ExtremeRavens Posted December 3 Posted December 3 Tucked away in a corner of the Ravens’ sprawling practice facility in Owings Mills are a pair of gray, wooden temporary trailers. They are inconspicuous and look as if they’ve been there all along, which is sort of the point. They have not, but the idea is to blend in. For the first time, HBO’s and NFL Films’ “Hard Knocks” series is chronicling an entire division — the AFC North — during the season, and inside the two trailers, along with at NFL Films headquarters in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, is where the magic happens. It also marks Baltimore’s first appearance in the series since the inaugural season in 2001. Crews will follow the Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns over the final six weeks of the regular season, documenting them on the field and off it, in meetings, inside the locker room and at the players’ homes. The series debuts Tuesday at 9 p.m. and the 55-minute long episodes will air each subsequent week through the playoffs as long as any of the teams are still alive. Last season, the division became the first to have all four teams finish with a winning record, which was only part of the reason the series is focusing on the AFC North this year. “We’ve never had a chance in an access show like this to feature rivalries,” vice president/head of content at NFL Films Keith Cossrow told The Baltimore Sun. “That’s why it was so important to us when we started this iteration of ‘Hard Knocks’ to start in the AFC North. We know what this division is about. We know how these teams feel about each other. We know the history of it. We know that every one of these games, metaphorically speaking, is a bloodbath.” To capture it all will require an army of people and cameras. From before sunrise to well after sunset, Baltimore directors Tim Rumpff and Courtland Bragg and their crew will film practices and meetings and interview players and coaches. One or as many as a few players will also be mic’d up each day. Robotic cameras have also been installed at each of the team’s headquarters. The process began in earnest in the week leading up to what ended up being a 24-19 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. In all, there are about 14 people with boots on the ground every day in Owings Mills and at each of the sites for the other teams, with the size of the crews stretching into the 20s for divisional games. By the time an episode hits the air, roughly 150 people will have ultimately touched it in varying capacities, not that anyone on site would necessarily realize it. “We work very hard to stay invisible,” Cossrow said. “Invariably, the teams gain a lot of respect because they see them when they got there and they’re still there when they leave.” The math is also “a little bit scary,” he added, when it comes to how much film is required to fill out each episode — about 200 to 300 hours per hour of “Hard Knocks” — and the turnaround is extremely tight at roughly 48 hours. A film crew working in conjunction with the NFL and HBO film a recent Ravens practice for "Hard Knocks." (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)A film crew working in conjunction with the NFL and HBO film a recent Ravens practice for "Hard Knocks." (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)A film crew working in conjunction with the NFL and HBO film a recent Ravens practice for "Hard Knocks." (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)Show Caption1 of 3A film crew working in conjunction with the NFL and HBO film a recent Ravens practice for "Hard Knocks." (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff)Expand “As this progresses, we’ll get to know [the players] and hopefully be at their homes with their families, or the drive-in with them or the drive home,” Bragg said. “Hopefully it’ll give an opportunity not just of one fan base but four fan bases to really get an intimate view of their favorite players.” There’s also the matter what they can show and what they can’t. Each week, the directors on site decide on the approach they will take creatively around the biggest and most relevant storylines as they see them. Then they’ll share their thoughts with the organizations while filming as much as they can. The day before each episode airs, each team will be given a copy of that week’s show and they will have the opportunity to approve it based mostly on competitive balance issues. In other words, there is a line when it comes to what gets revealed, though there is a back-and-forth between the two sides. “Obviously we don’t want the TV show to make bulletin board material,” Cossrow said. “These teams dislike each other enough. This whole show is about rivalries and teams that hate each other, so we’re not here to pour gasoline on the fire. “If there’s any issues we’ll discuss it. But it’s not a matter of the Ravens calling NFL Films and saying, ‘Here’s what the show is about this week.’ That’s never happened in the history of the show.” So far, so good. Ravens coach John Harbaugh says the presence of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” won’t alter how the team prepares. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) “We have open dialogue as to what they’re looking for and what we’re comfortable with,” Ravens longtime senior vice president of communications Chad Steele said on Monday. “We’re a week into it and it’s been as smooth as you could hope for.” How will Ravens coach John Harbaugh handle the extra sets of prying eyes and cameras, particularly during what will be an important if not tense part of the season with the battle for the AFC North likely to come down to the wire? “We’re not going to do anything different,” he said, adding that he’s never seen the show. “We’re just going to be us; that’s how we’re going to handle it. We’re going to be very genuine. It’ll be real.” Which is the ultimate goal of the filmmakers as well. This series will also be different from the training camp edition, which employs a much bigger crew to cover everything from roster battles to unknown players to the lighter moments that often take place during the summer. “The difference between this show and the summer show is the stakes,” Rumpff said. “Everything matters.” That’s the intrigue, capturing it all when the stakes are the highest. The cast of characters is also an embarrassment of riches. From Ravens quarterback and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson and two-time NFL rushing champ Derrick Henry to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Russell Wilson to seemingly never-ending drama in Cleveland, there is no shortage of star power. And at the center of a potential journey to the Super Bowl is also one of the best rivalries in the sport, with the Ravens and Steelers slated to face off on Dec. 21 in Baltimore. Currently, Pittsburgh has a 1 1/2-game lead over Baltimore as the Ravens enter their bye this week with their next game on Dec. 15 against the New York Giants before the Saturday showdown six days later against Pittsburgh, which has won eight of its past nine against Baltimore, including last month at Acrisure Stadium. The rematch at M&T Bank Stadium could decide the division title. It figures to be the most critical game remaining on the Ravens’ schedule and thus the most delicious of the episodes. That in turn also sets the stage for what has the potential for fascinating television. “It’s a great opportunity to document history,” Bragg said. “I look at this project as potentially the first time NFL Films could be embedded with a team that goes all the way and wins the Super Bowl.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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