The Tour de France on CBS was an intense gig, especially for me and the other editors. Lot’s of pressure and some very fast turnaround. Sometimes the show was already airing back in the States, and we hadn’t finished editing the last segment.
One of those times, on top of a desolate mountain, the driver of our generator decided he was leaving. The rest of the huge caravan of live trucks that move everyday like a massive traveling circus was already gone, on the long windy overnight drive to the next location. He had no incentive to indulge one of the only edited shows that was staying late. FREAK OUT! We had to finish right away, edit in one last, long cover shot, and do the entire audio mix for the final segment in one pass, or else would have no power to send it to New York by satellite.
That would mean no final segment for a show that was already on the air! Talk about heart damage for the editor! We made it with seconds to spare. Definitely earned my Emmy that year. I’m not at liberty to discuss how we convinced the generator driver to stay those few extra minutes.
Now enjoy the drama in front of the camera in this exciting conclusion to Lance’s dilemma.
I worked on the coverage of 6 Tours de France with CBS Sports from 2000-2008. Lance Armstrong dominated the race, which was great for our American audience. The CBS team won 3 Emmys in the category of Live Event Turnaround during this time. This dramatic segment shows why.
Victor Frank was the producer. He and I worked side-by-side many hours in a tiny remote editing truck, traveling all over France crafting these pieces. Vic is old school sports TV, with all the passion that implies: “We’re not just covering an event, LET’S MAKE A MOVIE!.” Vic is brilliant at identifying the best characters, their conflicts and teasing out the drama. Our small team over the years included an impressive list of talented producers, writers and editors. The music was specially composed for Vic and the Tour by Mark Wood and Armen Keteyian hosted the show in early years.
Even with all our combined experience covering the biggest sporting events in the world, many of us who worked the Tour de France for CBS agree that it was the best gig in sports television.
Enjoy one of the great moments on the Tour in this episode from 2003, and come back for the exciting conclusion when this year’s tour is over!
I worked on the coverage of 6 Tours de France with CBS Sports from 2000-2008. Lance Armstrong dominated the race, which was great for our American audience. The CBS team won 3 Emmys in the category of Live Event Turnaround during this time. This dramatic segment shows why.
Victor Frank was the producer. He and I worked side-by-side many hours in a tiny remote editing truck, traveling all over France crafting these pieces. Vic is old school sports TV, with all the passion that implies: “We’re not just covering an event, LET’S MAKE A MOVIE!.” Vic is brilliant at identifying the best characters, their conflicts and teasing out the drama. Our small team over the years included an impressive list of talented producers, writers and editors. The music was specially composed for Vic and the Tour by Mark Wood and Armen Keteyian hosted the show in early years.
Even with all our combined experience covering the biggest sporting events in the world, many of us who worked the Tour de France for CBS agree that it was the best gig in sports television.
Enjoy one of the great moments on the Tour in this episode from 2003, and come back for the exciting conclusion when this year’s tour is over!
