Behind-the-Scenes During Royals 2015 Post Season: Installment 1 (of 2)

 In Blog, Crew

C.J. DrummellerThe Kansas City Royals are the 2015 World Series Champions! After playing hard this post-season, the boys in blue are ready to celebrate and they deserve it. The players aren’t the only ones who worked hard – numbers are still rolling in but as many as 100 men and women from the KC film production industry worked during Royals post-season this year. They spent their time active in and out of Kaufman Stadium and the KC-metro area (and they assured us none of them had anything to do with the technical difficulties in Game 1!).

We  caught up with some of our professional crew members about their experience working behind-the-scenes during the ALCS and World Series! Here is the first installment:

C.J. Drummeller
Chad Crenshaw
Rachel Kephart

KCFMO What was your role as a crew person during the Royals post-season?


     CJ –  I served as sound mixer for the final games of the season and post season World Series.
     CC – I was a utility for the MLB Networks pre and post game shows on the field.
     RK – I worked as a PA with a team shooting a short documentary for the MLB Hall of Fame. It was my first time working at any game, let alone a World Series.

KCFMOWhat did your job entail?

CJ kc

C.J. Drumeller in royals hat

     CJ – My duties were to capture audio for team interviews, walk-ins, crowd shots, and in-game player mics.
     CC – We set up the studio on the field for MLB network.  I assisted the stage manager with setting up the for the different show and with changing to different setups between breaks and helping with guests.  We then had lass then 10 minutes from our last show to strike everything from the field before the game began.
     RK – Working as a PA on this job was similar to working as a PA on any other job (except way cooler). I was just there to help in any way possible. Whether it was moving equipment from one set up to another, running data to the guys on the compound, or helping this crew from out-of-town navigate the stadium, my job was to be as helpful as possible.

KCFMOWho did you work for? (if you can say)
     CJ – MLB Network
     CC – MLB Network
     RK – I was working for IMAX and MLB on a project for the MLB Hall of Fame.

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Chad Crenshaw

KCFMOCan you tell us what kind of experience non-KC people you worked with had here – crew, city, hospitality, BBQ, nightlife etc…
     CJ – The crew all spoke very highly of KC as a town and the atmosphere.  Specifically they made many trips to KC Joes and LC’s BBQ.
     CC –  The biggest thing I always heard was how nice everybody was.  I had an experience at the last World Series where one of the players wives had a newborn with her and she dropped the pacifier, I picked it up, handed it to her and moved on working.  While I was standing there I heard a reporter talking to his camera guy about how what just happened was an example of how nice people are in KC.  He said if they been in SF or NY you would not have seen that happen.  That had nothing to do with what I did which just bend down and pick up something but I was proud at Kansas City and how he had come into contact with so many KC people that were nice and kind.  And this year was no different.

IDRK – Aside from myself, the entire crew was from out of town, so I felt a lot of pressure to represent KC well. They seemed to be very impressed with the amount of help they received from the KC Film + Media Office, and how accommodating Kaufman Stadium and KC in general was. I definitely took every opportunity to educate them on the unstoppable force that is the Kansas City Royals. I think it was clear that I was slightly biased.

KCFMOCan you estimate how many KC-crew were a part of working the post-season?
     CJ – For the World Series the MLB crews had around 20 locals working on their 6 crews
     CC – I don’t know there were several shows going on and I know ours alone had probably at least 30 people on it.  And I know there were other production jobs going on and they were having trouble finding people to work because so many were working the World Series.
      RK – Even though I was the only KC crew member on this particular project, I know several people who were working the games and saw a lot of familiar faces, which was both exciting and comforting to me.

Insta

Click to see Salvy’s Video

KCFMO Do you have an anecdotes to share?
CD
– Had an awesome time working with the Royals players and coaches.  Through the process I got to mic Hosmer, Gomes, Moustakas, Cain, Dyson, Zobrist, Salvy, and Gordon.  They were all super great guys to work with and incredibly accommodating to the MLB crew.  Even when I had to reach up their shirt for proper wireless mic placement. This was definitely one of my highlights.  I got to be in one of Salvy’s instagram videos with Lorenzo Cain.

     RK – For a good part of the game we were set up near the Mets dugout with all the players walking past me over and over again. It was then that I started to wonder if wearing my Royals T-Shirt was a good idea.  Bumping into Edinson Volquez wasn’t too bad either. I would have wished him good luck had I not been temporarily paralyzed.

Stay Tuned for Installment 2: The KC Crews Behind-The-Post-Season-Scene

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