Dan Marinelli will be on the sidelines of Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday but not because he’s a Seahawks or Patriots fan. Marinelli, nicknamed “Danimal,” is one of 146 NBC camera operators entrusted with capturing the year’s biggest televised sports event.
This year marks the seventh time the 49-year old Hermosa Beach resident works the Super Bowl. Once again he will be in charge of camera 12, running along the 20 yard line and grabbing reactions from the bench.
Marinelli didn’t expect to spend his professional life behind the camera; he was a writing major at the University of Pittsburgh. But during a television production internship he stepped behind the lens and found his calling. By the time he moved to Hermosa in 1994, he was already covering PAC 10 games and was soon promoted to Monday Night Football.
He’s now won two Emmys: one for Monday Night Football and one for Olympics coverage. But Marinelli still gets pumped up for the Super Bowl gigs.
“I’m psyched but I’m not nervous,” Marinelli said the day before he flew to Phoenix. “Our senior producer’s credo is same as Bill Belichick’s: ‘Do your job.’ As long as everyone does their job, we will have all of the shots and replays.”
NBC does its part to make sure every shot is covered. A week before the big game, all the cameramen get a 50-page manual outlining the responsibilities of each camera and how to capture each play.
“This is our network’s biggest day,” he said. “They are meticulous with instructions.”
The manual espouses rules like making sure you can see the receiver’s eyes after he catches a ball. The cameramen will have a practice run with a high school team on Saturday in order to get their jitters out.
“You don’t feel it until you get there,” said Marinelli. “And this year the whole network is being run from Phoenix all week. ‘Meet the Press,’ ‘The Tonight Show,’ all of it.”
Marinelli and his colleagues have a grueling schedule this week. The cameraman’s itinerary is filled with meetings, media shoots, B-roll photo shoots and even a trip to the Grand Canyon. As game day approaches, the adrenaline sets in. Marinelli says there is friendly competition amongst the cameramen.
“We’re absolutely competitive,” he said. “After each game, each of us feels like it was our shots that told the story of the game.”
Game day is stressful, and director Drew Esocoff demands perfection from his team. But Marinelli says it is all worth it. He points to the NBC manual and its message from Fred Gaudelli, senior producer.
“When the basics are covered and execution is flawless, talent flourishes,” said Gaudelli. “When talent flourishes, the results are memorable shots and sequences that last forever.”
