Lee Brownstein likes to get close to the action, producing edgy, fast-paced TV programs in crisper-than-life high definition. But his latest series, “Play 16:9,” pushed even this adventure junkie’s adrenaline into the red zone, demanding global travel on a shoestring budget — and a stopwatch deadline.
“Play 16:9” takes viewers around the world to see how people in other cultures play and compete under the most outlandish conditions, by U.S. standards. Soccer on motorcycles? Sure. Elephant polo? No problem. Pumpkin chucking? Absolutely. Or, as Brownstein puts it, “In the anthropology of sports, there are no contracts.”
Demand for HD
Brownstein’s client for the show, the digital broadcast satellite service Voom, is the largest HD provider in the U.S. with 39 channels currently on tap. “The other services only deliver a few HD channels,” says Brownstein, “so it’s a big deal to give viewers that much choice.”
It also creates a new niche for Kandor Entertainment, the company he runs with partner Howard Barish. “This year, we’re producing almost all our shows in HD,” says Brownstein. Right now, that roster includes six hour-long episodes of “Play 16:9” as well as four other extreme sports series for Voom. The title “Play 16:9” refers to the aspect ratio that distinguishes widescreen HD and feature films.
“Play 16:9” has featured La Tomatina, the giant annual Spanish tomato fight; Burning Barrels, the English pagan ritual; and the hotly-contested lawnmower races of Mansfield, Ohio.
Brownstein considers his shop a sort of HDTV factory. “We’re not doing the fabulous celebrity thing,” he says with a laugh. “We’re more the successful, grassroots producers doing real-world, day-to-day work on a large volume of HD shows.” And, he says, “we finish exclusively on Apple.”
Discerning Audiences, Shrinking Budgets
HDTV producers like Brownstein must exercise a strict discipline that’s equal parts artist and tightwad. Because even as viewers want better shows, he says, production budgets are shrinking. “Today’s audiences are more discerning, and that’s even more true in the HD world. But the budgets we get don’t reflect that jump in demand for higher-quality programs.”
Kandor Entertainment knew the challenges first-hand. “Travel shows are notoriously expensive, difficult to produce and time-consuming,” says Brownstein, “because of the multiple locations and crews. We not only had a short timeline and a small budget, but we were producing in HD.”
That, says Brownstein, raises the bar dramatically. “With HD, you can’t just point, shoot, load into Final Cut Pro, and voila! You have to know the lighting restrictions, how to synchronize the audio and video, the ins and outs of aspect ratios and lines of resolution and downconverts … HD is not just an extension of TV or video; it’s more like filmmaking. To make it work — especially on a tight budget — you really have to know what you’re doing.”
The Culture of Sports
Brownstein calls his new series “the ultimate sports show for those who value and understand the true need to compete.” The games occur in every conceivable setting. “We look at the culture of sports,” he says, “by shooting features about offbeat and alternative ways of playing in remote countries all around the globe.”
How offbeat? The show has been to Kona, Hawaii, for outrigger canoe racing and Skagway, Alaska, for the grueling, 110-mile Klondike Road Relay. It has followed the speed contests of lumbering bulls in Indonesia and leggy ostriches in Missouri. And it has zoomed in on Thai kickboxers and the high-flyers of the colorful Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
Zanier yet, “Play 16:9” has featured La Tomatina, the giant annual tomato fight that turns Buñol, Spain into a sloppy red mash. Naturally, it has covered Burning Barrels, the pagan ritual played out in Devon, England, since the Dark Ages. (“The citizens roll flaming tar barrels onto their shoulders and run around town with them,” says Brownstein in wonder. “Don’t ask — I didn’t.”) Not to mention the hotly-contested lawnmower races of Mansfield, Ohio, a bit of Midwestern Americana to rival the competitions of any nation.
Next page: Around the World, on a Budget
