NFL Films - Style

Style

Much has been made of the Films style. Salon.com television critic Matt Zoller Seitz has called NFL Films "the greatest in-house P.R. machine in pro sports history . . . an outfit that could make even a tedious stalemate seem as momentous as the battle for the Alamo."

NFL Films productions follow certain patterns. Film is mostly used, one camera is dedicated entirely to slow motion shots, microphones are present on the sidelines and near the field to pick up both the sounds of the games as well as the talk on the sidelines, and narrators with deep, powerful, baritone voices are preferred. Narrators have generally been from the Philadelphia metropolitan area, with well-known announcers such as Jefferson Kaye, Harry Kalas, John Facenda, Andy Musser, and current announcer Scott Graham all having narrated NFL Films presentations at various points in time. J.K. Simmons was tabbed to narrate the company's one-hour recap of the 16-0 regular season of the 2007 New England Patriots, while actor Burt Lancaster was tabbed for narrations during 1969. Team-specific films such as year-in-review films have occasionally been narrated by broadcasters involved with the team in question, such as the 2001 Oakland Raiders season review being narrated by actor and former Raiders player Carl Weathers while former Giant Frank Gifford has periodically narrated New York Giants season reviews and play-by-play announcer Gil Santos narrated the year-in-review films of the 1974, 1976, and 1978 New England Patriots seasons.

The style has been called tight on the spiral, a reference to the frequently-used slow-motion shot of the spinning football as it travels from the quarterback's hand to the receiver. NFL Films also dubs sound bites of local radio broadcasts over key plays, because radio announcers are typically more enthusiastic about their home teams than are network television broadcasters. In addition, NFL Films often uses multiple camera angles (with an emphasis on close-up shots that often exaggerate the speed of the players in real time), muscular orchestral scores usually provided by Sam Spence, Dave Robidoux and Tom Hedden (the company also made use of KPM Musichouse tracks, such as those of Syd Dale; tracks include "Malestrom" for the company's 1968 Minnesota Vikings season highlight reel and also the psychedelic-flavored jazz track "Artful Dodger" on the film recap of Super Bowl V), and film of the players and coaches in the locker room after the game. With these techniques NFL Films turns football games into events that mimic ballet, opera, and epic battle stories. Among the company's most famous creations is the poem and accompanying music cue The Autumn Wind, which have become official themes for the Oakland Raiders.