NFL films founder dies at 98
Ed Sabol, the founder of NFL Films, has died at age 98 at his home in Arizona.
Sabol was a World War II veteran who was given $20,000 by NFL owners in 1965 to start NFL Films, after he had previously filmed the 1962 NFL Championship Game. NFL Films ended up being instrumental in promoting what was then a relatively young league looking for prominence in the American sports landscape (hard to believe now, isn’t it?).
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NFL Films is known for its style, known as “tight on the spiral,” a shot that usually consists of showing the quarterback throwing the football, followed by the camera zooming in to focus on the ball’s spiral, then, as the ball starts to descend, the camera zooming out, showing the catch by the receiver. This is usually accompanied by sound bites of local radio announcers, as well as multiple camera angles and close-up shots that make the players appear faster.
The company is known for its other innovations, including mic-ing up players and coaches during and after games, as well as shows such as Hard Knocks.
Salon.com television critic Matt Zoller Seitz once said that NFL Films “could make even a tedious stalemate seem as momentous as the battle for the Alamo.”
Sabol ran NFL films until 1985, when he turned the company over to his son Steve, who ran it until his death in 2012 at age 69.
Ed Sabol was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 for his contributions to the game.
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