![\"AMERICAN](\"http:\/\/www.icgmagazine.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/NUP_182170_0241.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Television\u2019s most heart-pounding action comes from an obstacle-course road show, better known as (cue the announcer) American Ninja Warrior!<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n Anyone who\u2019s been in the control room during a live sports broadcast \u2013 college or pro football, the March Madness basketball tournament, an MBL game \u2013 can sniff the air of professionalism that breathes through every monitor and camera angle, not unlike, I imagine, watching a group of flight controllers landing planes at a busy airport. But on my recent visit to Universal Studios, where the team from American Ninja Warrior <\/em>(the feel-good reality competition show, where contestants are cheered no matter the outcome, and the only villains are the ever-changing physical obstacles they try to conquer) was working, I see every bit the level of professionalism of a Super Bowl control room, but also something else. Emotion.<\/p>\n \u201cAny time you have elements like a rooting interest in the contestants, a clock, dynamic personal stories, and friends and family watching from the stands, you\u2019re going to have a control room where people get personally invested,\u201d describes director Patrick McManus, who came aboard in Season 6 and has, according to the show\u2019s longtime DP\/Lighting Designer Adam Biggs, brought a new level of production value to Ninja Warrior<\/em>.<\/p>\n McManus, whose r\u00e9sum\u00e9includes NFL and NCAA football games and Indy Car racing,makes this comparison: \u201cBaseball doesn\u2019t get cooking until the 7th<\/sup>inning, and by the time you reach the 9th<\/sup>inning, everyone\u2019s on their feet. Every time a Ninja starts the course, it\u2019s the 9th<\/sup>inning! There\u2019s no ramp-up to the drama,and you\u2019re embedded. So when a walk-on gets up the warped wall, you\u2019ll see high-fives around [the control room]. And that emotion carries through to everyone on the set. You can\u2019t help but root for these people.\u201d<\/p>\n The UK-born Biggs, whose broad skillset of documentary, scripted episodic and unscripted reality made him a perfect fit when Ninja <\/em>co-creator Kent Weed (and the company he co-runs with Arthur Smith, A. Smith & Co.) transposed Japan\u2019s popular Sasuke <\/em>obstacle show to U.S. television, says he can\u2019t help but root for his large IATSE camera crew and lighting team, who make Biggs \u201clook great\u201d every night.<\/p>\n \u201cNBC\u2019s goal for Ninja<\/em>,\u201d Biggs relates, in between asks through his com line to any of the 18 camera operators shooting the course, \u201cwas how will viewers know the difference between Season 10 and reruns? The answer was more production value, including a second warped wall with new lighting and graphics, another Technocrane, a Cablecam [that runs the length of the course from above] for the city finals, and drones to provide full aerial pullbacks. [At the National Finals, helicopters replace drones, which are not allowed in the Las Vegas airspace.] It\u2019s really a testament to this camera team that as we continue to add more elaborate positions each season, they rise to the challenge without even so much as a hint of compromising safety. Ninja <\/em>may well be the safest, most well-oiled machine I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n Biggs explains that less than 24 hours before I arrived, he was helping to place a 40-foot t-rexand pteranodon in a way that would work for lighting and cameras, as well creating lighting cues for the huge entrance gates with pyro that each Ninja walks through before starting the course. \u201cUniversal has a very specific color palette for the dinosaurs,\u201d he details, \u201cand that factored into how we lit the foreground and background elements, all of which were added for just one night.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter we finish shooting tonight,\u201d he adds, \u201cwe\u2019ll have a daytime crew strike [the Jurassic <\/em>set] and then reset for our regular show, which shoots tomorrow night! The host tower [where Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila announce the show] had special lighting just for the Jurassic <\/em>set. So working with [Gaffer] Jeff Noble and [Lighting Director] Ed Motts, we had to create those cues, as well as the programming for tomorrow night\u2019s final. Also, this Jurassic <\/em>tie-in night has 120 ninjas running the course, so we, literally, will finish just before the sun can rise and create havoc with the continuity and lighting.\u201d<\/p>\n Talking with 45-foot-Technocrane Operator Jason Kay just after Jurassic World\u00a0<\/em>star Chris Pratt has shot a promo on the Ninja<\/em> set reveals a host of new challenges for the night. \u201cNormally we don\u2019t have to worry about all this set dressing [shrubbery, palm fronds, etc.],\u201d Kay points out. \u201cSo [the Jurassic<\/em> integration] will alter how the cameras fly, and the route the handhelds would typically use to cover the runners, along with the operator shooting the friends-and-family side. The Grip Trix camera car [with Steadicam operator], which always parallels the course, will end up in a different spot as well. We normally duplicate all the different camera positions as we travel from city to city [where the regional finals are held prior to the National Finals in Las Vegas], but tonight is a whole different animal [laughs]. No pun intended.\u201d<\/p>\n Kay, who\u2019s starting his fourth season on Ninja<\/em>, says bringing in multiple telescopic camera cranes [the 30-foot Techno is set near the parallel 14.5 and 18-foot warped walls, which contestants must climb up to complete their run] is rare for the world of unscripted reality shows. \u201cI would normally not get a Techno call for unscripted,\u201d Kay describes. \u201cBut there\u2019s so much production value behind this show, and they keep adding more every year. Last season we had three Technos for the Vegas finals, including a 60-foot Moviebird. It\u2019s always challenging because the space I have to work in is fairly tight and I cannot affect the course or runners in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n All 18 Ninja\u00a0<\/em>camera operators have discrete assignments. \u201cMy Techno will do a big move-in as the Ninja comes through the Jurassic <\/em>gates and the pyro goes off,\u201d Kay continues. \u201cThen as they count the Ninja down to start, I\u2019ll do a big move-out. Because I don\u2019t know how it will be put together in editorial, I try to change each move slightly \u2013 like using different foreground elements \u2013 while being careful not to affect the tight or slo-mo shots from the long-lens [Sony FS700, Sony HDC4300] cameras up on the platforms, or the handheld [Sony F-800 microwaved back to the control room] that sees the run in a wide shot. With so many operators all working in a tight configuration, there\u2019s a different dynamic than a feature [or scripted TV]. Let\u2019s just say the camera channel on our headsets gets a lot of use \u2013 we\u2019re always talking to see what shots we can get without impeding lighting, each other, or the course!\u201d<\/p>\n As Art Director Michael Levinson watches over his team finessing the set dressing after Pratt\u2019s promo, Guild member Austin Rock steps off a Condor to tell me about his role as Ninja\u2019s <\/em>Head Utility. Rock oversees all of the POV cameras, as well as the SMPTE lines that feed the long-lens studio cameras raised up on the platforms. \u201cWe make sure all of the GoPros are set up, and basically anything video-related is rigged and working properly,\u201d Rock describes. \u201cWe use five lock-off POV cameras mounted to truss, and six [truss-mounted] robotic cameras in the middle of the course that shoot tight and overhead shots. I\u2019ve been on Ninja <\/em>for seven years, and the growth in the amount of cameras has been tremendous. Back in the day everything was copper, but now we\u2019re all fiber, which makes for a clean and easy feed back to engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n Rock, who has used the same team of four [including himself] describes the overall Ninja <\/em>operation as \u201cturn-key,\u201d including a level of trust and shorthand that can boast of no gear falls in his seven seasons. \u201cEverything in the air is safety-mounted so that we\u2019ve never had a camera come loose or impact the contestants or the crew in any way,\u201d he continues. \u201cI\u2019ve been a utility [for Steadicam] in other live-event areas, like the Oscars and Emmys. But Ninja\u00a0<\/em>is my only show in the reality world. And this team is really tight.\u201d<\/p>\n Dominck DeFrank, now in his sixth season as Lead AC, says his team of AC\u2019s (James Martinez \u00a0aka\u00a0\u201cJMart,\u201d\u00a0Jesse Martinez, Shelby Cipolla and Patrick Bellante) are required \u2013 like the Ninjas they chase after \u2013 to\u00a0bring their A-game every night. \u201cIt\u2019s a\u00a0very fast-paced, leap-frog environment that keeps us constantly on the move,\u201d DeFrank describes.\u00a0\u201cWe are [literally] racing along side each competitor as they make their way down the course, sometimes up to 125 times a night for city qualifiers. I\u2019ve always found multi-cam obstacle course shows very challenging; we watch\u00a0each other’s backs, forever focused on keeping our ops and each other safe.”<\/p>\n \u201cNinja <\/em>is unique in that we have handheld reality shooters [covering the Ninjas on the course, the friends and family, and post-run Ninja interviews] along with experienced long-lens sports camera people, who are very skilled at following action at varying rates of speed,\u201d Stabile tells me. Biggs says sports shooters are a different breed than \u201coperators who do reality or handheld follow-docs, because they have to anticipate where the action is headed. It\u2019s a different technique \u2013 focus, zoom, panning, etcetera \u2013 when you\u2019re on a long-lens broadcast camera versus having a camera on your shoulder. The reality operator, on the other hand, is usually very adept at single, handheld coverage, and knowing how to discretely follow a conversation on set, often on a wide lens. Both skillsets are invaluable on Ninja Warrior.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince [Patrick McManus] comes from broadcast sports,\u201d Stabile explains, \u201che has a shorthand with those long-lens operators, who are skilled at shooting the Ninjas who move very quickly through the course. They are great at capturing that hand or finger as it slips off a bar, or holding focus in frame as the athletes are literally flying through the air.\u201d<\/p>\n McManus says operators that are experienced with \u201csports-lens cameras\u201d are used to shooting athletes moving quickly at distance [like on a football field]. \u201cOn this show, they need to hold focus under dark conditions, and face other similar challenges,\u201d he observes. \u201cHandheld operators need to be strong and durable, and have framing skills that include catching background and foreground elements of the various cities we travel to, while always keeping sight of the objective, which is to reveal all of that emotion during the Ninja\u2019s run.\u201d<\/p>\n While the director admits different operators have different strengths, he says it\u2019s Ninja\u2019s <\/em>camera team\u2019s ability to operate multi-camera positions that is most beneficial to his show call. \u201cWith the exception of a Techno or a Fly Cam, most everyone can do hard cameras well as RF handhelds, which is key if someone twists an ankle and we\u2019re down a position,\u201d McManus adds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have operators on this show who can carry 50 pounds of camera on their shoulders, no problem. It\u2019s a smart and savvy crew, meaning they keep track of each other\u2019s shots. If two operators are standing next to each other, they know I want one shooting tight, hands and face, and the other head to toe showing the whole obstacle. It\u2019s that perfect mix of hard cameras that capture emotions, faces, handgrips on the obstacles, and those handhelds who can move dynamically with the Ninja on the course so we see the connection with the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n Megan Drew, who was on a long-lensed platform camera (shooting high-speed frames for close-ups and slow-motion replays) for the Jurassic <\/em>night shoot, is a prime example of Ninja\u2019s <\/em>skill diversity. \u201cMy background is mostly unscripted,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut I\u2019ve been asked to work every camera and support setup out there, short of swinging a jib! For the hard cameras, we usually shoot at a 3.4 stop, at the long end of a 95\u00d7lens. When a super Ninja is racing straight toward you at speed, and you have no time to look with the naked eye to see where the athlete is geographically, you have to be super sharp and dialed-in to make sure you get the necessary moments focused and clean. It\u2019s a constant challenge on every run, and one I love.\u201d<\/p>\n Drew also loves the magical moments Ninja <\/em>provides. \u201cMy first season on the show,\u201d she continues, \u201cI got to shoot Kacy Catanzaro as she became the first woman to make it up the Warped Wall. Getting the hero shot as Kacy celebrated provided a sense of pride that I was a part of a groundbreaking\u00a0moment. The unique thing aboutNinja <\/em>is that Patrick brings his best crew from sports to mix with his new stable of unscripted operatorsand crew.We all have different working stylesand habits, and it\u2019s fun and interesting to compare notes.\u201d<\/p>\n McManus says every Ninja show includes foreground and background elements, along with overhead, side angles, close-up, slo-mo, etc. \u201cIt\u2019s often the personality-driven aspect of the series that drives the coverage,\u201d he describes. \u201cThe big difference between Ninja<\/em>and more traditional broadcast sports is that when you walk into the Superdomeor the Indy 500, everything\u2019s done \u2013 you\u2019re not thinking about lighting, set design, or decorative elements. On a Ninja <\/em>set, we look at every possible angle \u2013 not to show sky but to show background, not to show shadow but to reveal faces in the crowd or a key part of an obstacle that\u2019s tripping everyone up. And it falls on Adam to bring all those elements together with lighting and camera placement.\u201d<\/p>\n Weed first hired Biggs as his lighting designer on The Swan\u00a0<\/em>(2004), which Weed directed. \u201cI basically fell in love with Adam\u2019s whole approach,\u201d the EP admits. \u201cLike me, he has a very diverse background \u2013 live event, variety, and reality\u00a0\u2013 and his flexibility onset is fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n While Weed says he\u2019s worked with many Emmy-winning LD\u2019s (Guild members Oscar Dominguez and Kieran Healy being the two most celebrated), he\u2019s continued to hire Biggs, because he thinks just like a director. \u201cAdam\u2019s more like an old-school film DP,\u201d Weed adds. \u201cHe not only understands lighting for television, which all LD\u2019s do, but he also has a broad knowledge of cameras and lenses, and those abilities really make him a director\u2019s friend. Adam was there when Ninja <\/em>first started in daytime [on the now defunct G4 cable channel], and he\u2019s been essential to all the growth we\u2019ve seen, in this our tenthseason.\u201d<\/p>\n While all of what Weed describes is true, it\u2019s Biggs\u2019 overriding concern for the safety of his crew that shines through on the night I visit. Standing near the newly added 18-foot warped wall, which is inset on both sides with lighting patterns and colors Biggs designed, he explains how\u00a0Ninja\u2019s <\/em>growth has been great fun, but not at the expense of safety.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have four shock blocks to protect us from electricity concerns with all of the many moving and fixed lights rigged throughout the course,\u201d he gestures. \u201cAnd those long-lensed hard cameras you see, which are 12 to 15 feet up in the air, are, of course, all safety-railed. They used to be up on scaffolding, but now it\u2019s all truss platforms, which are more secure. In past seasons, we used operators harnessed in Condors for high shots, but we\u2019ve replaced that with Cablecam, for similar safety concerns. Of course, no one ever climbs up on a platform without a harness on this show\u2026except me,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI\u2019ve been known to jump up with my meter, after we\u2019ve pre-lit, to make sure the levels are correct. Bad Adam!\u201d<\/p>\n Biggs\u2019 self-assessment may be harsh, but his praise for his camera team (and how they execute McManus\u2019 call) is all-out. \u201cWe have 18 cameras, but not on every obstacle,\u201d he explains. \u201cThat means an operator covering obstacle one will [literally] run full speed down the course to get to, say, obstacle four; each camera will have two or three positions to cover in the first half of the course.\u201d<\/p>\n The key to Ninja\u2019s <\/em>appeal, Biggs feels, is audiences grasping the various Ninjas\u2019 individual challenges (and each one different), conveyed by each camera\u2019s unique assignment \u2013 the wide shot for geography, the close shots and POV\u2019s for the eyes, hands, and feet. \u201cThe \u2018friends and family\u2019 camera is incredibly important,\u201d he says walking back to the control room. \u201cThere may be a half-dozen people all yelling, \u2018Beat that wall! Beat that wall!\u2019 And there\u2019s only one operator in that right spot, with only one chance to get their reactions. It\u2019s absolutely crucial to the story.\u201d<\/p>\n As is the line cut McManus delivers each night after exiting the control room. While footage like the Ninjas\u2019 \u201chometown stories\u201d (shot by Guild operator Brian Connolly in a style consistent with Biggs\u2019 look for each city qualifier and final) will be added in editorial, the veteran director says his line cut is often for the benefit of Iseman and Gbaja-Biamila, whose voice-overs are key to the narrative. \u201cThose guys come up with brilliant lines reacting to [the camera angles] that show all of the personal connections,\u201d he concludes. \u201cLast season we had a female Ninja whose son did back flips every time she ran the course. Of course we need to include that in my line cut, no matter what [the producers] end up keeping in post.\u201d<\/p>\n As midnight approaches, the\u00a0Jurassic <\/em>night has produced few keeper runs, much to the dismay of Ninja\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>control room. With two preteens in tow, my night is over; but with some 90 more Ninjas yet to run, Biggs, McManus and company will strafe close to their sunrise deadline. Just after the DP whispers into his com line for more flare off a fixed camera, the room erupts in laughter \u2013 a walk-on named \u201cChivo the Goat\u201d has raced through the first few obstacles, then paused to blow a kiss to \u201cCamera 10\u201d on the friends and family side. Moments later, when a prominent Ninja goes out much earlier than expected, groans of disappointment engulf the crowded trailer, and 1200 lights that encircle the course all go simultaneously red.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a single button the board operator pushes when a Ninja falls,\u201d Biggs nods.<\/p>\n \u201cI want that raptor to sneak up and scare him,\u201d McManus tells an operator as the pyro pops and the next Ninja moves through the big Jurassic World <\/em>starting gate. \u201cThat\u2019ll be good!\u201d<\/p>\n by David Geffner<\/em> <\/p>\n American Ninja Warrior<\/strong><\/p>\n Director of Photography\/Lighting Designer<\/strong><\/p>\n Adam Biggs<\/p>\n Lighting Director<\/strong><\/p>\n Ed Motts<\/p>\n Camera Operators<\/strong><\/p>\n Derk Anderko<\/p>\n Jay Mack Arnette<\/p>\n Tim Baker<\/p>\n Cameron Cannon<\/p>\n Brian Connolly<\/p>\n Megan Drew<\/p>\n Malkuth Frahm<\/p>\n Brian Freesh, SOC<\/p>\n Jason Hafer, SOC<\/p>\n Will Hooke<\/p>\n Jeff Rhoads<\/p>\n Rodrigo Rodrigues<\/p>\n Brett Smith<\/p>\n Jed Udall<\/p>\n David West<\/p>\n Danny Whiteneck<\/p>\n Brenda Zuniga, SOC<\/p>\n Technocrane Operators<\/strong><\/p>\n Steve Ritchie<\/p>\n Adam Vessels<\/p>\n Technocrane Technicians<\/strong><\/p>\n Michael Fletchall<\/p>\n Jason Kay<\/p>\n Drone Crew<\/strong><\/p>\n Mike Fortin<\/p>\n Mike Solomon<\/p>\n Falcon Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n Darren Sanders<\/p>\n Falcon Pilot: Eric Foster<\/p>\n Camera Assistants<\/strong><\/p>\n Patrick Bellante<\/p>\n Shelby Cipolla<\/p>\n Dominic DeFrank<\/p>\n James Martinez<\/p>\n Jesse Martinez<\/p>\n Loader<\/strong><\/p>\n Lorie Moulton<\/p>\n Head Utility<\/strong><\/p>\n Austin Rock<\/p>\n Utilities<\/strong><\/p>\n Tim Farmer<\/p>\n Ryan Jordan<\/p>\n Video Controller<\/strong><\/p>\n Alan Pineda<\/p>\n Still Photographer<\/strong><\/p>\n Tyler Golden<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Television\u2019s most heart-pounding action comes from an obstacle-course road show, better known as (cue the announcer) American Ninja Warrior! Anyone who\u2019s been in the control room during a live sports broadcast \u2013 college or pro football, the March Madness basketball tournament, an MBL game \u2013 can sniff the air of professionalism that breathes through every monitor and camera angle, not unlike, I imagine, watching a group of flight controllers landing planes at a busy airport. But on my recent visit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"American](\"http:\/\/www.icgmagazine.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/NUP_182169_0017-1.jpg\")
Well-oiled to be sure, but not without its fair share of challenges. <\/strong>The L.A. regional qualifier was spectacular even by Ninja\u2019s <\/em>epic standards. It featured a Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom <\/em>promotional set, six months in the making, which had to be shot and struck in a 24-hour period. \u201cFor this Jurassic World <\/em>integration,\u201d Biggs continues, \u201cwe had basically two art departments \u2013 our regular Ninja look [set by Production Designer Michael Carney] and the special promo look [led by Production Designer Ryan Faught, who pre-visualized the Jurassic <\/em>set in animatics, and Michael Levinson, who art-directed the final product]. That meant I needed completely separate lighting design and camera coverage for just one taping.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"American](\"http:\/\/www.icgmagazine.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/NUP_182170_0504.jpg\")
The cohesion that envelops the entire Ninja <\/em>set is no accident. <\/strong>The show is one of the most demanding and unique in the industry, as it requires a multitude of complementary skillsets to fulfill its hybrid format \u2013 equal parts live sports, live event, and personality-driven storytelling. Nowhere is that blend more evident than amongst Ninjas\u2019 <\/em>operators. Co-Executive Producer Kristen Stabile says many are handpicked for their experience.<\/p>\n![\"American](\"http:\/\/www.icgmagazine.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/NUP_182170_8278-1.jpg\")
Many consider \u201cBiggsy,\u201d as he\u2019s known around theset, the connective tissue\u00a0<\/strong>that links Ninja\u2019s <\/em>hybrid elements. Drew says she\u2019s continually impressed by Biggs\u2019 lighting, \u201cwhich keeps getting more nuanced and sophisticated, even though he has the impossible job of lighting a several-hundred-yard course over multiple obstacles and rest areas,\u201d she adds, \u201cwith cameras on the ground, on process vehicles, on jibs, on tower platforms and in the air on wires, not to mention in-the-moment interviews and audience reactions, as well as success and fail cues, all on a different location every two weeks, six times per season \u2013 without visible shadows!\u201d<\/p>\n![\"American](\"http:\/\/www.icgmagazine.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/NUP_182169_2902.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nphotos by Tyler Golden\/NBC Universal<\/em><\/p>\nLOCAL 600 CREW LIST<\/h3>\n