Tom Vannucci and Maurice Brazelton

Formerly known as the event presentation department at Maloof Sports & Entertainment, Team T.E.D. (the entertainment department) is responsible for all creative elements including music, video and talent that fans enjoy on game nights. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. What fans see takes hours of planning, preparation and coordination.

Under the direction of Tom Vannucci since April, the entertainment department includes game operations, in-house and off-site special events, in-house talent and all in-game audio/video production. Vannucci oversees a team of 12 full-time and, on game nights, up to 30 part-time Team Members. They all bring energy and creativity to the team and Vannucci is responsible for coordinating their efforts and maximizing their talents as they work toward a common goal of entertaining the fans at ARCO Arena.

Formally known as the event presentation team at Maloof Sports & Entertainment, Team T.E.D. (the entertainment department) is responsible for all music, video and talent that fans enjoy on game nights. But there's more to it than meets the eye. What fans see takes hours of planning, perparation and coordination.

Vannucci’s background in the entertainment industry is supported by 25 years of varied experience. A degree in theater with emphasis in dance and production led Vannucci into choreographing, directing, writing and subsequently creative conceptualizing for Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios to name a few. A Woodland native, Vannucci is excited to bring his talents and experience to MS&E. “Someone who only knows the sporting world may not understand the full experience that a fan wants,” he stated. “With my experience, I can help MS&E embrace and generate product more in alignment with the entertainment industry.”

Victor Alaniz and Stephanie Wong

After exclusive contracts with Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Studios Hollywood, Vannucci embarked on a successful freelance career. Although Vannucci built a solid reputation as a freelance creative director, choreographer, producer, writer and director, he never liked living in Los Angeles. “I love what I do—but I hated living in LA,” he explained. “I always said if I could do what I do and move back to Northern California, I would.” Vannucci got that opportunity. At first he thought it was odd the Maloofs sought a person with an entertainment background rather than a background in sports. But through the course of conversations with the Maloofs, and observing several Kings games last year, he realized there really is no difference between what Team T.E.D. is trying to accomplish and the rest of the entertainment industry. “It’s totally different vocabulary,” he explained, “but it’s still experiential entertainment.”

Coming to MS&E with an entertainment-industry perspective, Vannucci identified his new role as encompassing three positions. “There’s an operational side, a production side and a creative side,” he explained. “Just like in the entertainment industry.” Based on successful entertainment models, Vannucci knew one person could not successfully accomplish all three roles. “It’s physically impossible; something will suffer.” MS&E was open to Vannucci’s recommendations to divide the responsibilities. “In restructuring, we are aligning with entertainment standards and sensibilities, and one person isn’t trying to do everything,” he explained. Vannucci still supervises the operations and production aspects, but, because of his experience, his focus is on the creative.

Scott Freshour

In bringing entertainment-industry practices to MS&E, Vannucci is in effect introducing a paradigm shift, if not a culture change, to how the entertainment department plans, prepares and executes its projects. For starters, Vannucci introduced his entertainment process known as CORE (Create/Organize/Realize/Evaluate). This process is not unique, it simply uses a vocabulary that is accessible to everyone regardless of their disciplinary background.

CORE SENSIBILITIES
The entertainment team spends countless hours behind the scenes planning and preparing for each game and special event. This is where Vannucci’s experience pays off. By incorporating entertainment standard operating procedures, he is changing the way the department approaches its mission.

The entertainment process begins weeks and often months before tip-off. Beginning with the creative element, the entertainment team first lays out the season to determine its needs for each game and special event: national anthem performers, contests, half-time and time-out entertainment, player videos, off-property promotions, etc. Concepts are then developed in charrette sessions (charrette is the entertainment industry’s vernacular for brainstorming).

After the charrette process the team moves into creative and design development. In this phase they further develop their concepts, and ideas either progress or get value engineered, as they prove unfeasible because of cost, timeconstraints or other impracticalities.

Scott Moak

The team then takes its concepts to the organization phase, where they rehearse, review and revise each element. When the elements are ready, the team uses them during a game, or the realization phase. After each game the performance/ event is evaluated. The team discusses what worked, what didn’t work and how it can do things differently.

This is particularly important for special events. Led by Stephanie Wong, the special events arm of Team T.E.D. constantly executes the C.O.R.E. process. As one event offproperty is being executed another in-arena is being designed while another is being evaluated. Everything from a community BBQ with players to Winter Whiteout falls under the watchful eyes of Stephanie and Assistant Stage Managers.

THEY GOT GAME
On game days, Team T.E.D. meets for a “paper tech.” This is where they meet to review the game script so each member knows their responsibilities and what to expect from each other. Each game is scripted, every element timed: welcome announcements, upcoming events, pre-game videos, team introductions, mascot appearances, Sacramento Kings Dancers, the Hip Hop Crew and t-shirt tosses are but a few of the elements for each game.

KingsVision Control Room

Two-and-a-half hours before tip-off, Team T.E.D. meets on the court for the “Q to Q” process. This is where the team I.T.A. (install, test and adjust) all scripted entertainment elements. After a brief break to make any last-minute adjustments or changes, Team T.E.D. is ready for the game.

Orchestrating the in-game entertainment can be just as frenetic as the action on the court. Decisions must be made quickly and authoritatively, responding to any number of game situations and crowd reactions. Indeed, the wrong song at the wrong time can kill the crowd’s enthusiasm and momentum. This responsibility falls on the shoulders of the Game Director.

Maurice Brazelton, one of three game directors along with Scott Freshour and Chimeng Tran, directs the game from the scorer’s table. In constant contact with the entire team via headset, they seamlessly direct the public address announcer, the emcees, the music cues, the Dancers, Kings Crew—every element the fans see and hear. “Each director possesses an enormous knowledge of the game,” Vannucci beamed. “They’re directing all the entertainment aspects AND they’re anticipating what’s going to happen in the game so they can communicate that to the rest of the team.”

Dan Spackman and Brian Chiesa

Game Directors communicate with audio engineers Dan Spackman, Brian Chiesa or Matt Bouler in the control booth for every game. Using the control board and touch-screen computer, they can change songs, cue microphones and are responsible for all audio content within the arena. The team has thousands of songs archived, as well as access to recent releases. In a matter of minutes, they can download and edit any released song for use in the arena.

Tucked out of sight on the lower level of the arena, the video production control room supplies the game directors with imagery, graphics, scrolling lists and everything the fans can visually consume. Ray Jensen, in arena broadcast director, calls camera shots, rolls video segments and directs video designer Charles Allison and his team of video and graphic editors to quickly access replays, generate lists of names and capture great shots of fans dancing, kissing and having a great time.

While all the tech aspects are being closely monitored by Michael Brown and his team of “techies,” the Sacramento Kings Dancers apply final touches to their makeup, adjust costumes, rehearse last-minute changes and review any items they may be asked to speak about on camera. Led by Jenn Santich, these talented ladies consistently rehearse multiple times a week, make public appearances and perform for games.

SLAMSON

Team T.E.D. comes to each game with a plan of action; being prepared is the key to its success. But the team also must be prepared to react to any number of situations throughout the course of a game.

THE CHALLENGES
Every game for Team T.E.D. is dynamic and organic— and every game is different. The team must have all its elements prepared, but also be ready to react to changes in the game, the mood of the crowd and technical difficulties.

For Vannucci the challenges range from logistical, like where to put the dancers when they are not performing, to coordinating concurrent events in the arena, to targeting the broad range of demographics represented by ARCO crowds. “My challenge is to make the entertainment as broad as our demographic,” he noted. “There has to be a balance, diversity in genres and styles.” Vannucci knows the term “entertainment” is subjective, and appealing to a wide demographic can be difficult—but there is a standard. “The foundation is making sure that it’s appropriate for our brand,” he explained. “I may not please everyone on any given night, but over the course of the season I will give everyone something they can enjoy.”

Team T.E.D. works hard to help fans enjoy a full experience each game, but it knows why the fans are there. “The fans come to see great basketball, that’s the star of the show,” Vannucci said. Now that’s entertainment.