – into his microphone.
After Nutmeg Senior Audio Engineer Rob Fielack added baseball stadium sound design elements, Richman’s mix ensured that the present-day interview would stay clean, while the 1950’s-era scene would match up with its piece of audio. “Everything needed to be kept in the present era, except one line where Peter Gammons is talking into the microphone,” Richman says. “We experimented with different amounts of distortion and feedback until we found a vintage sound that helped to believably complete the throwback picture onscreen.”
As a sound design and mix team, Nutmeg’s Fielack and Richman have proven to be a formidable combination, with their collaborations on hundreds of HD 5.1 Surround and SD sound design and mix campaigns constantly on the air. “Rob and I have been working together for so many years, and we can trade off without missing a beat,” says Richman. “That goes for the rest of the staff at Nutmeg, as well – everyone is fully compatible and can move projects around quickly.
“‘The Shot’ and the rest of the ESPN Baseball Tonight campaign is an example of where less is more, from an audio post perspective,” Richman concludes. “We’re following the writers’ lead so that ESPN can show that they’re the big guys on the block. These promos send that message very clearly.”
Credits:
Client: ESPN
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy NY
Executive Directors: Kevin Proudfoot, Todd Waterbury
Creative Directors: Derek Barnes, John Parker
Art Director: Stuart Jennings
Copywriter: Eric Steele
Account Team: Jessica O’Conor, Ken Fineo
Head of Production: Gary Krieg
Broadcast Producer: Sarah Edwards
Business Affairs: Annemarie Cullen, Russell Nadler
Production Company: Radical Media
Director: Steve Miller
Director of Photography: Eric Schmidt
Line Producer: Jon Dino
Executive Producer: Jim Bouvet
Editorial Company: PS260
Executive Producer: Zarina Mak
Editors: Maury Loeb, Dustin Stephens
Assistant Editor: Ned Borgman
Telecine/Color Correction Company: Company 3
Colorist: Tim Masick
Post/Visual Effects Company: Brandname
Artist: Patrick Lavin
Executive Producer: Sophie Edwards
Online/Conform Company: Brandname
Artist: Marlin
Graphics Company: Superfad
Executive Producer: Mariya Shikner
Audio Post Company: Nutmeg Audio Post
Mixer: Rob Fielack
Sound Designer: Matt Richman
About Nutmeg Audio Post:
Nutmeg Audio Post is New York City’s comprehensive audio post facility that puts creativity first. Founded in 1979, it is home to an elite staff of mixers and support staff committed to providing world-class audio post production and sound design for HDTV and SDTV, film, radio, online and interactive media. For more information, please visit www.nutmegaudiopost.com, or call 212-921-8005.
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