A new hunt begins

Hockey season is here! For the ninth consecutive year, we partnered up with our friends at the Florida Panthers for their annual Media Day shoot. We revamped our set this year to showcase a fresh look for the players’ gladiator shots, featuring a blackout tunnel lined primarily with Astera Titan Tube lighting fixtures.

We had a tight turnaround due to the schedule at Baptist Health Iceplex, the Panthers’ practice facility, as we didn’t get the rink until 4pm the day prior for load-in, set, and tech checks. Our crew went until about midnight before being back the next day at 7am for the shoot. Of course, working directly on the ice comes with its own pace and challenges – and additional safety precautions must be taken.

We couldn't lay anything metal directly onto the surface (truss, bases, drape hardware, etc.) so we had to bring in wooden planks to act as a barrier. For this set, the blackout tunnel was supported by a truss structure that we bolted together and suspended in the air with crank-up towers.

Once it was covered with the blackout drape, we built “arches” with the Titan Tubes, and also used some Hyperion fixtures to achieve the desired dimensions. We complemented the design with additional Astera AX9 uplights around the interior of the tunnel. These lighting looks translated perfectly on camera for the close-up shots. Our lighting techs programmed different colors and effects (chases, strobes, etc.) to give even more eye-catching appeal.

The players came onto our set one by one for the gladiator captures: one station amongst other photography areas, green screen and headshots, interview rooms, and more. With the tunnel-like feel of our set, we were able to record a ton of movement: the players skating forward, stickhandling, and abrupt stops to create ice shavings.

We’re always honored to play a role in this preseason shoot alongside our longtime production partners at the team. Go Cats Go!