As I biked past my neighborhood Subway restaurant last night I spotted what has become a strangely common sight in downtown Boston: a battery of lights set up on the sidewalk, blasting at the front window. A handful of grip trucks and a makeup trailer were parked outside.

Scrims and flags and lighting stands blocked my view of what was going on inside—needless to say they were closed for business—but rumor has it that if I had stuck around a little longer, I would have seen Michael Phelps shooting a Super Bowl commercial.