 When Monday Night Football kicks off its 39th season on September 8 with a season-opening doubleheader -- Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers (7 p.m. ET) and Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders (10:15 p.m.) – look for a host of new production technologies from ESPN. MNF will feature a host of new enhancements in 2008, including “ESPN Axis technology”, a fresh complement of high-speed cameras, a streamlined graphics package ideal for high definition viewing, and, of course, a new Hank Williams Jr. opening video. Planned highlights: ESPN AXIS ESPN Axis, a graphic enhancement developed by the Swiss company LiberoVision with additional elements by ESPN's production enhancement team, will be used for the first time in NFL coverage on ESPN’s MNF and various studio programs this season. ESPN introduced viewers to this technology during the summer’s UEFA European Football Championship. ESPN Axis creates "virtual" replays using video captured by cameras covering the live action. Images fed from the game cameras are processed via computers to create virtual freeze-frames from multiple angles. The angles of view may be tilted upwards by 90 degrees -- from field level to direct overhead shots -- creating three-dimensional, birds-eye views of key plays from multiple vantage points. Within the three-dimensional frame, MNF’s Ron Jaworski will use graphic telestrations to highlight the locations and movements of players on the field to better explain how plays develop and what leads to touchdowns and other key events. Jaworski can also highlight players and graphically move them on the screen to demonstrate how a play developed, or even how it hypothetically could have gone if a player (or multiple players) had reacted differently. CAMERAS/TRUCKS ESPN’s MNF game is produced using four production trucks. The star is a state-of-the-art high definition 53-foot mobile production unit. Some 30 cameras catch every movement on and around the field. In all, ESPN’s camera complement includes seven high-speed cameras, designed to offer more close-up shots of replays while eliminating motion blur. Highlights: - Three 120-frame per second “slo-mo” cameras;
- Two new 180-frame per second “super slo-mo” cameras;
- Two new 300-frame per second “super slo-mo” cameras;
- Skycam, which provides aerial views above the field of play;
- RF Steadicam, a 75-lb. wireless camera that is strapped on a harness to a camera operator. The cameraman is allowed on the field when the clock is stopped, and he can move from either end zone to the 35-yard line. The wireless camera – introduced by ESPN to MNF in 2006 – brings fans closer to the players on the field, particularly after scoring plays.
The four production trucks require two days of setup and are staffed by 60 personnel. (In all, some 300 people are credentialed for each MNF game, including studio shows.) The trucks are a tape-less environment, with everything server-based – digitally recorded – allowing both the game and studio production crews to more quickly turn around replays and eye-catching montages. GRAPHICS  ESPN Creative Services has revamped the graphical presentation of MNF. A horizontal bar across the bottom of the screen will replace the lower center-third scoreboard graphic. The new look, dubbed “MNF Dashboard,” will eliminate the use of lower-third graphics, giving an unobstructed viewing experience throughout the game. All player statistics and other game data will be displayed on or below the horizontal scoreboard line
MNF will use virtual down-and-distance graphics for the first time in 2008, making this information appear as if the data is painted on the field, similar to the computer-generated yellow 1st and Ten line, which ESPN was the first to introduce in 1998. Player tracking, developed by Sportvision and introduced on MNF last season, will also return. The technology allows ESPN to virtually display different color trails on replays that show the routes that offensive and defensive players run, including how a wide receiver beats a defensive back on a long touchdown pass. HANK BACK FOR 20TH SEASON ON MNF Hank Williams Jr. is back on MNF for a 20th season to perform "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night." The new house party-themed opening video starring Williams will feature team-specific lyrics and visuals each week and will debut before the Vikings-Packers game Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. Also, Williams will sing some lyrics in Spanish before the Eagles-Cowboys game Sept. 15 as part of ESPN’s involvement in the NFL’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration game. To preview the open: 2008 Monday Night Football Open. Each week’s open will include visual production enhancements created by The Syndicate, an acclaimed high-end visual effects company in Santa Monica, Calif. PERSONALIZED PLAYER LINE-UPS ESPN’s personalized player lineups will return this season. During the opening series of each week’s MNF game, one player from each starting unit will introduce his teammates. The opening week line-ups will be voiced by the following: Minnesota: (offense) QB Tarvaris Jackson; (defense) DE Jared Allen Green Bay: (offense) OT Mark Tauscher; (defense) LB Nick Barnett Note: Broncos-Raiders game lineups (TBD) THEME MUSIC Heavy Action, the iconic music score composed by Johnny Pearson, has been the MNF theme music since 1970 and will return for the 39th season of sports television’s longest-running primetime series. PRODUCTION TEAM Emmy Award-winning senior coordinating producer Jay Rothman and director Chip Dean will again be at the production helm of MNF – the 18th season the duo will be working together – with Jed Drake serving as executive producer. ESPN’S MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FUN FACTS: - 6 – Production trucks used each week (four for game telecast, two for studio shows)
- 7 – Number of high-speed slo-motion cameras MNF will utilize in 2008
- 15 – Digital recording devices recording game action.
- 18 – Number of seasons working together for MNF producer Jay Rothman and Chip Dean (includes NFL and college football for ESPN and ABC)
- 30 – Cameras used for MNF each week
- 35 – 42" plasma screens in the MNF production trucks
- 60 – ESPN staffers working inside ESPN's MNF trucks during games
- 108 – Monitors inside MNF production truck viewed by producer Jay Rothman and director Chip Dean
- 300 – Credentialed ESPN personnel working on MNF each week
- 20,000 – Feet of cable used each week for MNF
- 21,526 – Miles ESPN's fleet of production trucks will travel during MNF regular season. Longest distance: 2,432 miles -- San Diego to Pittsburgh (Sept. 23-29). Shortest: 365 miles -- New Orleans to Houston (Nov. 25 – Dec. 1)
- 80,000 – Maximum weight in pounds of each truck in MNF fleet
Source: ESPN
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