FSN announces debut of new show SportScience
by FOX Sports Net
What hurts more — a NASCAR crash, getting tackled by Brian Urlacher in the open field or a Chris Pronger check into the boards? Does Barry Zito's curveball defy physics? Is hitting a 100 mph fastball the hardest thing to do in sports?
FSN breaks new ground this Fall, as the world's greatest athletes and the brightest scientists come together to make an unprecedented exploration into the world of sports, utilizing the most cutting-edge technology to unveil the biomechanics and mysteries behind the games we play with the announcement of a new series, SportScience.
Until now, all of these arguments were conjecture; discussions that took place on stools at sports bars across the country; fans debating the intricacies of the game with nothing but their passions and opinions to make their arguments. Now FSN opens up the world of sports as never before, giving sports' most ardent followers answers to questions they have asked in earnest for decades.
The 13-episode series is created in a partnership between BASE Productions and FSN. SPORTSCIENCE co-creators John Brenkus and Mickey Stern guided BASE Productions through the successful FightScience specials on Fox Cable sister network National Geographic, and will oversee daily production.
Executive Vice President of Programming and Production George Greenberg and VP of Development David Leepson helm the show for FSN.
Produced from sets in Los Angeles designed specifically for the show, pre-production began in April, with show production kicking off in June, and the first episode airing in Fall 2007. The program will air on Sunday nights.
Almost every sport will be put through rigorous testing and evaluation using both professional and amateur athletes relying on:
Motion capture technology: The show will rely heavily on the use of motion capture technology, recording distance over time in a three-dimensional space to analyze the most astounding movements in sports. Motion capture measures everything from impact to velocity to aerodynamics.
CGI: Popularized amongst the mainstream in shows such as CSI, when applied to the details of sports, CGI allows for a computerized look at previously unseen body movements during competition.
High-speed cameras: Will be used to capture the most precise details of things most fans take for granted — hockey shots, pitches, a quarterback's eyes after the snap. Shooting footage this way will illuminate things in completely new ways.
Pressure censors: Numerous types of pressure censors, which calculate the amount of force per square inch of impact, will be utilized throughout the series. These censors can give specific mathematical responses to everything from calibrating weight distribution to impact areas to reaction times.
"Coming off the success of FightScience, we knew we had the opportunity to produce a signature series that could reach an even broader audience," said Brenkus. "FSN is the perfect partner as BASE Productions continues to break new ground in our understanding of human performance. Our goals are to develop new insights, to generate stunning, never-before-seen images of athletes in motion, and of course, to further the great debate about the games that we play. That's what SportScience is all about: passion, precision and performance as we've never seen it before."
Adds Leepson: "SportScience is a ground-breaking series for FSN. A dramatic, visually stunning and stirring production that answers what were previously thought to be the unanswerable sports questions, this show will take an innovative approach to the games we are most passionate about."
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