The Athletic

One format, shot the same way every time.

The pilot set the rules. Every episode after it had to look like it, whichever city the court was in.

We shot the pilot for The Athletic in April 2025, on a private court in Alderley Edge, Cheshire. After it, The Athletic commissioned four more episodes, and the pilot became the reference for every shoot: the same angles, the same rhythm of point, question and answer, and the same sit-down to finish.

The guests are footballers with a fixed window, so the court is set and every camera is rolling before they arrive. Whichever court we’re on, the episode has to cut with the last one.

Our shoot, their show.

Your team owns the format and the edit; we turn up with the plan, the crew and the kit, and hand back the rushes. On a quote that’s crew hire, or a full production if you want us as the producer of record: how our rates work.

Eight cameras, one padel court.

A padel court is a glass and mesh cage, so every camera either looks through it or is rigged onto it. This is the plan we drew up for the crews after the pilot.

• A and BSony FX6s with 70–200mm lenses on loose tripods, one tracking each player across the net. Loose enough to feel handheld, steady enough for a long lens. When the players meet at the net, both punch in for the question and the answer.
• CA Sony FX3 with a 16–35mm, low at the net: the wide that sees both ends of the court.
• DA third FX6 on a high tripod behind the net, holding the whole court.
• E and FInsta360 X3s rigged high on the cage in the back corners, on the crew’s side, so we’re never in the frame.
• G and HInsta360 Go 3S cameras worn by the host and the guest, for the point-of-view shots.
• SoundRadio mics on both players through the match, and a boom for the sit-down.
• MonitoringEvery camera into one monitor, so the client watches the match as it’s played.

How a shoot day runs.

Our June day in Essendon ran from 07:30 to 13:30. The order never changes.

• Set the courtWe ask for an hour and a half before the guest arrives: eight cameras, the rigging on the cage, the mics and the client’s monitor.
• The matchDavid reads a question card before each point. If he wins it, the guest answers at the net; if the guest wins, they skip it.
• The challengeMini-games, if the day allows. The pilot’s was a bucket challenge: serves into small nets on the far side of the court.
• The sit-downA seated interview on three cameras: a wide, and a crop on each of them. Natural light, controlled with reflectors and bounces, because there’s rarely time to light.
• B-rollCameras off the sticks, handheld and on a stabilised rig: eyes, grips and feet, the ball across the net, and any rally worth playing again.
• WrapCards backed up, and the rushes on a drive for The Athletic’s edit.

Five shoot days, two countries.

• Pilot · Alderley Edge, Cheshire · April 2025The pilotA producer, two camera operators and a sound recordist, on a court in the back garden of a private house. It was made under NDA, so it stays off this page.
• Episode · Barcelona · March 2026Thiago Alcântara, in BarcelonaOur producer flew out from London, recced the court the day before, and ran the shoot with a camera and sound crew we booked in the city. We bought two Insta360 X3s for it, and the rushes came home on a drive.
• Episode · Alderley Edge, Cheshire · April 2026Danny Drinkwater, back on the pilot’s courtThe Athletic booked the same back garden as the pilot, for 14 April. Morgan Cartlidge, our head of production, ran the day, and asked for an hour and a half to set the court before Danny arrived.
• Episodes · Manchester and Essendon · June 2026Two shoots, back to backA court in Manchester city centre on 1 June, then Essendon Country Club in Hertfordshire on 2 June, 07:30 to 13:30: the match on radio mics, then the sit-down with a boom.

What the pilot taught us.

• Set-up timeAt the pilot, finding the angles took longer than planned, and the walk-and-talk was cut. Now we ask for an hour and a half before the guest arrives, and only walk if an operator has a safe route walking backwards.
• The high angleIt needs a ladder to rig, and a wireless video link, so the shot can be checked from the ground.
• Small camerasAction cameras are awkward to rent for a day, so for a series we bought our own. They’re paired with the app and tested before the shoot, not on court.
• LightThere’s rarely time to light the sit-down. Scrims and bounces on natural light, and a key light only if the day allows.