Inside PhanaVision

Each spring & summer I freelance as a camera operator & director for the Philadelphia Phillies (MLB)
in their Video Services Department’s division known as PhanaVision, which is the proper name of the IMAG display (or, “Jumbotron”) at Citizens Bank Park. We run a full scale live multi-camera production using six of our own manned cameras plus feeds from half a dozen broadcast network cameras, two replay systems, graphics, animations and video playback. PhanaVision personnel are responsible for all video and graphic display systems in and around CBP, event audio, as well as game scoring and the out-of-town score board displays in lower right field. It takes a gameday staff of about 25 freelancers and several full time staff to make everything come together, from the aesthetics to technical execution and production – all adhering to MLB rules for in-stadium A/V content during gameplay (detailed in a 15-page manifesto of what you can and can’t show, and when). In the 2017 season, NBC10 in Philadelphia produced a short behind-the-scenes package about PhanaVision. It’s one of those rare moments that the crew behind the scenes end up on screen intentionally (including yours truly). Click to watch: NBC10 goes inside PhanaVision