When HBO airs the premiere of “Hard Knocks” with the Bears on Tuesday, roughly 400 hours of footage from practice, meetings and off-field activity will have gone into a sharply produced one-hour episode.
NFL Films’ crew of about 35 has been all over Halas Hall during training camp and has found the Bears to be a receptive and cooperative partner — which could surprise some given how hard they fought against being included over the past two decades. Since their initial meetings in the offseason, the team has warmed to the idea.
“That’s what this show is about: building relationships and earning people’s trust,” senior director Shannon Furman told the Sun-Times. “You come in the first time and you’re a little bit walking on eggshells trying to figure out what you’re walking into, but… you kinda start to feel like you’re part of the family and everything. Everyone’s been awesome.”
With a team striving to enter a new era on the field, the Bears were a perfect choice for the show.
They’re coming off a disappointing 7-10 season, but loaded up in the offseason with No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams at quarterback and several other major acquisitions like Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, D’Andre Swift and Kevin Byard.
Williams is a natural star given the anticipation over his arrival, the expectations on a player believed to be the best quarterback draft prospect in at least three years and his bright personality.
“He’s a player you’ve been hearing about for the past two or three years, and everybody’s wondered about him,” Furman said. “He’s been mic’d up for us, so it’s been neat to see the progression of how he interacts with his teammates and giving people a real first look at him.
“I know they’ve seen him at USC, but it does kinda feel like the first time people are really gonna be introduced to him.”
Since the show aims not only to set the stage for the upcoming season, but also to highlight compelling individual stories, it’s possible Williams will get the same amount of screen time as someone like third-string safety Adrian Colbert, a 30-year-old journeyman fighting for a roster spot.
Several Bears players predicted defensive end DeMarcus Walker would steal the show with his constant trash talk in practice — “D-Walk is always a high contender for that,” linebacker T.J. Edwards said — and he was mic’d for the first practice in full pads, which got heated. Wide receiver DJ Moore is another candidate for significant screen time, especially with his adorable daughter Arielle attending practices and him signing a landmark four-year, $110 million contract extension last week, as well as president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles.
The Bears, by the way, have veto power to block anything from going into an episode and work with NFL Films throughout the process of assembling an episode. When the NFL announced them as the featured team in May, coach Matt Eberflus said by adding chief administrative officer Ted Crews, formerly the Chiefs’ vice president of communications, the team has “a lot of really good professionals to be able to work through that.”
Furman’s crew thoroughly researched every player, coach and front-office member ahead of the shoot and took suggestions from the Bears about interesting characters. That accounts for about half their intel, and the other half grows through observations while filming.
Colbert, for example, was not on their radar originally, but endeared himself. The Bears are his 10th team, and while he’s been with them in some capacity since 2022, he spent last season on injured reserve and the practice squad. Furman called him “an awesome surprise for us,” along with undrafted rookie running back Ian Wheeler and fifth-round pick Austin Booker, a defensive end.
Speaking of rookies, the informal tradition of them singing in front of the team during camp has been a staple of “Hard Knocks” in recent years, most notably with the Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson delivering an epic rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” two years ago. That’s something to look for Tuesday.
“I don’t want to reveal what it was, but there was a great singing moment,” Furman said. “We’ve had a couple good ones the last few years, so it’s always like, ‘Are you gonna top it?’
“The singing thing was hilarious, but they would kill me if I gave it away.”
This is Furman’s 10th time working on “Hard Knocks,” and she’s coordinating between the Lake Forest crew from a temporary workspace on the third floor at Halas Hall and another 35 or so people sorting and editing footage in New Jersey.
She’s typically at Halas Hall by 7 a.m. for a 13-hour day. Sound crews embed microphones in players’ pads and jerseys before they arrive, and coaches get a mic taped on their shirts right before practice.
Eberflus is mic’d every day, and Furman is always connected to the audio in case he needs anything during practice. She said Eberflus’ requests and input have been minimal, and Eberflus said the team “can barely notice” the crew on the field. He has said repeatedly that “Hard Knocks” has been unintrusive.
“I told the guys in the beginning, just be authentic, be yourself,” said Eberflus, who was on the in-season “Hard Knocks” as Colts defensive coordinator in 2021.
When asked what he hopes people see from him in the episodes, which will run for five weeks leading up to the season, he said the team establishing “winning habits,” seeing hustle and physicality in practice and a solid overall operation and culture.
The main concern Eberflus expressed to the “Hard Knocks” crew was safety on the practice field as cinematographers try to get as close to the action as possible without interfering. Everyone working on the show also wears navy and orange shirts in order to camouflage themselves from viewers when the episodes air.
Furman said they went over the plan with Eberflus on the first day, likening it to “a choreographed dance,” and he was satisfied and hasn’t brought it up since. Camera and microphone operators have gotten into Spiderman-like positions on the grass to get just the right angle.
“I’ve come to love it,” said Hannah Epstein, the director of photography and a cinematographer who is on her 10th “Hard Knocks” shoot. “I know when I can get in close to a player’s proximity and get a really cool shot and know when to give them space.
“Ten years ago, honestly, it was a bit terrifying being out there because it’s extremely overwhelming being surrounded by that many large human beings running full steam ahead… It just takes practice and repetition, and now it’s really fun.”
It’ll probably be just as fun to watch as it is to produce, and that’s the idea. For all the fretting the Bears did about “Hard Knocks,” it’s entertainment. And being entertaining is a good thing for a team that hasn’t been in years.