Production truck company TNDV is making television happen in Music City and beyond.
When people think of Nashville, they think of star-studded country music entertainment, like the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Awards, ABC’s Nashville and the Americana Music Awards. But many are unaware that behind these glitzy events — and other awards shows, Red Carpets, TV shows, concerts and sporting events — is TNDV: Television, a Nashville-based mobile video production company. With its penchant for pushing the envelope, TNDV has become an industry go-to for live, mobile, multi-camera HDTV production.
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Nashville has been the ideal place to foster growth,” says Nic Dugger, president and founder of TNDV: Television. “Not only is this location ideal for moving our trucks anywhere in the country quickly and efficiently, the city itself is brimming with opportunities for world class production.” Since many TV networks call Nashville home, even events that don’t happen in Nashville may still be produced from Music City.
In its 12-year history, TNDV expanded from its first small, groundbreaking all-digital video truck to an impressive fleet of eight small-to-massive video trucks and six fly-packs. With its team of experienced technicians and engineers, freelance talent and lighting, audio, and staging partners, TNDV now runs the gamut of services, including video, audio, lighting, staging and production management.
“We don’t just drive our truck up on show day,” Dugger says. “Our clients rely on us for a turnkey solution that involves crewing, onsite logistics, site prep and planning, intercoms, and interacting with other departments to ensure things go smoothly.”
Growth has been rapid at TNDV. Two years ago, the company moved to its new location near downtown Nashville, where it acquired much-needed warehouse space big enough to park three video trucks indoors so equipment could be loaded and unloaded away from the elements.
It wasn’t long before they expanded further, adding space to park five trucks, and new offices, conference rooms, edit suites, and a studio space. Satellite uplink and downlink and high-speed internet enable live, media streaming, broadcast and distribution.
“Our mission has always been television,” Dugger says. “Television typically implies ‘live,’ which is one of the most demanding undertakings in our industry. And it’s the purest form of what we do.
“If you can do it live, and get it right without multiple takes, then obviously you have what it takes,” says Dugger. “When it’s live, we have to bring our best, and if we don’t, we won’t be invited back.”
Fleet-Footed
When TNDV’s newest truck, dubbed “Exclamation,” hits the road this April, it promises to redefine mobile production. An ergonomic 53-foot trailer with double expanding sides, Exclamation has one of the largest footprints of any mobile unit, and its uniquely 4K-capable. Dugger even hints that it would have capabilities beyond 4K that no one is expecting, but wouldn’t elaborate on that yet.
“We named the truck, Exclamation, because that’s the reaction we want people to have when they set foot in it,” Dugger says. With this truck, TNDV now has all the bases covered, with small trucks capable of high-quality output to a double-expando that’s ready for anything. Seating inside will top 30, giving crews plenty of space on larger shows.
Flexibility is a key reason this small company has been gaining momentum in the competitive video truck business. “While many big truck companies have a spec sheet or one-size-fits-all list of gear packaged with their truck, our approach is completely different and extremely flexible,” Dugger says.
“We start by asking our customers questions like, what do you need to do? How many people do you need on your crew? How many wide-angle or sports style zoom lenses do you need? What’s your budget and timeframe? And then we put together the most appropriate truck, equipment package and crew for their unique circumstances.”
TNDV’s liquid inventory gives the company plenty of flexibility. They have all the brand-name heavy iron and toys the high-end could want for sports, awards shows, concerts and other major events. That’s why Exclamation is outfitted with a powerful Grass Valley Kayenne 5ME production switcher with K-frame, Chyron Hyper X for live graphics and EVS servers. And it’s wired for 24 cameras or more, which are usually Hitachi broadcast cameras, owing to their outstanding picture quality and price-to-performance ratio.
The more budget conscious clients don’t necessarily care if the equipment has brand cache, just that it does the job cost-effectively. TNDV does due diligence on the gear they buy to find those gems that promise uncompromised quality at an affordable price. Some of their favorites are Ross production switchers and Xpression graphics; Studer Vista audio mixing consoles (from 24- to 256-inputs); and Abekas Mira replay systems.
“Our clients assume we’ll provide the best equipment for their job,” Dugger says. “They’re putting their trust in our talent, skills and expertise to use that equipment to deliver the high-quality results they’re envisioning.”
Making TV Happen
With close to 370 productions per year, TNDV is no stranger to multi-venue, multimedia extravaganzas and other complex multi-camera shows.
“We’re proud that folks come to us when they think everyone else will say ‘No,’ because that’s when the story’s about to get good,” Dugger says. “We’re always willing to try something new or do something in a way that’s never been attempted before.”
TNDV deployed a massive amount of gear — including 17 broadcast cameras, many displays and a 34-member crew — to cover the 2015 Country Music Awards: Backstage on ABC.com. They produced a live HD multi-angle web stream providing an exclusive look at the Red Carpet, behind the scenes interviews and other special moments.
For the 2016 Passion Conference — a weekend-long live music and worship conference that attracted 40,000 young Christians to three different stadiums in Atlanta and Houston — TNDV deployed three production trucks, 39 camera systems, monitors and broadcast engineering services to each of the venues. The key challenge was keeping three simultaneous shows in sync for a unified experience with live global streaming.
TNDV also managed the multi-camera production for the first four episodes of Skyville Live, the Emmy nominated series featuring live musical performances from Nashville’s famed Skyville Studios. TNDV provided its large video truck, Elevation, a technical crew, large-screen displays and other equipment for multi-camera, multi-channel audio production. The show streams live on USA Today’s website and Verizon’s Go90 mobile platform.
TNDV will soon tackle season six of PBS’ Bluegrass Underground, the Final Four concert series in Houston and multiple aspects of the American Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, among other exciting projects.
“We’re there to make a producer’s vision and dream come true,” Dugger says. “When we turn on the TV and see an entertaining, moving project we were a part of, there’s no greater reward than that.”
Company Snapshot
TNDV: Television
Company Founder: Nic Dugger
When Founded: Oct. 2004
Milestones:
- 2004: Company founded (one small, all-digital truck)
- 2011: First expanding side truck (Aspiration)
- 2013: Headquarters purchased; 4 trucks, 2 flypacks
- 2014: Uplink truck added (5 trucks total)
- 2015: Sixth truck added
- 2016: Fleet includes eight trucks with six flypacks; 350+ remote productions per year
More Info: www.tndv.com
