NFL Films is a company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League. Founded as Blair Motion Pictures by Ed Sabol in 1962, and now run by his son Steven Sabol , it is currently owned by the NFL.

Contents

1 Founding 2 Style 3 Television Programs 4 Success 5 Controversy 1 Related sites 2 External Links

Founding

Founder Ed Sabol was a World War II veteran who worked selling topcoats after returning back to the United States. In his spare time, he often used a motion picture camera, received as a wedding gift, to record his son, Steven’s, high school football games. Inspired by his own work, Sabol founded a small film company, named Blair Motion Pictures after his daughter, and bought the rights to film the 1962 NFL championship game for $3,000. The film of that game impressed NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle who asked the owners of the NFL to agree to buy out Sabol's company. Although the owners rejected Rozelle's proposal in 1964, they agreed a year later and renamed it "NFL Films." [1]

Style

Much has been made of the style that NFL Films produces. All follow certain patterns: they are always shot on film, they have one camera shoot the action entirely in slow motion, they have microphones on the sidelines and near the field to pick up both the sound of the game as well as the talk on the sidelines, and pick narrators with deep and powerful voices, such as the famous John Facenda called by some as "The Voice of God." In addition, they often use multiple camera angles, operatic scores, and film of the players and coaches in the locker room after the game. Many say that through the use of these techniques, NFL Films turns football games into forms similar to ballet, opera, and epic battles.[2]

Television Programs

NFL Films produces the Greatest Moments series, which details classic games from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; the Lost Treasures series, which uses old NFL Films footage which had previously never been shown on television to give an inside and largely uncut look at football players, coaches, and referees; and NFL Films Presents, which shows games of today that NFL Films produces in their traditional, dramatic style. They appear on either ESPN or the NFL Network.

Also, NFL Films' game highlights are a staple of HBO's Inside the NFL .

Success

Although NFL Films earns more than $50 million in revenue a year and is expanding at a double digit rate, compared to the $18 billion in revenue that the NFL earns from television alone, most consider this to be minor. [3] The real value of NFL Films is how it packages and sells the game and many credit it for the reason that the NFL has become the most watched league in the United States.

In addition to covering the NFL, NFL Films has also ventured into other unrelated documentary films, such as documenting the Munich Olympics incident for one of NBC's Olympics coverage, and serving as back-up film photography for other major events.

Controversy

Although NFL Films is trusted by nearly all the players and coaches of the NFL, some have said this is because that they almost never show those interviewed, or the league itself, in a poor light. Many criticize it for not showing the seedier side of pro football, including promiscuity, excessive violence, and heavy drug use. Sports Illustrated once called NFL Films "…perhaps the most effective propaganda organ in the history of corporate America."

Steven Sabol counters these arguments by saying:

"That's not what we do. That's being done by others. Why should we join that group?...There's newspapers, and tabloids and television. They're doing that. So I don't contribute, and just follow along. The game is beautiful and I love it, and that's the way I want to portray it." [4]

Related sites

National Football League

American Football

External Links

• NFL Films
• NFL