NFL Films' Jeff Cameron discusses HBO's 'The Shuffle', producing 'Hard Knocks' weekly

This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke with NFL Films producer Jeff Cameron.

In his interview with Easton Jr., Cameron, a longtime NFL Films producer who directed HBO's new documentary 'The Shuffle' based on the 1985 Chicago Bears' iconic song and music video, discussed the short film. He shares his thoughts on the Bears' popularity during that period and whether any current or past team can match it.

"I don't know that there is one. I think that team with that unique cast of characters, and it was from the top down, it was their head coach, Coach (Mike) Ditka, who was a character in himself, and I think that whole team was just unabashedly themselves, not afraid to be themselves. I think it was also the first time, or one of the first times in NFL history, that the team itself was a celebrity. I think before the '85 Bears, you had some singular certainty, NFL celebrities," said Cameron, "You had Joe Namath. There were undoubtedly some stars, mainly at the quarterback position and other star positions. But for the first time, the whole team was doing commercials. The whole team was doing promotions. The rookie defensive tackle (William' the Refrigerator' Perry), "Fridge-Mania", was sweeping the country. I think in terms of just the celebrity of that team and the time in which they occupied, I don't think that's ever going to be matched."

'The Shuffle' chronicles the making of the iconic rap music video that became a cultural phenomenon en route to the team's storied Super Bowl XX championship. Featuring rare behind-the-scenes footage and new interviews with the star players who performed the song, the film explores the conception, execution, and impact of the GRAMMY®-nominated track that energized the city of Chicago and football fans everywhere 40 years ago.

"This is the first in a new series that NFL Films is partnering with HBO on. It's a series of short, NFL-centric documentaries," said Cameron, "I think over the next couple of years, we'll do the same thing, find a unique story, a unique moment in time, to really focus on and explore these little, not quite forgotten, but moments and places who haven't gotten their due that are short enough and digestible enough to be told in a short documentary format."

Cameron has produced for HBO's Hard Knocks series, both training camp and in-season versions. The Kansas City Chiefs notably starred in the 2007 training camp version, while Cameron has been with NFL Films since 2011. He revealed the process of editing through so much footage."We shoot for training camp, it's like 400 hours of footage. We have to get that down to one hour. Then you get to Hard Knocks in season, we're now showing four teams at once, and we somehow have to get this down into a 45-minute show," said Cameron. "So there are certainly some challenges, and that first cut always probably takes 70-80 minutes, and it's like, this is all good. Let's get this down into a tight show."

'The Shuffle' is the first in a series of short documentaries being produced by HBO and NFL Films. It debuts November 25th at 8 pm CT on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: NFL Films' Jeff Cameron discusses HBO's 'The Shuffle', 'Hard Knocks'