Andrew Gavin, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Director of Athletics Communications, outlines in great detail below how his athletic department produces hour-long, live men's and women's basketball coaches video shows -
Inside Phoenix Basketball - that are held off-site at a local restaurant. The key to the venture is that Green Bay, a Horizon League member, produces these shows with an effort of only four people in the communications/marketing staff - the athletics department does not have a sports video staff.
photos courtesy of Andrew Gavin, Wisconsin Green Bay Athletic Communications Director
The Wisconsin Green Bay
Inside Phoenix Basketball shows are carried live on the department's website (
GreenBayPhoenix.com) and are played on a tape-delayed and On Demand basis on regional television. It really has the look and feel of a television show and not a typical online
coaches show. It has pre-recorded video features, highlights, graphics and guests.
This staff of four - Gavin, assistant directors of athletics communications Jill Wunrow and Ryan Hartwig, along with Director of Marketing and Promotions Adam Halfmann - plus two interns do all the operations work for each show. The are responsible for the overview of shows, including staff, equipment and setup, a rundown of a show from start to finish and how it is uploaded to television partner Time Warner Sports32.
"We at Green Bay are proud of the innovative ways in which we are promoting our programs and student- athletes, and Inside Phoenix Basketball is a prime example of those efforts," noted Gavin, who is in his first year at Green Bay after serving as a University of Central Florida athletic communications assistant director. "Such projects are possible because off the foresight and support, both financial and otherwise, of our administration, and the hard work of a small but dedicated staff. What makes our situation in producing TV-quality shows with in-depth features different than other athletic programs is that we do all planning and production with four people- a three-person communications department and a marketing staff of one.
"Our philosophy is to embrace new technology while generating creative content on GreenBayPhoenix.com in order to supplement the coverage of traditional media while becoming a primary source of information for Phoenix fans," noted Gavin.
As part of its
Phoenix Flix exclusive live and on-demand video and audio production, Green Bay also produces a free weekly show called "Monday Minute" which recaps the Green Bay athletic highlights from the last week and previews upcoming events and activities. The show, again produced by the Green Bay staff, features Wunrow as the host.
Link to a recent Green Bay women's basketball coaches show:
http://www.greenbayphoenix.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=743642&db_oem_id=22500
This innovative work by an athletic media relations staff does not go unnoticed.
"Andrew and the Green Bay athletic administration really undersand and embrace video as a great
outreach for their sports teams, student-athletes and fans," noted Joe Hornstein, Central Florida's Associate Director of Athletics/Public Relationsa nd Communications and CoSIDA's Third Vice-President. "I knew from Andrew's first day on the job at UCF he brought something extra to the table, something special - that was his interest in producing quality online video content. When he moved to Green Bay, I knew they were going to enjoy the benefit he brings. The quality of Phoenix Flix is evident to that."
Similar shows/future plans
Currently, Inside Phoenix Basketball is the only live, off-site coaches show Green Bay Athletics is doing. However, the idea for Inside Phoenix Basketball stems from Green Bay women’s basketball’s trip to the 2010 NCAA Tournament last season. The communications and marketing staff members produced two live coaches shows from the team’s hotel in Ames, Iowa prior to the team’s first and second round games. Due to the success of these shows on the road, plans for a live show like Inside Phoenix Basketball began. Should either the men’s or women’s basketball team advance to the NCAA Tournament again this season, plans are to take Inside Phoenix Basketball on the road to wherever the team plays.
Green Bay Athletics Production Schedule/Equipment/Day-by-Day Duties for Inside Phoenix Basketball shows
Inside Phoenix Basketball presented by Miller Lite
Overview
An hour-long, live weekly coaches show dedicated to Green Bay men’s and women’s basketball. Host Matt Menzl talks with men’s basketball head coach Brian Wardle for the first half hour, and women’s coach Matt Bollant for the second half hour. The show is held in front of a live audience at The Bar, a local Green Bay restaurant, at 6 p.m. on most Tuesdays during the basketball season. It is also shown live on The Bar’s multi-TV in-house system.
The show is streamed live on
GreenBayPhoenix.com. It is also broken into two half-hour shows (one men’s and one women’s) that are aired on Thursday afternoons on TimeWarner Sports32. The shows can also be viewed on Time Warner’s Sports32 On Demand channel at any time.
Staff Production Roles
Andrew Gavin (Director of Athletics Communications)
· Talent and guest preparation
· Show rundown and timing
· Content/idea generation
· Setup and takedown
· Guest relations
Ryan Hartwig (Assistant Director of Athletics Communications)
· Live show production (camera switching, audio, video layover, lowerthirds, commercials, etc.)
· Preproduction of highlights and video features
· Idea generation, overall show concept
· Assists with show rundown and preparation
· Transportation of show equipment and set
· Setup and takedown
· Streaming, recording, archiving, distributing to TV station
Jill Wunrow (Assistant Director of Athletics Communications)
· Preproduction of video features
· Guest relations
Adam Halfmann (Director of Marketing) 
· Show promotions and giveaways
· Graphic design (on set TV)
· Idea generation, overall show concept, technical support
· Setup and takedown
Matt Menzl (Host of Inside Phoenix Basketball)
· Generation of show topics
· Hosts show
* Two interns (one communications, one marketing) assist with setup, takedown and equipment transportation, as well as other aspects of the show (monitoring cameras, guest relations, promotions/giveaways, etc.).
Equipment Used
Sony HDR-FX7 Camera (x2)
Panasonic AG-DVC60 Camera
Shure Beta 54 Headworn Vocal Microphone (x2)
NewTek TriCaster Studio
NewTek TriCaster Pro
Behringer Eurorack UB1202 Audio Mixer
EAW FR129z 12 in 500W 8Oh 2-Way Speaker (x2)
QSC GX3 Power Amplifier
Beyerdynamic TG-X 80 Dynamic Hypercardioid Microphone
Cowboy 2000 Watt Photo Studio Light (x2)
LG 37” LCD HDTV
Displays2Go Trade Show Counter (desk)
Displays2Go TV Stand
Displays2Go Pop Up Display (backdrop)
Miscellaneous (audio snake, XLR cables, audio/video cables, power sources, signage, house televisions)
While most of the equipment used to produce Inside Phoenix Basketball was already owned and used by Green Bay Athletics, a few elements of the set were purchased specifically for the off-site coaches show. The three Displays2Go products (desk, TV stan d and backdrop) were each purchased specifically for Inside Phoenix Basketball, but will be repurposed in other Phoenix Flix productions in the future. Some miscellaneous cabling was also purchases specifically for the show.
The prices of the set elements purchased for Inside Phoenix Basketball are:
Trade Show Counter ... $474.19
Pop Up Display ... $847.40
TV Stand ... $339.85
*Another expense is a $30.00 per week charge to rent a van to transport all of the equipment to the site of the coaches show (The Bar, 2001 Holmgren Way, Green Bay, WI), which is about 12 miles from campus.
The rest of the equipment (cameras, microphones, TriCasters) was already owned by Green Bay Athletics and was purchased for other purposes. For example, one of the TriCasters was purchased with funds from the Horizon League in order to produce and stream live league basketball games. The TriCasters are also used to produce other in-house videos such as coaches shows for other sports (soccer, volleyball, swimming, etc.).
Studio – Kress Events Center
Sample Show
*Shows are Tuesdays at 6 p.m.
Days leading up to show
· Show rundown, content, timing, guests
· Preparation of game highlight packages
· Production of feature pieces
· Graphic production
· Loading content to TriCasters
· Packing of equipment
· Show host (Matt Menzl) speaks via phone with both head coaches to discuss show topics. He also has frequent communication with Green Bay communications staff regarding show content.
Show Production Day/Post-Production Day
Tuesday • 12 p.m.
· Pick up van and load equipment
· Transport equipment to The Bar by 1 p.m.
Van packed for Inside Phoenix Basketball
Tuesday • 1– 4 p.m.
· Setup
o Unload van
o Assemble set (desk, backdrop, TV stand)
o Arrange audience seating
o Run audio/video cables from mics/cameras to TriCaster/audio mixer
o Assemble amplifier and speakers
o Output video from TriCaster to house TVs
Tuesday • 4 – 5 p.m.
· Testing
o Test microphones, cameras
o Test Internet/stream
o Test output to house TV system
*Total setup time/testing = approximately 4 hours (setup done by three people)
Tuesday • 6 p.m.
· Show begins
o Begin streaming live on GreenBayPhoenix.com in the Phoenix Flix portal
o Begin recording for archiving online/distributing to TV station (Time Warner Sports32)
o Sample show rundown
Tuesday • 7 – 9 p.m.
· Takedown
· Load van
· Return to Kress Center on UW-Green Bay campus
*Total takedown/packing/transporting time = approximately 2 hours
Wednesday morning
· Edit full show into two half-hour shows on TriCaster and create separate files (men’s basketball, women’s basketball)
· Post both shows on GreenBayPhoenix.com (FLV file)
· Send both shows to Time Warner Sports32 (mp4 file via FTP site)
*Total editing, encoding, posting, distributing time = approximately 3 hours