Business Screen Magazine (1965-1966)

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Season's Over. Bin National Fooihall Lea^'ue Films Brini; Thrills of Bit; dames to Millions in Fan And Canwrax opcraliil jruin all aii^Uf, tliiiiiiti. Iiliiiiii>i of Ciant-Vackcr tith f;ame as ei^ht were in action in end zones. 5Q-yaril line and at sidelines. Pro Football Films: Where the Action Ls! Filming of Weekly Pro (iames in National Fooll»all League Takes Plenty of Skill anil Split-Seeond Tiniin<; on Release No DoLHT About It, professional football is the glamorous new in-sport of the American sp<irls fan. Baseball may be called the national pastime, but it is football that has captured the fans" fancy. Last season, over 60 million of them paid their way throuiih turnstiles to watch head crunching combat on the field. Even teams that figure to be season-long losers discover that they have sold all seats for every game long before the first kick-off is toed up. Because this is so, television networks arc spending large sums of money in an effort to land top football attractions for their own hookups. Networks and film producers outbid each other wildly in a scramble to air the best games in the big leagues. Even the replay value for key games has an enormous appeal. Films Kcflcct Interest of Fans One company that is carving itself a piece of the promotional dollars being spent to saturate TV channels with flying footballs is National Football I eague Films Inc., (formerly Bla Films of Philadelphia), NFL 1 ns makes an excellent thermonK .r with which to judge the rising \cr of interest in pro football. |-our years ago the comp.niy didn't even exist. Its head man Ed Sabol. was a retired businessman making scouting films for his son's prep school as a hobby. Today NFL films is a booming business. capitalizing on the American publics apparently insatiable appetite for its favorite sport. It has offices in two major cities (Philadelphia and New York), and teams of cameramen in every national football league city from coast to coast. Its job: photographing c\ery play in every game on every Sunday afternoon in color, in each city, then processing, editing, scripting, and producing a 30minute color film for each game. The color films are delivered to TV stations in each national league city no later than the Wednesday night after the Sunday game, and in some instances, in lime for Tuesday night shi>\\ing. Ki'i-ls Musi (ii'l I here nil Time The physical logistics for photographing, processing, and returning finished films on schedule, are a lot more complicated than anything a pro quarterback ever cooked up to mi>ve a football across a goal line. To get the job done, split second liming and close cooperation are an absolute nuist. The fact that it is done successfully can be attributed to an integrated cflorl by all hands at NF-I. films, the staff of Byron Motion Pictures in Washington, D,C', (the outfit responsible for printing), and the Eastman Kodak Color processing plant in Washington, D.C, where incoming footage is developed. While NFL films mav he head quartered in Philadelphia and New York, after the final whistles blow on Sunday afternoon, it is Washington. D.C. that bect>mes the focal point of activity. All the processing action is concentrated in the nation's capital. This is not a whim choice. Since all NFL films arc winged in by air to one central processing location, it is L-ssential that the area he open to .lir traffic. Washington. D.i.. has the best record for not closing tlown its airport because of weather conditions of any city on the eastern seaboard. It was selected I or that reason. Nenative Moves to l.ab by Air As soon as each eame is over, stand-by messengers rush cannisters of film shot by NFL's teams of cameramen, plus written play descriptions to the airports in their respective cities. At Washington, other messengers are waiting at the two D.C. airpiirts to pick up the film and paperwork the second it arrives and deliver it to the Eastman Kodak color developing laboratory. From that point on. each film is shuttled back and forth between the color lab on Oakie Street and the Byron Motion Picture plant in Georgetown, where it is edited. First, the 2.000-somc odd feet shot during the game is processed by the Kodak lab and then edited down to yOO feet at the Byron plant. This is timed, ami returned to the color lab for printing. The film is then rushed hack across town to Byron for final editing and then is zipped on out to the airport for shipment. It's a wild time because all the game films have to be processed and out again within 4S hours, but it's all part of the job for NFL Films, a company that has gone from amateur to prolu time professional, in uyears. td Sabol I.aunihtd ,p, The driving force ai p is Ed Sabol. the pfounder, who nursti: through the days w known as Blair Filn; man who "Had It couldn't stand it. At r Sabol sold a succc^manufacturing busir. tired with a Iucrali\ live a life of leisur found out that he anc not cut out for each oth, Restlessly seeking stflh do, Sabol turned to In hobby: photograph) cellar full of equipni. equipment: cameras, \t^ ing machinery. More to keep hiiii than anything else, ^ a small motion pic; called Blair Films In. uct was travelogues a: films. As it stepped ur ■ ity, Blair Films lurncJ ,i pictures for Howard i> Bahama Development «i Piper Aircraft, W the same tinu had always had an inlc !• ball, began to shoot coiiat for the prep school teifc played on. This was pi| his own amusement. Kl good results that he stti_ offers from other prcpsS* WiiinliiC Bid on Chant* The big break-t! howexer. when Sabc the motion picture National Football Li ionship Game were Ha\ing picked up know-how on ph\^ football games dun uiih prep schools. S. ted a bid. .As it turned out 1 * high bidder for the ■ ended up with the ci game. With the com hand Sabol then soK and Compan_\. a cil facturer. on the idea ol «« and distributing the liii* lie relations purposes, i ' set. I hat WasaDaj loRc^ I VA Suhol (rinhl. in hood) i.i directinn liliiiinfi of Salioniil Liiiiixk Footlmll action at a cluiniiHonsliip t^diiic hitiriiu C.iinits <nid Packcr.-i. Ihat first game filmed was played ■ 30. 1962, a date thai fans will remember. The place: Yankee ii Stf 48 BUSI NES5*