Go Inside ACC Network’s Hectic Labor Day Weekend
ACCN's college football production crew utilized eight different set locations in three different cities in a span of 100 hours. Weather and last-minute set relocations came into play
After kicking off the 2024 college football season overseas in Dublin, Ireland, for Week 0 on Aug. 24, the ACC Network studio production team rolled into Week 1 with live on-site coverage from three different cities to provide coverage of the ACC’s 17 programs in action over Labor Day Weekend.
The team, led by coordinating producer Mike Cambareri, navigated a myriad of challenges, including weather and last-minute set relocations to deliver live pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage from Raleigh, Atlanta, and Tallahassee all weekend long.
When lightning struck prior to the scheduled kickoff Thursday night at NC State, the ACC Huddle team swiftly relocated from their set location inside Carter-Finley Stadium to a makeshift indoor location and delivered an hour-long pregame show.
In Atlanta, Friday’s ACC PM hosted by Mark Packer from the outdoor “tailgate set” was interrupted by lightning in the first hour of the show. The team found a location inside the stadium, transferred equipment during a commercial break and resumed action with Packer interviewing Georgia Tech Athletic Director J Batt without ever going off the air.
Simultaneously, the production crew hustled to locate and stage a completely new indoor set overlooking the historic Bobby Dodd Stadium in time for ACC Huddle to go live immediately following ACC PM. The video below provides a glimpse behind the scenes of the set.
Saturday’s coverage on ACC Network saw the ACC Huddle crew provide live pregame coverage from the field at Mercedez-Benz Stadium ahead of Clemson versus Georgia before traveling back to Georgia Tech for live pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage of Georgia State at Georgia Tech.
In all, the crew utilized eight different set locations over the course of the holiday weekend, spanning NC State, Mercedez-Benz Stadium, Georgia Tech, and at Florida State, for the Seminoles’ Labor Day game against visiting Boston College.
“The comprehensive content we were able to deliver to fans despite the weather challenges speaks to the planning, adaptability, and ambition of the entire team, both at the three campuses and in Bristol,” said ESPN Senior Vice President, Production, Michael Shiffman.
The on-site ACC Network studio production team consisted of Shiffman, Cambareri, supervising director Howie Lutt, production manager Amanda Braunlich, producers Bryan Ives and Mike Knittle, director Laura Shaw, operations producers Matt Bagan and Kevin Hendel, operations coordinator Madison Haynes, researcher Drew Weinert, production coordinator Cam Barker and stage manager Zoey Davis.
Jon McLeod produced the compilation video embedded at the top of the post; Michael Shiffman provided the video from a suite in Bobby Dodd Stadium
