In Production: Hoo Vision
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Oct. 18, 2001
It’s 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 29. Kickoff of the Virginia – Duke football game is still five hours away, but the Carl Smith Center, home of David A. Harrison III Field at Scott Stadium is already bustling with activity.
Among those creating a stir at the stadium complex are the individuals responsible for bringing Hoo Vision, UVa’s giant videoboard, to life. In the early hours of the morning, the 18-member Hoo Vision crew has already assembled at the remote production truck located on the first floor of the parking garage in the southwest corner of the stadium. Led by Cavalier Sports Marketing Creative Director Todd Goodale, the crew members are busy readying themselves for the day’s action.
The first task for many of the crew members is to set up four cameras – one on each sideline, one at midfield and one tucked away in the Hoo Vision tower – which are used to bring the various replay and fan shots to the Scott Stadium crowd. Meanwhile, Goodale and the rest of the crew are busy installing new graphics and organizing pre-produced features inside the production truck.
Game day is the culmination of months of preparation for Goodale. Last February, the Virginia graduate (CLAS ’94) and Hoo Vision crew member, Erik Elvgren, traveled to the IDEA Convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. IDEA is an association comprised of videoboard operators from universities as well as the NFL, NHL, NBA, and Major League Baseball. While the duo was disappointed the animated Cavalier team entrance videos finished behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the award for best show open, the time in Florida was worthwhile.
“We learned that we produce a show as technically sound and creative as NFL teams,” Goodale said. “Everyone who saw the animated Cavalier videos was very impressed, which certainly validated the time and effort spent on those features last season. We did realize that our graphic presentation fell short of other universities and teams. I came away from the IDEA conference determined to improve that area of our operation.”
Goodale admits he’s not much of a graphic designer, so he solicited the help of the Educational Technologies Department in the University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Elvgren, a senior producer for Educational Technologies and producer / editor Matt Uncapher, re-designed the Hoo Vision graphics to provide a more dynamic look to the Cavalier videoboard production.
” The Hoo Vision project was challenging because I needed to create graphics that would look good in both animated and still form,” Uncapher said. “Initially, I tried using a darker, more traditional Cavalier blue, but it looked like it was black on the board so a lighter blue was needed. Shadow effects also needed improvement because black on blue doesn’t transmit well so I used white instead. The animations, such as ‘Defense,’ ‘Louder Hoos,’ and ‘Noise’ needed to be dynamic and quick while being pertinent to the play of the game. I incorporated the V-Sabre logo somewhere in almost all of the graphics to pull it all together. In the case of Hoo Vision, less is more.”
The Hoo Vision production begins two hours before kickoff when the Scott Stadium gates open to the public. But most fans would say the show really begins when the animated Cavalier rides his faithful steed from Monticello to Grounds to slay the opponent’s mascot. Thanks to support from the Virginia Lottery, Cavalier Sports Marketing was once again able to hire Elvgren to create the animation for each team entrance video. Goodale imports the animated segments into his editing system, composites video footage with the animation and then edits each clip to create the new video for each game.
“Without Erik Elvgren, the animated Cavalier would not exist,” Goodale said. “I hope our fans notice the improved quality of the animation and the more intricate battle sequences this year. Erik always exceeds my expectations with each animated sequence. We have also added a second half team entrance video this year which I hope will help energize our crowd and lead to a greater home field advantage in the third quarter.”
“I think the biggest change from last year is that my sense of timing is much improved,” Elvgren said. “Most of the characters’ movements are much faster this year, closer to the way people move in the real world. This year I’m also working with a new internal rigging on the computer characters. This allows me to spend less time setting up poses on characters and more time on getting the timing right. The second half video was fun because I got to create the whole environment, the Cavman locker room. It gave me the chance to be more creative with the lighting rather than what I normally do by trying to simply match the animation lighting to the video backgrounds. This is also the first year of using particle effects to do some of the smaller touches like putting a glint on the sword as it is drawn, or creating explosions which look more realistic. I hope the crowd enjoys these. I think they add a lot to the overall feel of the battles.”
Once the game is underway, Hoo Vision swings into action. Charlottesville resident and long-time camera operator, Pete Keyser, mans the 50-yard line camera which is used primarily to show live action. Virginia graduates Scott Schricker (COMM ’89) and Chas Jordan (CLAS ’98) operate cameras on the west sideline and in the Hoo Vision tower which function as the main replay cameras. Meanwhile, Kent Williamson, a co-worker of Elvgren and Uncapher in the Educational Technologies Department, roams the opposing sidelines for game atmosphere cutaways.
Hoo Vision is produced much like a live television broadcast. Goodale, Elvgren, and Associate Director of Athletics for Marketing and Promotions Andrew Rader work together to coordinate the show. In addition to the camera operators, the Hoo Vision crew contains: a technical director, a graphics operator, a statistician, an audio producer, two tape operators, an editor, a video technician, sideline grips, a sideline highlight cameraman, and several interns.
Of course, Hoo Vision’s main function is to provide replays to the fans. Many people wonder if a replay policy exists under NCAA or ACC rules.
“Neither the NCAA nor the conference has established a replay policy for videoboards and I hope that never happens,” Goodale said. “There is a gentlemen’s agreement among most university operators across the country that controversial replays are shown once at full speed. I have heard people remark that we have not replayed controversial plays or penalties in the past. But many times the reason for not showing a replay is that we missed the shot or we don’t have a good angle to use.”
When producing Hoo Vision, Goodale keeps the fans foremost in his mind.
“Since the first year of Hoo Vision in 1998 we have dramatically changed our videoboard production,” Goodale said. “From a sports marketing standpoint, Hoo Vision is the most visible medium for corporate sponsorship involvement. In ’98 we had many sponsored video features and very few fan interactive elements. Since that first season, we have consistently moved our corporate-sponsored pieces to elements that coincide with the game, such as player head shot graphics, player statistics, the scoreboard and ACC stats. Hopefully, this has made the experience of attending a Virginia football game more enjoyable for our fans.”
Once the game is over, the day is not done for the Hoo Vision crew. The cameras and equipment must be collected and packed into the remote production truck. For non-televised games, Goodale edits a highlight package from the four Hoo Vision camera angles. The highlights are then uplinked via satellite from the Educational Technologies Department in Zehmer Hall. Television stations and networks across the country can then use the highlights in their evening and nightly sportscasts. The ability to deliver highlights across the country is just another example of how important the educational technologies group is to the videoboard game presentation.
“Erik, Kent, and Matt are very talented,” Goodale said. “I’m pleased Cavalier Sports Marketing and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies could form a partnership. This is just one example of how the athletics department is able to utilize the resources of another University department. Quite frankly, without this group, the Hoo Vision production would not be as visually dynamic or technically sound.”