NBC Super Bowl XLIX Show Open (2014)

This one-time-only airing was the “kickoff“ to NBC’s showcase broadcast of the 49th Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. Carrie Underwood invites us to a glitzy command performance set inside a packed University of Phoenix Stadium. Except, it’s all slight-of-hand. The editorial process began in NYC in July 2014 continued into the Summer months. Layers of crowd building, placeholder animated “coils,“ and gameplay highlights were incorporated into the rough cut to give the team a true sense of timing, structure, and movement. Once the cut was locked, compositing of the entire piece took place throughout the Fall and early Winter. The open was completed 2 days before airtime as the creative team finally had access to shoot select team players (as well as the prior week’s playoff highlights) in order to bring up-to-the-minute visual integration to jump-start the broadcast. The beautifully designed look and stellar compositing were again executed by the talented team at Rodeo FX. This year’s NBC presentation was unprecedented with its 4K coverage, and it’s free live web-streaming viewing options. Directors: Tripp Dixon (NBC) / Haley Geffen (Bodega) Production: Michael Flexner - Bodega () Post Production: Rodeo FX () ©2014 NBC. All rights reserved () Posted for entertainment and educational purposes only. No copyrights infringed. All works property of the company listed above. Please do not reproduce without their expressed written consent. About: “Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks, 28–24, to earn their fourth Super Bowl title. The game was played on Sunday, February 1, 2015, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It was the second time the stadium has hosted a Super Bowl, and the third one held in the Phoenix metropolitan area. With the loss, the Seahawks became the fourth defending Super Bowl champions to lose in the following year’s title game, after the 1978 Dallas Cowboys, 1983 Washington Redskins, and the 1997 Green Bay Packers. After finishing the previous season by defeating the Denver Broncos, 43–8, in Super Bowl XLVIII, Seattle completed the 2014 regular season with a 12–4 record. The Patriots, who also posted a 12–4 record, joined the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers as one of the three teams to have made eight appearances in the Super Bowl. For the second straight season, but only the third time in the prior 21 seasons, the number one seeds from both conferences met in the league championship game. Seattle became the first team to appear in consecutive Super Bowls since New England won two straight (XXXVIII and XXXIX). After the teams were tied 14–14 at halftime, the Seahawks built a 10-point lead to end the third quarter. The Patriots, however, rallied to take a 28–24 lead with 2:02 left in the game. Seattle threatened to score in the final moments, driving the ball to New England’s 1-yard line. With 26 seconds remaining in the game, Seattle decided to pass the ball in a highly scrutinized call that resulted in Patriots undrafted rookie Malcolm Butler making a game-saving interception of Russell Wilson’s throw. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was named the game’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) after a then-Super Bowl-record 37 completions on 50 attempts for 328 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions (a record Brady himself would break 2 years later in Super Bowl LI). NBC’s broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX remains, as of the present, the most-watched program in the network’s history, as well as the most-watched program in American television history, surpassing the previous year’s game. The game was seen by an average of 114.4 million viewers, with it reaching to 118.5 million during the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show featuring Katy Perry, and then peaking to 120.8 million during New England’s fourth-quarter comeback.“ ~ #NBCUniversal #NBCSports #Football #SuperBowl #SundayNightFootball #Showopen #NBC #Montage #NFL #FootballGame #Television #SNF #Music #CarrieUnderwood #CowMissing