NFL Films facts for kids
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| Predecessor | Blair Motion Pictures |
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| Founded | 1962 |
| Founder | Ed Sabol |
| Headquarters | , |
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Key people
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Steve Sabol (1962–2012) John Facenda (1966–1984) Sam Spence (1966–1990) Harry Kalas (1975–2009) |
| Parent | National Football League |
NFL Films is a special company that makes movies and TV shows about the National Football League (NFL). They create commercials, TV programs, and documentaries all about football. They also cover other big events sometimes.
NFL Films started in 1962 as a company called Blair Motion Pictures. It was founded by Ed Sabol. Today, NFL Films is based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. They produce almost all of the NFL's filmed content, except for live game broadcasts.
Contents
How NFL Films Started
The founder, Ed Sabol, was a veteran from World War II. After the war, he sold topcoats. In his free time, he loved using a motion picture camera to film his son Steve's high school football games.
This hobby inspired Sabol to start his own small film company. He named it Blair Motion Pictures, after his daughter. In 1962, Sabol won the chance to film the NFL championship game. He paid $5,000 for the rights.
The film of that game really impressed Pete Rozelle, who was the NFL Commissioner. He liked it so much that he asked the NFL team owners to buy Sabol's company. They didn't agree right away in 1964, but they did a year later. In 1965, they renamed Sabol's company NFL Films.
Ed Sabol received $20,000 from each of the 14 NFL team owners. In return, NFL Films would film all NFL games. They would also create a special highlight film for each team every year.
Later, when the American Football League (AFL) joined the NFL, NFL Films started covering AFL games too. This began in 1968.
On August 6, 2011, Ed Sabol was honored for his contributions to the NFL. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ed Sabol passed away on February 9, 2015.
The NFL Films Style
Many people talk about the special "NFL Films style." It's known for making even a regular game feel very exciting and important.
How They Make Their Films
NFL Films uses a unique way to make their shows:
- They mostly use real film, not just video.
- One camera is always set up just for slow-motion shots.
- They place microphones on the sidelines and near the field. This helps them capture the sounds of the game and what players and coaches say.
- They prefer narrators with deep, powerful voices. Many of these narrators come from the Philadelphia area. Famous voices include John Facenda and Harry Kalas. Sometimes, actors like Burt Lancaster or J.K. Simmons have narrated.
- They often add sounds from local radio broadcasts over big plays. Radio announcers are usually very excited about their home teams!
- They use many different camera angles, often with close-up shots. This can make players look even faster.
- They use strong, exciting orchestral music. Famous composers like Sam Spence created many of these tunes.
Famous Shots and Music
One famous shot is called tight on the spiral. This is a slow-motion shot of the football spinning as it flies through the air. It often starts with the quarterback throwing, then zooms in on the ball, and finally zooms out as it lands in the receiver's hands.
NFL Films also shows footage of players and coaches in the locker room after games. They turn football games into stories that feel like a ballet, an opera, or an epic battle. One of their most famous creations is the poem and music called "The Autumn Wind." This has become a special theme for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Television Programs
NFL Films creates many popular TV shows.
Popular Series
- Hard Knocks: This series follows one NFL team during their training camp. It shows what happens as they get ready for the season.
- Greatest Moments: This series looks back at classic games from different decades.
- Lost Treasures: This show uses old NFL Films footage that has never been seen before. It explores stories about players, coaches, and referees.
- NFL Films Presents: This is a general title for other NFL Films shows that don't fit into a specific series.
- NFL Game of the Week: This show highlights a big game from the previous week of the current season.
NFL Films also produces shows for NFL Network, like NFL Total Access. They even have their own channel on the free streaming service Pluto TV.
Preserving History
NFL Films has been very important for keeping football history alive. In the 1960s, many sports TV broadcasts were not recorded or were later erased. But NFL Films always had cameras there. Because of them, we still have video footage from many early NFL games, including some of the first Super Bowls. Without NFL Films, much of this history would be lost!
Fun and Bloopers
The Sabols, who ran NFL Films, also liked to show their sense of humor. They created the Football Follies series. This show uses funny blooper plays, like fumbles, dropped passes, players slipping, and silly mistakes. It's all put together with funny narration.
Current Programs
Here are some of the shows NFL Films produces now:
- A Football Life
- NFL Films Presents
- Inside the NFL
- NFL Turning Point
- NFL Gameday All-Access
- NFL Matchup
- Peyton's Places
- NFL Icons
- Good Morning Football
Upcoming Programs
- Quarterback
Success of NFL Films
NFL Films makes over $50 million in revenue each year. While this is a lot, it's a small part of the NFL's total earnings. The real value of NFL Films is how it makes the game exciting and easy to understand. Many people believe NFL Films is a key reason why the NFL is the most watched sports league in the United States.
Beyond Football
Besides covering the NFL, NFL Films has also worked on other projects:
- They helped document the Munich Olympics massacre for NBC's Olympics coverage.
- They have done backup filming for other major sports events, like the Stanley Cup Finals (hockey), the NBA Finals (basketball), and the World Series (baseball).
- They even produced the music video for the band Journey's 1983 hit song "Faithfully".
- They worked with Volkswagen to produce the "Truth in 24" series about Audi's racing efforts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
NFL Films has won many awards for its work. They have won 112 Sports Emmys!
Albums
NFL Films has also released music albums:
- The Power and the Glory: The Original Music & Voices of NFL Films (1998)
- Autumn Thunder: 40 Years of NFL Films Music (2004)
- NFL Country (1996)
- Music from National Football League Films, LP NFL-1, c. 1970s.
Films
Here are some feature films produced by NFL Films:
- Truth in 24 (2008)
- Lombardi (2011)
- Fantasy Football (2022)
- The Perfect 10 (2023)
NFL Films Lab
What the Lab Does
NFL Films has its own special lab for processing film. This means that film shot at each game can be quickly developed at their facility. This gives the production team more time to create their weekly shows.
The lab is also open to the public. Other filmmakers and students can use it to develop their own films.
The Film Vault
The NFL Films Lab is also in charge of the "vault." This vault is a special, climate-controlled room that holds all the film NFL Films has ever shot or collected. It contains over 100 years of football footage!
NFL Films is currently working to convert all of this footage into high-definition (HD) format. However, they will always keep the original film. This is because real film is likely to last much longer than video tapes.
Images for kids
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Former NFL Films logo
See also
- Football Follies
- Sam Spence
