ESPN Will Derive 2D from All-3D Production in Friday Night Fights Telecast

Reducing costs is a driving force behind ESPN’s decision to shoot Friday Night Fights all in 3D this Friday, said Phil Orlins, coordinating producer of ESPN 3D, in a conference call Wednesday. Boxing is “well-suited to do that,” he said, saying side-by-side 2D/3D production “is a significant cost hurdle.” Orlins wouldn’t disclose the cost savings of creating an all-3D production and then taking the left eye HD feeds of each camera for the 2D channel. The network will take the same approach next week, Orlins said, when it telecasts an NCAA men’s basketball game between Georgia and Florida on Feb. 24. Looking ahead, each 3D event will be assessed on a “case by case” basis and “we'll do it where it makes sense,” he said, saying not all sports can be shot effectively that way.

2D viewers shouldn’t notice any difference in camera angles, said Matt Sandulli, senior coordinating producer of Friday Night Fights. “Some sports dictate that you have to cut at a certain pace, which makes it tough to do one production for 2D and another for 3D,” he said. Boxing can cut at a pace that’s comfortable for both, he said. “It’s not like the action forces you to get from one camera to another,” he said. “If you choose to sit on one shot for 10 or 20 seconds, it’s not that unusual for 2D, and it’s better for 3D."

It can get more complicated when working with pairs of cameras and depth, where there are differences in what works best for 3D and for 2D, Orlins said. In 2D, it doesn’t matter where graphics are placed because it’s all one flat layer, he said. In 3D, “everything exists at a different depth.” If a graphic appears to be further back than a boxer, “it’s an uncomfortable experience because it’s visually over him but depth-wise it’s behind him,” he said. To adjust, ESPN has moved the graphics dashboard to the top of the screen so it’s above the boxers and “won’t conflict with the depth space."

Friday’s telecast is ESPN’s first boxing event in 3D. That’s primarily a result of the boxing season, which runs from January to August, said Joe Tessitore, ESPN play-by-play announcer. The sport does come with its share of challenges, although there are fewer challenges than in a long-view sport such as football, Orlins said. Boxing “runs the risk of getting too close to the action,” he said, which could create an uncomfortable experience for viewers. So handheld cameras that in a 2D broadcast would be located in a close-up position have to be placed a couple of feet farther back and equipped with a beam splitter that “allows you to shoot through a mirror so that the two camera lenses are within 1/2- or 3/4 of an inch of each other,” Orlins said. “That’s better when the subject is extremely close to the camera,” he said. Compared with other sports where producers have to find ways to get proximity to the sport, boxing offers that proximity but it has to be handled judiciously, he said. “It’s like ice cream. You've got to be careful how much of it you take."

ESPN will employ six camera pairs for the three matches including a standard set on a tripod, three handhelds, one jib and one ultra-slow-motion model, Orlins said. On the commercial side, ESPN will be matching the commercial format of 3D to the 2D format and will at times air a 3D promo while the 2D channel is running through its regular commercial inventory, Orlins said. “When one cuts to break, the other cuts to break,” he said, which will leave no dead space on the 3D channel. No new 3D commercials will be shown during the telecast, he said.