The year’s version of Hard Knocks has featured an inside look at the Dallas Cowboys as the NFL’s perennial next-great team tries to prove this is the year they’ll be the NFL’s next great team. This week’s episode took the idea of an “inside look” to a whole new level.
You really just have to see this almost three-and-a-half-minute drone shot that works its way through the Cowboys’ 91-acre campus (dubbed “The Star”), weaving its way through practice facilities, back hallways, film rooms, and locker rooms.
https://twitter.com/nflfilms/status/1430351157206032384?s=21
We’re guessing the first question that came to mind was how many times did they have to try this before they pulled it off? Well, turns out it took 15 tries.
So how was this done? One continuous drone shot, planned for weeks, shot just before Cowboys returned from Oxnard. The take that made Hard Knocks was the 15th shot. NFL Films’ Shannon Furman: “Big credit to the Cowboys for allowing us to own the facility for an entire morning.” https://t.co/T4Uxme1889
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 25, 2021
Kudos to NFL Films for raising the bar once more. And here you thought wrapping-paper technique was going to be the biggest moment of the season…
There are so many amazing moments that must have required pinpoint accuracy on the part of the drone pilot. The moment where the drone flies through a sculpture of various statues close together and the moment when it flies through the open windows of a truck certainly come to mind. There were also some very close calls with the drone flying into workers and staff inside the facility, though we’re guessing that was all well-rehearsed beforehand.
It should be noted that the impressive drone shot might just be the trendy camera move of the moment as well. Some noticed the similarities between this drone shot and the one Fox used during their Field of Dreams game broadcast last week.
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1425983732381458435
If this is the trend that we’re going to see a lot more of moving forward, that’s fine by us. Let’s keep raising the bar on crazy drone shots that seem to defy logic (without getting anyone hurt, of course).
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.