:: The Game May Be Set in Springfield, but the Production Team Is in Bristol Although the real-life game will be in Dallas and the animated game will be in Springfield, nearly all production operations for tonight’s will be located at ESPN’s home campus in Bristol, CT. We not only have to tell the story of the football game but envision what that looks like if it were in universe,” says . “Creative calls from our directing and production staff make that happen.” ESPN Studio Operations team will essentially serve as the “live game unit” for tonight’s broadcast, with all virtual cameras cut in Bristol. The majority of the crew producing the altcast, including the front bench and replay team, will be located in Bristol. Live data tracking sent from onsite servers is used by gaming PCs to render the virtual environment. Essentially, data feeds are sent from the stadium, and ESPN’s Studio Operations team puts everything together in Bristol — the only exception being the natural audio, which is mixed at the site before being sent to Bristol. ESPN will send live natural audio down its transmission paths to be tracked as well as adding “sounds of the game” from ’ universe. “For our team,” says , “this is an incredible and exciting production to be a part of. Creative storytelling and innovation are core values of our company; it’s part of the ESPN culture of success. Having the opportunity to be scheduled for this unique production challenges our talented team to think about and deliver the most effective way to present this vision, along with an open space for calculated creative risks.” A crew of more than 40 will contribute to tonight’s broadcast: announcers, graphics, production, directing staff, technical operators, edit team, full media replay team, and support staff. Included as well is the four-person Beyond Sports team, who traveled in from Netherlands this week. “Time is always our greatest challenge when producing these broadcasts, says , a veteran of multiple ESPN animated broadcasts. “The amount of work that goes into creating storylines, animating the environment and characters, roll-ins, specialty game animations, plus testing and rehearsals, is time-consuming, and a relatively small group is charged with these productions. That being said, it’s our fourth animated broadcast, and we’ve learned a great deal, which has allowed us to skip the ‘learning’ stages of certain areas.” Inside the control room, Nelson’s front bench and the rest of the production team must have a very different mindset from that for a traditional game production. Although the action on the field is certainly critical, integrating humor and fun into the broadcast is equally important. “One of the fun challenges for our team is stepping away from their experience of a traditional broadcast and getting their minds into the universe,” says McMeekin. “While it may seem logical on a traditional broadcast to show a replay of what just happened during the game, it may make more sense during to show Bart’s or Homer’s antics from the sidelines of Atoms Stadium.” , , and will be on hand in Bristol, calling the action from voiceover booths. They will wear Oculus Quest or Meta Quest Pro headsets, transported into the immersive graphic representation of the stadium, field, and players. ESPN is also deploying the Meta headsets for hand and facial tracking, which will allow the trio themselves to be animated within the broadcast. “[By having them wear] the headset,” McMeekin explains, “we will actually be able to see them in the virtual world, to the point where they can go on to the field and be amongst the players. That is super exciting.” ESPN has adjusted the workflow for announcers calling the action. Instead of being in a studio (as was the case for and ), ESPN isolates Kimes, Orlovsky, and Carter in new voiceover booths in Bristol. “The VO booths allow us to prevent talent from passing into each other’s ‘virtual space’ without having to redesign our larger studios with pipe and drape,” says Menard. “The VO booths allow more-accurate ‘game call’ audio, talkback, and talent-preferred IFB mixing.” A bonus is that the technology-management staff has connectivity directly to the broadcast router, internet, multiviewers, etc. to provide a custom setup for talent and Beyond Sports support staff. “The use of our new VO booths is a great example of work smarter not harder,” says Menard. “We are better able to grasp the needs of a production like this and think more creatively and efficiently about how to fit it into our working plant. We continue to provide an improved product every time we take on one of these unique broadcasts.” One major workflow challenge is how to deal with talent’s calling a game broadcast that can be delayed up to a minute by the animation rendering. To resolve it, ESPN will offer both a live version and a delayed version of the broadcast for announcers to call the game. The Studio Operations team works hand in hand with ESPN Creative Studio and the production staff to execute their vision. This includes coordinating with the onsite team on things like transmission-path layout and backup audio needs. “The creative energy in the early planning meetings and prep days set the tone for this production,” notes McMeekin. “There has been a great mix of big ideas, realistic needs, and an overall positive vibe for how the production will look on Monday night.” One prime example of the collaboration between the Studio Ops and Creative Studio teams is inclusion of a submix room for -related sound design. The operator, , who created the sound design for this production, has an A1 background,” McMeekin explains. “We were able to work with his team and have him available for this production This creates an incredible opportunity to both develop the sound design and have creative freedom to incorporate it into the production.” marks the fourth chapter in ESPN’s animated-altcast odyssey, following in the footsteps of in September 2023 and a pair of altcasts in March 2023 and 2024. ESPN ops leaders have consciously strived to maintain continuity on these broadcasts, creating a stable of experienced operators for whatever the future might bring in terms of future cartooncasts. “Every time we get to do one of these broadcasts,” says Menard, “it is a new adventure. We have become a very cohesive team as the crew has largely stayed the same over the years. Seeing new animations come to life in the sports world is so much fun. Seeing the broadcast we prepared for as a team hit air is what this business is all about.” Of course, is just the first of ESPN’s animated-broadcast efforts this month. The Studio Operations team in Bristol will be back at it two weeks later for the Mickey and Minnie–themed NBA altcast on Christmas Day. “A trait of our team is that we get better after each of these productions,” says McMeekin. “We learn so much and are great at identifying efficiencies and implementing them for the next production. Having the productions about two weeks apart allows this group to carry over the creative momentum from and immediately apply their takeaways to .” For the first time in its short animated-broadcast history, ESPN’s Bristol crew will be able leave in place the specialized infrastructure necessary to produce such a show. With two animated broadcasts this month, ESPN is able to explore the new workflows required for live animated broadcasts without a full lift-and-shift of its infrastructure in Bristol. “Hopefully,” says Menard, “ will be the most technology-efficient endeavor we’ve participated in.”
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