People who attend sporting events at Qwest Center Omaha usually leave with a smile on their face. Sure, the athletic competition is fun, but more than that, it’s the total entertainment package.
One thing that keeps the crowd entertained is the video scoreboard, which features non-stop video with shots of the crowd, cheerleaders, band, players, coaches and replays of the game.
That’s where Paul Kawacz comes in. A producer/director in ITS Video Services at UNMC, Kawacz moonlights as video director for Qwest Center events. In this capacity, he works Creighton basketball, University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey and other miscellaneous sporting events such as rodeo, the Harlem Globetrotters and Arenacross. It’s a gig he’s been doing ever since Qwest Center opened three years ago.
“We help set the tempo for the night,” Kawacz said. “It gets people involved and fired up. It takes the coordination of many – the schools, the marketing department, the event producers that come through town, and not to mention the technical staff and elements involved – to make this into an event. We are only a portion of the show.”
Working in the video production room on the top level of Qwest Center, Kawacz directs his crew of cameramen, while wearing a headset and watching a bank of TV monitors. The headset allows him to carry on a running conversation with his camera crew throughout the event as well as receive instructions from the coordinating producer.
“Sometimes during a game there can be three conversations going on simultaneously on headsets and in the booth,” he said. “You just have to hope you are listening to the right one.”
Kawacz works for C.J. Lickert, video production coordinator for Qwest Center, and Lickert is a big fan of his work. “Paul’s the greatest,” Lickert said. “He really knows what he’s doing, and it shows.”
Kawacz emphasized, “You’re only as good as the camera guys. We have good chemistry, a good team. I tell them to work their magic, be creative. They make it easy.”
Kawacz directs four cameramen for UNO hockey and three for Creighton basketball. “Actually, the most fast-paced event has been the rodeo. We have only eight seconds to get in a replay before the next event happens. It is continuous flow, one right after the other, and before you know it, two hours are over,” he said. “Hockey is faster paced and a bit harder to anticipate than basketball, but they all can happen fast.”
During a March 20 Creighton game, Kawacz displayed his prowess for putting on a good show.
The action begins with the tunnel walk and the pre-game introductions of the players and coaches. Kawacz directs the camera crew with a constant flood of dialogue. “Get the Bird (the Bluejay mascot). OK, the Bird’s up. Camera three, stand by for Altman (CU Coach Dana Altman) coming out. Two, get Funk (CU player Nate Funk). Follow him out there. Very nice.
“One, pick up Altman. Follow him over to shake hands with the other coach. Two, get me the Bird.” Then, during the national anthem, he instructs his cameraman: “Nice and slow going down the line with the players. Very nice.”
The game begins, and Creighton comes out sluggish, falling behind their opponent, the Miami Hurricanes, 16-7. The Bluejays call timeout. Kawacz implores Camera Three: “Dana’s on fire. Get a shot of him.”
Not all the action takes place on the court. Every time there is a break, it’s time for the crew to show what’s happening in the crowd. Kawacz keeps things moving. “Got any little kids down there, Three? Yeah, get those little kids. They’re always there. Is the Bird out there yet? Stand by One, we need shots of kids. OK, pull out and get dad in the shot. Two, get a shot of the band.
“Move Two, work your magic. That’s a cool shot. Can you see the cow bell guy? Three, get the kid eating candy. OK, pull out a little bit. Very nice.”
Kawacz and his camera crew have even made a celebrity out of one of the spectators at Bluejay games. They call him the Dancing Grandpa. He always sits courtside across from the Creighton bench.
Wearing a blue wig while sporting a silver beard, the Dancing Grandpa always knows when the red light of the camera is on. He stands up and begins his gyrations. He turns to the right and points his index fingers down, then to the left. The crowd goes wild.
For additional impact, they now shoot him with a strobe-like disco effect. “One of our cameramen discovered him at a Creighton game last year,” Kawacz said. “The crowd went nuts. He is our ‘go to guy’ when the crowd needs a boost. They seem to love him every time we put him up there. We’ll use a good thing when we see it. The music is what really makes things go.”
Earlier this year, Kawacz and his crew worked the Qwest Center crowd into a frenzy at a Creighton game by alternating shots of the Dancing Grandpa with an attractive female dancing in the stands. “That was quite a contrast that worked,” he said. “We’ve done dance-offs with others as well. The crowd really catches on to it. And then, oh yeah, there is a game going on.”
Kawacz said, “It’s a good feeling when you hear the crowd react the moment you put something up there. You know you are making it a more entertaining evening for them.”
The game ends with Creighton losing, 53-52, on a couple of controversial calls in the last three seconds of the game. The first call, a blocking foul against Creighton, gives Miami’s best player, Guillermo Diaz, two free throws with 2.6 seconds left and a tie score at 52. He misses the first, but makes the second to give the Hurricanes the lead.
Creighton takes the ball out of bounds and gets it to Johnny Mathies, the Bluejays’ lightning quick point guard. Mathies races down the court and loses control of the ball after seemingly coming into contact with a Miami player in front of the Creighton bench. No call. Game over. Coach Altman storms across the court chasing after the referees.
“Sometimes you can hear the fans call for replays,” Kawacz said. “It is not our place to show any controversial calls. But, that doesn’t keep us from taking another look at a play upstairs every now and then. I think the crowd would be surprised how much closer these plays really are from what they originally saw.”
What started out as a somewhat dull game had turned into one of the most exciting contests of the year. Said Kawacz: “I like to think we played a part in the excitement.”