HBO's Winning Time had one of the most distinct visual styles on television, and it's a shame we won't get to see more of it.
We recently interviewed Ray McIntyre Jr. (VFX Supervisor at Pixel Magic) and Tim Stormer (Post Producer for Seasons 1 & 2 of the show) on the Fable House podcast. They broke down exactly what went into the 900 basketball shots they handled for season two, and some of the problem-solving is incredible.
If you're a fan of the show's cinematography or just love TV production trivia, here are some of the wildest details from the interview:
The Norm Nixon Trade Fix: Production realized they never actually shot footage of Norm Nixon in a Clippers jersey after his trade. To fix this and show his first game smoking the Lakers, VFX bought period-accurate Clippers jerseys. They took existing production footage of him in his Lakers uniform and digitally replaced the jerseys, hoops, court, and seats to make it look like the Clippers were visiting the Forum.
The 1.5-Minute Seamless Shot: Because they didn't have enough screen time in the episode to separately show both the Lakers and Celtics advancing to the 1984 finals, they created a massive continuous shot. The sequence seamlessly passes the ball back and forth between Magic Johnson in the Forum and Larry Bird in the Boston Garden. This shot is amazing, you should just watch it if you haven't seen it yet.
Four Arenas, One Stage: VFX was tasked with making a single soundstage play as four different 1980s NBA arenas: the Great Western Forum, the Boston Garden, the Philadelphia Spectrum, and the Salt Palace. The stage was only big enough to hold a regulation court and the first few rows of seating.
The Rollerblading Camera Operator: Some of these high energy game-play shots were filmed by a single camera operator on rollerblades.
The Wild Camera Formats: To get that authentic, weird home-video look, the crew shot on 35mm, 16mm, 8mm, and Ikegami video cameras. When the show's timeline eventually reached 1984, they even started shooting on actual VHS tapes.
It's a fascinating look at how much invisible digital work goes into period dramas.
You can check out the full interview and the visual effects footage breakdowns here: https://youtu.be/zZ1FdQHy0OA
by TheFableHousePod
2 Comments
That rollerblading camera operator detail is wild. This show was so underrated and I’m still mad it got cancelled.
I really loved the first season, I wish it followed a different team/era/cast every season. Lakers/Celts then Bad Boy Pistons then 2 seasons of Jordan with 5th season focused on the Knicks/Spurs with a flashback of Sprewell chocking PJ Carlesimo.