There are three segments in our show before the first pitch. Last night, in the first segment, we talked about the previous night’s starter and the concerns about his career. This led to commentary on the starting pitcher for that evening where we displayed a graphic that showed he had only faced three members of the opponent in his career.
The second segment was about the team’s two catchers. The usual stating catcher had a sore arm but the backup player was doing extremely well.
In the third segment, we talked about the NL Wildcard race.
There were two memorable moments in the telecast.
During the top of the second inning, the visiting club tried a suicide squeeze. The pitch was a hard breaking ball, outside on the first base side of the plate. The catcher, the backup we talked about in segment two, made an absolutely fantastic play. He backhanded the ball in the dirt as he stretched out as far as he was able. He turned around, and with the runner bearing down on the plate, dove and tagged the runner. In the process, he sprained his back and had to leave the game. The injured catcher, who usually starts and was part of our segment two as well, entered the game at this point. (It is nice when we are able to revisit a segment of our show open and this play allowed us to do just that.) This play will be remembered as one of the best plays of the season. I do not ever remember showing six different angles of replays in covering something that happened in a game. But that is what we did. Usually, camera angles may be too similar or a camera may be shooting something (isoing) not apropos to the play so not every camera angle will be replayed. But in this instance, all six angles worked. It was a memorable sequence, rare, but memorable.
The other memorable moment in the show had nothing to do with the action on the field. On of our cameras found a young Cardinals fan sitting in the third row next to the Cardinal’s dugout. This fan, wearing Cardinals garb, had a red number 5 painted on his right cheek. During the fourth inning, number 5 for the Cardinals was at the plate. I took a shot of the young fan as his favorite player was batting. After the shot, I told the camera to reposition and shag. The Producer said, “Let’s leave the camera on the young fan and see what he does.”
It turned out to be a great idea.
Two pitches later, number 5 hit a foul pop up that went over the young fan. He raised his glove in eager anticipation of catching the ball hit by his hero. The ball and the first baseman both converged on the tarp at the same time and the first baseman was unable to hold on. We replayed the play and the young fan’s reaction and it was one of our better replay sequences of the night. This moment only gets better. On the next pitch, number five hit a homerun. Of course, we included the young fan with the number 5 on his face in the replay sequence. His reaction was priceless.
This was an excellent example of a split second decision by the Producer, an adjustment to coverage made on the fly that worked. Our producer is not afraid to take chances during telecasts and this is a rare trait in our business. It is a rare trait because the rate of return on something memorable happening when we take a chance is very low. Therefore, many production teams do not think it is worth it. But, when something memorable happens because a chance was taken, it is well worth it.
During last night’s telecast, the Producer “took a chance” and it worked.
Last night, two rarities occurred during our telecast. A six-angle replay sequence and a moment where a chance was taken and a memory was made.

Last night’s game was a blowout. The visitors jumped out to an early lead and the game was virtually over by the 5th inning.
When a TV baseball production team is working in late August, they have worked on many games. In our case, last night was the 121st game we have televised this season. Even though the club we cover is in a pennant race and currently in first place, this is the time of the year when it can be very easy to “mail it in.” We, however, did not and will not.
Our main theme of the telecast was the starting pitcher and his struggles. Was this the game where he would “find himself” and return to the form that made him the left-handed pitcher with the most wins in the big leagues over the past five seasons? Or would he continue to struggle? These were questions we posed during the standup segment of our open. Included in the stand up was a video package of this pitcher in which we showed pitches with good location and we showed bad pitch location thrown by this particular starting pitcher.
This pitcher did not make it out of the second inning. This prompted a discussion about the merits of struggling player versus what is good for the team. It was some of the most poignant dialogue we have had on a telecast in a long time.
Another theme we established in the Open was the hot bat by a player who, while generally a back-up player, was starting because of an injury to the regular starter. Would this player continue on his torrid pace? The importance of contributions from all members of the team was pointed out in this segment.
This particular back-up turned starter went 2-3. He collected half of the team’s four total hits.
The third segment of our open was a thirty second injury update segment that dealt with two of the club’s more important players. We followed this theme during the telecast with shots of these players on the bench commenting on the possible return dates of each individual.
Once the themes of the show are presented, it is the responsibility of the production team to follow up on these themes throughout the telecast and wrap them up late in the telecast. Doing this makes for a better production and it also helps the team to stay focused.
It is very easy for us in the truck to stay focused with the team we are privileged to cover. This team has the current NL MVP who most say is the greatest player in the game. This player comes to bat three, four, and sometimes more a game. Each time this player is in the box, the general feeling in the truck and, in fact, the whole stadium and the television audience, is that something extraordinary is going to happen. In fact, all camera responsibilities change when this player is at bat.
Camera 1 (left-field corner) has many options. This camera can show pitcher/batter and follow the ball. Tight swing and follow batter until you get to the dugout. Head to toe on batter and push to crowd. This operator has a tremendous feel for the situation and seems to always capture the moment.
Camera 2 (high home) – Follow the ball. This operator “frames” his shots as good as anyone. When the best player in the game is at the plate, there is one major change in camera assignments for the high home camera. If there is a runner on first the high home operator is responsible for the pickoff. He must go with the throw no matter what. There are two reasons for this change in assignments. One – with this particular player at the plate the runner on first is not going anywhere. If he steals, that leaves first base open. And the best player in the game will be intentionally walked. When the pitcher throws to first base in this situation, I believe he is just delaying the inevitable. The inevitable being a hard hit ball. Two – covering the pickoff from this camera frees up my usual pickoff camera to give me another angle of the situation.
Camera 3 (mid third) this operator is the best at tight ball follow that I have seen. It does not matter where the shot begins; tight on the hands, head to toe, pitcher/batter, this operator has some of the most beautiful and memorable shots on our show.
Camera 4 (centerfield) – The instructions for this operator are; “pitcher/batter for the pitch. If the batter hits the ball, follow him out of the box, wait for your tally light to go off and shag. (Shag means follow the ball) Not every camera 4 operator can shag like this operator. Some of our best homerun replays are from the position.
Camera 5 (low first base) – This is the camera that is in the home team’s dugout. This is the camera that is right next to where the players enter the dugout from the field after scoring or hitting a homerun. It is the camera that captures the greatest moments of a game. One of my favorite replays is when this camera goes from the swing of the batter to the crowd. I don't know what is a better replay - the euphoria of the crowd after a homerun or the absolute dejection of a ball caught at the wall. This camera is on wheels, which means the operator has to truck his camera back in order to best frame the exciting moment happening a few feet away. Time in and time out, this is the operator who captures the most electric moments of a season.
Camera 6 (tight centerfield) – The tight swing replays from centerfield come from this camera as do catcher’s signals. One of our favorite replays is when this camera follows the ball out of the pitcher’s hand to the plate. Think about it, this operator is following a baseball 60 feet 6 inches, traveling at 90 plus miles an hour and not only does this operator keep the ball in frame, he also keeps it in focus. Hard to do and he nails it.
Camera 7 (robotic camera on the backstop) – This is my favorite camera position. There is no better angle for plays at the plate and this operator consistently is there. The tight shots of the batter from this angle offer the viewer a unique look not seen in many parks. This operator shags with the best of the robo ops in the country and he always delivers with great shots of fans in key moments of the game.
Mix in these shots with the audio mix (another blog) and it is hard to be complacent. These operators work there tails off the whole game. Some of our best “stuff” occurs between innings as these operators are continually looking for interesting shots.
My favorite telecasts to work are the ones where the reigning Cy Young Award winner is on the mound. He works fast, throws strikes and is the epitome of concentration. I believe that the whole crew feeds off this player’s determination.
When you have the best player in the game, the current Cy Young winner, a third baseman that seems to make spectacular plays in every game, and a first place club, there is no way anyone on our production team can possibly “mail it in.”
If I tried, the camera operators would kill me.

Yesterday was an off day.
We produce 153 local telecasts throughout the season. The remaining games are televised by Fox’s Saturday Game of the Week or by ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.
So what did I do on one of my few off days of the summer?
I watched a baseball game.
When I am viewing a sporting event, I hardly notice the game because I am watching the telecast. A great thing about what I do for a living is that I can turn on a TV to any sports telecast and I learn something. Every day I sit “in the chair” in the truck I learn.
I was watching the game last night with a friend. He asked me, “What is the difference between a Producer and a Director?
The basic difference between the two positions is that the Producer deals with the future and the Director deals with the present.
The Producer comes up with the themes of the telecast. From the time we go to air until the first pitch, these themes are played out for the viewer. They are revisited throughout the telecast and wrapped up at the end of the show.
Let me set up a fictitious open to show how this works.
The first piece of video on a telecast is called the tease. It is in this video that the basic game plan of the night’s telecast is presented to the viewer. For example, the audio of the tease may be;
“Tonight the Chicago Cubs come to Busch Stadium to begin a three game series against the Cardinals. Cy Young candidate Carlos Zambrano takes the hill for the Cubs as the north-siders go for their sixth straight win. Reigning Cy Young winner Chris Carpenter toes the rubber for the Redbirds who are looking to increase their lead to six games in the NL Central. Cubs….Cardinals….baseball’s best rivalry….next on FSN.
What this tease has done is set up the theme of the telecast. The game should shape up to be a pitcher’s duel. It tells the viewers that the Cubs are hot (five straight wins) and the Cardinals are the best in the division. The final sentence is more or less for the casual viewer who may not be aware of the Cubs/Cardinals intense rivalry and it also raises the fervor of Cubs and Cardinals fans.
Next is the animated open, followed by the scene set (a wide pan of a sold out Busch Stadium) then tight faces of members of both teams. (with generic commentary by the announcers)
Then it is the on-camera segment.
Before we go to air, the Producer gives a rundown sheet of the elements of this first segment to the Director, Lead Tape Operator and the Graphics Operator.
The rundown sheet for this telecast might look something like this:

Segment 1
Tease
Open
Wide shot with title page
Tight Faces
On –camera
Zambrano package
Carpenter package
Full page graphic – Key Match-up (sponsored)
On-camera
NL Central Standings
On-camera
Coming up….Aramis Ramirez and Scott Rolen

Break #1 2:35

Segment 2

Rejoin
On-camera
Ramirez video (w/ lower 1/3 graphic)
Rolen video (w/ lower 1/3 graphic)
On-camera
Coming up….A look around the NL

Break #1A 2:00

Segment 3

On-camera (Sideline Reporter)
NL News and Notes
Coming up….Cubs/Cardinals

Break #1B 1:30

Open Billboards
Cubs Batting Order
Cardinals Pitcher
Cardinals “In the Bullpen”
Cardinals Defense


The Lead Tape Op and the Graphics Op will put together the elements of the open. Another theme has been introduced – the third basemen for each club will be talked about in the second segment.
When he throws to the first commercial break, the lead announcer may say, "When we come back, we will take a look at two of the best third basemen in the game, Aramis Ramirez and Scott Rolen."
These themes will be followed during the telecast. As part of his function of dealing with the future, the Producer will have graphics and video backup concerning these themes. He will follow the progress of the pitchers and the third basemen during the game and revisit these themes during the telecast.
Also, the producer will call all replays, ask for pertinent graphics and video packages, call all music, and remind the announcers what elements they may be seeing during a particular inning. The Producer is also responsible for all the "sold" elements of the telecast. (Yes, a Producer must be very, very organized.)
The fewer surprises in a telecast, the better the show. And it is the Producer’s responsibility to keep everybody on board so there are very few, if any, surprises.
As I stated earlier, the Director deals with the present. He calls all the camera shots during play and the replay sequences (from the Producer) to the Technical Director, who then punches the correct button on the video switcher which sends that particular camera shot or replay to the viewer. The Director is listening to the announcers and the producer. The Director can follow what the announcers are talking about and the Director can also lead the announcers. The Director listens to the Producer for all replays and for the insert of graphic, video packages, and drop-ins. All the while the Director is listening to the announcers (talent) and the Producer, he/she is cutting cameras as dictated by the play on the field - the game. Ultimately, the game dictates what decisions are made in the television mobile unit.
In the fictitious open we talked about earlier, if Zambrano and Carpenter pitch poorly and the score is 8-7 after three innings, well, adjustments have to be made. All the pre-produced info is for naught. Maybe Ramirez and Rolen go a combined 0-8. That theme, therefore, is gone.
Those themes may be abandoned with a mere mention and new themes, dictated by the "game" are then included in the telecast. Making split second decisions and adjusting on the fly can be very exciting. There is only one chance to get the best pictures at any moment in a sports telecast.
And that is why teamwork and communication is so very important in a telecast.
The Producer and the Director make the ultimate decisions about what airs, but all members of the television crew, about 25 for a home show, must work together to produce an exciting, enjoyable, and memorable telecast.
Today is also an off day.
I'll be watching ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.

The game is in the top of the ninth.
The score is 2-0 in favor of the home team.
This game is as close to a “must win” game as the team has had all season.
The closer has struggled recently. In fact, he gave up a walk-off home run in his last outing.
The count goes to 3-2 on the first batter.
In this situation, for effect, I do not dissolve from shot to shot. I cut from shot to shot.
Camera 3 is my pitcher shot from mid-third base.
Camera 6 is my batter camera from tight centerfield.
Camera 1 is staying with the home manager from the left field corner. (This is called isoing)
Camera 7, the robotic on the backstop, is showing crowd.
Camera 5, inside the first base dugout, is also shooting the right handed batter.
Camera 4 shoots the pitch from centerfield and camera 2 is the high home camera that follows the ball after it is hit.
The call went something like this:
“Ready 3…take 3
5…start on a waist shot and tighten…take 5.
1…manager…ready 1…take 1.
Ready 4...take 4. (A fly ball is hit to centerfield)
Take 2.
3…Pitcher…head to toe…then tighten to a waist shot…take 3.”
(The next batter is a left handed batter)
“1…Give me the batter…ready 1…take 1…
Ready font (graphic)…font…..lose it.
Ready 3…take 3.”
(The pitcher goes into the stretch)
“Ready 4…take 4.”
(A foul pop up his hit down the third base line near the stands)
“Take 2.”
(The third baseman, shortstop, and centerfielder are all converging on the ball at the same time. As the ball comes down, the third baseman and the shortstop bump into each other and the ball hits the third baseman on the arm and bounces straight up. Despite the fact that the centerfielder is now closing fast and the shortstop is somewhat tangled up with him, the third baseman reaches up with his bare hand and snatches the ball out of the air for the second out. Just a fantastic play.)
“5…Crowd….Take 5.
3…Tight on the third baseman….Take 3.
1…Manager….Take 1.
Ready 3….take 3.”
(The producer now gives me the replay sequence. “Red then A then B.”)
“Ready to fly Red…Fly Red……Ready to dissolve A….Dissolve A…..Ready to dissolve B….Dissolve B…..Ready to fly back to 3….fly 3.”
(The replay sequence chosen by the producer was perfect. The first angle, from mid third, showed how far the players had to run to get to the ball. The second angle, from centerfield, started tighter and really showed the mayhem at the end of the play. The third angle, from the left field corner, had the players running toward the camera and really showed the concentration of the third baseman. The most beautiful aspect of all these replays, in my mind, was that each replay included the crowd in the background and captured their elation as good as a moment in a game can be captured. Kudos to the camera operators of this sequence that they did not go too tight thus losing the total effect of the moment.
As I have noted in earlier blogs, memorable “moments” of a telecast do not happen often. But, when they do and the production team “nails” it, it's a great feeling.
Oh, and by the way, the closer struck out the next batter and the home team won.

After tonight’s telecast, the producer and I were talking about the quality of crews around the country. Together, we have over forty years of Major League Baseball experience and we started working together in 1988. Except for a period of six years when he produced the telecasts for another MLB club, we have worked side by side. This familiarity certainly helps during a telecast when split second decisions are made. The fact that I know where he is headed in a replay sequence, and he knows where I am going in a camera cut sequence, lessens the amount of time to get where we want to get. The quicker the pace of the telecast, the more enjoyable the telecast is for the viewer.
But, it takes more than the Producer and the Director to dictate the pace of each show.
It takes total teamwork by the whole crew to create a final product that is both memorable and enjoyable to the viewer.
Which takes me back to my conversation with the producer after tonight’s telecast.
We agreed that the quality of sports television production crews today is not as good as the crews of ten, even five years ago.
Here, I think, are some of the reasons:
There are so much televised sports today that the crews are diluted.
The turnover in this business in the past five years is unbelievable.
Crew members do so many events that they come to not enjoy the sport they are televising.
After so many days of working sporting events, the passion is gone, it is just another job, and they are bored. And when someone is bored, they become lazy.
The performance of some members of the crew in tonight’s telecast validated the argument of this blog. Camera operators had to be reminded of their responsibilities the whole telecast. The pace of a telecast is greatly affected when camera operators have to be “directed” on almost every shot. If a camera operator listens to his/her instructions and follows them, then the operator should already be where he/she is supposed to be. If that happens, the flow of the telecast remains steady. If not, the flow is affected.
The low first and the low third camera operators were two ops that I had never worked with before. They were new to the live sports remote business and they were a pleasure to watch. The mistakes they made were because they were so aggressive. Everyone makes mistakes in every telecast. There is not a Producer or a Director in this business that does not appreciate an “aggressive” mistake. I look forward to working with those two operators again.
Every crew in the country has plusses and minuses. It is the responsibility of the Producer and the Director to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each crew.
Early on in a telecast, Producers know which tape machine is going to get many replay calls and which machine will not. By the second inning of a telecast, I can tell which camera operator is going to be seeing a lot of tally lights and which ones will not.
It is difficult to be at the top of your game day in and day out. But, the best operators consistently come through.
These are the TV techs I love to be a part of a telecast with.

Camera operators, during televised sporting events, each have specific responsibilities respective to the sport they are covering.
These responsibilities are delegated by the director.
Since every director in every sport "cuts" the game different, every director has different ideas about camera responsibilities. Each camera operator is given instructions during the camera meeting that is held before each telecast. Some directors like to have the camera meeting at the truck and some directors like to have the meeting on headsets. I prefer the meeting on headsets because, before I conduct the camera meeting, I personally visit every camera position in each venue to know the possible shots that are available at each position.
Thus, camera responsibilities are different from venue to venue.
Also, I believe that camera responsibilities differ from player to player, situation to situation.
My camera meeting goes like this: I give each camera their basic responsibilities.
Here is an example of my camera responsibilites on the road and at Busch:
Camera 1 (low third dugout on the road): "Left handed batters. If there is a runner on base and the pitcher is left-handed, give me the pitcher between every pitch. Don't have me ask you to get the pitcher, just be there. I will get the batter from tight centerfield. If there is a runner, I will let you know about scoring responsiblities as they occur." (Since I do not use a low third dugout camera at Busch, this is what I use: Left field corner at Busch Stadium) Responsibility: total Cardinal's dugout responsibilities. Pickoffs and runners as needed. Shag the ball otherwise. If there is a single hit, give me the baserunner rounding first."
Camera 2 (high home): I always want to see the "corners". Left and right field corners, because of the ballpark, are often not able to be shot by the high home camera. High first and the centerfield camera can shoot the left field corner and when the right field corner is blocked, mid third or centerfield can shoot that area.
Camera 3 (depending on the venue, either mid third (Busch stadium) or mid first.): This camera "shags" (follows the ball) and most camera three ops are quite good. (In the early days of baseball television, this was the camera with the biggest lens)
Camera 4 (centerfield): This is the position that shows the pitch. Once the pitch is thrown and the ball is hit, this camera (in our coverage) follows the batter out of the batter's box and once this camera is not "on the air" it shags the ball.
Camera 5 (low first dugout) Right handed batters, score runners and pickoffs at first base. This is the camera position that is the most important, most compelling of any camera we have at Busch Stadium. It is the position at the inside of the Cardinal's dugout. It is the position that supplies the most memorable shots of any season. It is the camera that gives Cardinals fans their most excitable memories of any game. It is the position the causes the most discussions of any game, good or bad, around the water coolers of any office in the Cardinals viewing area, period.
Camera 6 (tight centerfield) Some of the most compelling replays come from this position - home and road. Following the ball from the pitcher's hand to the catcher's glove provide some of our most poignant video.
Camera 7 (at home only) the robotic camera on the backstop. The best "play at the plate" angle in the business.
Many director's (in their camera meeting) give print-outs of camera responsibilities to the camera operators.
I believe that, in baseball, the situation dictates camera responsibility. In my mind, television baseball directing is not black and white. Adjustments as a baseball director must be made as the situation presents itself.
Our coverage changes when Albert Pujols is at-bat just as our coverage changed whenever Mark McGwire batted.
That is why I love baseball so; each at-bat creates a different situation, each game has a different scenerio.
Because of this, it is important for camera operators to follow the director. In tonight's telecast, some of the cameras were "freelancing." Freelancing can disrupt the flow of the telecast and all it takes is a reminder to the operator to follow the responsibility of his respective camera.
Every day I go to work, I learn something.
I can't wait until tomorrow.

What is the most exciting play in baseball?
What is the most exciting moment in a baseball telecast?
I think the answer to both questions is a walk-off home run.
Other than a walk-off home run or a walk-off base hit, what is the most exciting play of any baseball game/telecast?
I would say a grand slam home run.
Once again, tonight, our telecast reaped the rewards of luck.
Not only did we have a walk-off home run, we also had two, let me repeat, two grand slams in one game.
This is only the beginning of the story of tonight's telecast.
Tonight's telecast featured:
The two best teams (record wise) in the National League.
and
Two of the best power hitters in the National League.
So what happened?
Each power hitter hit two home runs which included each hitting a grand slam.
The game ended on a walk off home run by the home team.
It was a very exciting game and the ballpark was "rocking" the whole game.
It was particularly exciting in the truck each time each team's power hitting star was at the plate because the TV truck fed off that energy and, I think, delivered with crisp shots, sharp replays, timely graphics, and a memorable telecast.
There were many "moments" in the game that I felt were covered as well as could be covered and I think, overall, this was one of our best telecasts.
I wasn't so confident early in the day that this was going to be one of those memorable affairs.
Here's why.
Many of our elements in the telecast are pre-produced. These pre-produced elements include graphics (lineups, defense, full pagers meaningful to the telecast, etc.) One of the main elements of our pre-production is an segment we call "tight faces". This is a sequence of shots that we record during the batting practice sessions of each team.
After our tease (the element that is the first video the viewer sees) is the open animation and after the open animation is the sequence of "tight faces" from players of each team. This is a nice bridge between the produced open animation (which is seen every telecast) and the announcers on camera segment.
It was during the taping of this "tight faces" segment that I thought we might be in for a long night.
The list of players for this segment included (for the Mets) David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner, and Carlos Beltran. The Cardinals included Albert Pujols, Aaron Miles, Scott Rolen, and Preston Wilson.
After the video was recorded to each respective machine, our lead elvis operator (elvis is the name of our main replay machine) started to put together the "tight faces" sequence. He asked each of the two other replay machine operators to cue up their respective "tight faces" and he specifically asked one of the operators to cue up Pujols. The operator stated "which one is Poojoels?"
It reminded me of Spring Training 1999, the year after Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's memorable homerun race with Mark McGwire setting the all-time single-season record for home runs. We were in the top of the first inning and I said, "Camera One - give me McGwire." The camera one operator said, "Which team is he on?"
My response, "Never mind."
If a person is working in television sports, the least that operator can do is recognize the performers on the field. At the very least, know the stars of the sport. (Read the paper!)
I truly believe that every sports television production crew member should have a vested interest in each and every sport that that crew member is involved in.
This not only makes that operator a more valuable member of the crew, it makes the telecast better.

I love Wrigley Field.
I love it from both a personal and professional point of view. And for pretty much the same reasons. Allow me to explain.
Arguably, there is no better atmosphere in any Major League ballpark. From the first pitch to the last, the fans are into the game. It is one of the few venues where the crowd noise is "electric" the whole telecast.
Wrigley Field is a beautiful building. The ivy, the neighborhood and the closeness of the fans to the field all add to the fan's "experience" at the ball park. These factors also add to the telecast. Live billboard shots and just shots in particular are easily found at Wrigley.
In an earlier blog I stated that today's telecasts try to put the viewer "on the field." Well, the low cameras at Wrigley are about as close to fair territory as any in baseball. This also adds to the viewing experience.
Unfortunately, the low third camera position (Cubs dugout) is located on the outfield side of third base. The home camera position is just to the dugout side of this camera thus eliminating any shot of the Cubs' dugout. The third base coach blocks the pitcher shot especially when there is a runner on second base. I, therefore, eliminate this low third position and reposition it to high first base. This now gives me a clear shot of the Cubs' dugout. This camera combined with the camera at high third base, which gives me a clear shot at the visitor's dugout, provided our viewers with one of the most memorable shots of the Cardinals/Cubs contentious rivalry a couple of seasons ago. There was a heated argument between each manager from each respective dugout that could only be captured by these two camera positions. From one camera to the next and with the use of a split screen, this "moment" is still talked about and, in fact, still shown on sportscasts when teasing the Cards/Cubs rivalry.
It seems strange that a ballpark built in 1914, before television, can offer up some of the most compelling shots of any sport, not just baseball.
It is great to have such a venue as Wrigley Field to televise the intense rivalry of Cubs/Cardinals.
The crowd noise from beginning to end and the beautiful pictures from the building all add up to an intimacy that is a rarity in television. It is an intimacy with a furious energy. An infectious energy that leaves a television production crew wiped out after a telecast.
God, I love Wrigley.

Again, we were a bit lucky with today's telecast.
It was a different kind of luck than yesterday's telecast when we had a walk off hit to culminate our show.
Here is how today's luck was different.
In the open of the telecast, we developed a main theme and two sub themes for our show.
The subject of our main theme delivered and had a big game. The subjects of our two sub themes had excellent performances as well.
We wrapped up our telecast by revisiting the themes.
I'll explain in more detail.
The team has not been performing at the level that they could be and maybe are expected to be. We have been addressing the fact that maybe a strong pitching performance or a big offensive day by a position player might help jump start the club into performing better. This morning, the team signed a veteran player who had been recently released by another Major League club. The first part of our on-camera standup at the beginning of the telecast, we talked about the new player with a shot of him. It was stated that this is a veteran player who is a welcome addition to the ballclub.
This established the main theme of our show.
The two sub themes that we explored in our open were: the starting pitcher has been struggling and the team could use a good performance by him and secondly, the rookie left fielder has been having a great couple of weeks at the plate and it would be nice if he could keep up the pace.
After the first break and after the "sold" features, (line up, pitcher, defense) we showed the newest member of the team thus solidifying the theme for the telecast.
This is now where it is nice to be lucky.
The player who we have identified as the main theme of our show (there usually is a main theme and many sub themes in each telecast) came through and had a huge game. His first at bat he singled and stole second and his second at bat he hit a home run. Not only did this player have a strong performance, his play seemed to invigorate the rest of the club. They scored eleven runs in a rout and hit six home runs in the process.
Our sub themes came through as well.
The starting pitcher pitched well and got the win. He struggled a bit with two home runs against but this only strengthened our sub theme where we stated he was struggling and needed a good performance to help the team. He did struggle a bit but overall pitched very well.
And, the rookie left fielder had two hits including a home run continuing his strong play.
A standard practice in a telecast is this:
Establish themes.
Revisit themes throughout telecast.
Wrap up themes at end of telecast.
It is not often that all the themes that are established in a game "open" all play out as the highlights of a game/telecast, but it happened for us today.
Lucky us!

In the previous blog, I talked about the flow of a telecast. Since that blog, I have been involved in two MLB telecasts. The telecast Wednesday night and today's afternoon contest were a perfect example of two different flowing games. And despite the fact that the games themselves had a different flow, both of our telecasts had comfortable flows.
Despite the fact that each game had a different flow, the telecast maintained a decent flow. We did not let the game dictate the flow of our telecast. While the production team cannot alter the speed of the actual game or the flow of the actual game, a good production team will control the speed and the flow of the telecast. I am very fortunate to work with a producer who is one of the best I have ever seen at controlling the speed and flow of the telecast
Wednesday's game was not crisply played and had no flow of it's own. The visiting club hit five home runs in their first six hits and the game turned into a one-sided affair. The telecast maintained a decent flow in my estimation with nice taped packages and some interesting graphics. The game became a blowout early and stayed that way until the final score and the telecast maintained a good flow throughout.
Today's telecast was one of those shows that any producer and director love to be a part of. It was a tightly played game that included some excellent pitching with only two solo home runs allowed until the ninth inning. The visiting team threatened in the top of the ninth and did not score. And the home club won it in the bottom of the ninth with a walk off basehit.
The nice thing about a well played, tight contest is that each situation through out the game/telecast serves as almost practice before the culmination of the game. When the final play occurred, the whole production team, the whole crew was ready and delivered with excellent camera work and wonderful replays.
Games that end with a swing of the bat are not very common and when they happen it is fun to be a part of.
And it's even better when you nail it.

Home sweet home.
It is always nice to work with your home crew. When you work with the same people for 75 + games, there is a comfort level that only enhances the telecast.
As the director, the camera operators know what I want and the shots are there. On road telecasts, each camera operator is given certain responsibilities. Since every director cuts the game differently sometimes an operator has to be reminded to, for example, "give me the runner."
When a shot is not there at a precise time the "flow" of the show suffers.
Same with the producer. The producer calls the replays and if there is hesitation with the tape operator than the "flow" is disrupted.
The flow of a telecast is very different in home to road telecasts.
Another difference between a home telecast and a road telecast for a director is that on the home shows there are very few wasted shots. Shots that do not mean anything. When the telecast is flowing there are no wasted shots.
For the producer and his tape crew, there are fewer instances of wasted video on home shows than there are on road shows. A good example of wasted video is when there is a play at the plate the viewer sees the throw come in from the outfield and most high home and high first or third camera operators are very adept at pushing to the ball all the while staying in focus. A very nice looking picture. However, many times I see the second angle following the ball in as well. The story, however, is the play at the plate. So, why waste 3 or 4 seconds on another look at the ball in the air when there could be another angle of the play at the plate. 3 or 4 seconds is a long time in a replay sequence.
Tonight's telecast was a great example of a telecast flowing.
The game had all the ingredients for a good flow. It was well pitched by both teams. Both starting pitchers worked fast and threw strikes. There was timely hitting and good defense. Also as important, the home plate umpire called the strike zone the way it is supposed to be called. (If major league baseball wants to speed up the game then call strikes the way they should be called.)
When the telecast is flowing, there are very few wasted shots and there is very little wasted replay video. A good flow only enhances the viewing experience. It is on the flowing telecasts that some of the most memorable moments of the season are captured and remembered.

Despite the fact that we lowered the centerfield camera and the tight centerfield camera down on position on the cf platform, we still experienced unusable video from those two positions from the bottom of the first through the middle of the top of the third. Lowering the cameras approximately ten feet helped a little but we still took some pitches from the high home camera. PNC ballpark opened in 2001 and I have never experienced this problem before. Hopefully MLB and the Pirates will rectify the problem quickly.
The only other camera position in the National League that has a flare problem would be low first at Coors Field in Colorado. Near sundown, the pitcher shot from that position is unusable. In fact, the only time that I would use that particular shot would be to show how difficult it is for the first baseman to see a ball thrown from third base or from the hole at shortstop.
I think PNC Park in Pittsburgh is the best ballpark of all the new ballparks from a fan's perspective. The sandstone blockwork is beautiful and the view of downtown Pittsburgh is spectacular. Live shots for billboards are great. It is nice to not have to rely on scenics for billboards all the time as some of the scenics in some of the ballparks were shot 1 year ago, 2 years ago, and even longer. All sports broadcast production entities should shoot scenics with an ENG guy twice a year. Opening day and the first game after the All-Star game.
There are some problems with the camera positions at PNC however.
The dugout cameras (camera 1 in the Pirates dugout - 3rd base, and camera 5 in the visitor dugout - 1st base) are located on the outside of the dugout. This means that they are located on the outfield side of the dugout. The most effective dugout position for cameras is the inside position. There is an inside position in each dugout at PNC, but these positions cannot shoot the dugout because of handicapped elevators. While these cameras have nice shots up each respective baseline, the fact that they cannot shoot the dugout is detrimental to the telecast. The number one camera that creates the most excitement, that best captures a great moment in a game is the camera that shoots a player who just scored, (with a homerun even better), arriving in the dugout being greeted by his teammates, manager, and coaches. That camera location puts the viewer in the dugout. No camera position better excites the viewer, no camera position causes more elation in the fan and no camera angle sells more tickets.
Each and every team should look at their respective dugout positions and, if possible, make changes to ensure that their fans are able to enjoy the best moments of any telecast to the utmost degree. I believe that the cost of such changes would be well worth it.
We have already talked about the CF camera situation at PNC and I am sure that changes will be made. If not only because they have to be.
High home camera (camera 2) at PNC is fairly high and the backstop comes into play too much, but overall I believe it is not too bad. Compared to Three Rivers Stadium's hi-home camera position, the PNC position is usable.
As far as the mid level cameras at PNC, I prefer the mid first and mid third cameras to be low to the field. The ballparks built in the 60's, 70's, and 80's all were built with no mid cameras. They are called high first instead of mid first or high third instead of mid third. I wish there were mid cameras available at PNC, but, in fact, the high cameras are not too high.
I believe that the philosophy of television sports coverage in the beginning was to show the game.
Then the great Roone Arledge changed that philosophy to one that's purpose was to put the fan "in the ballpark."
The evolution of sports television equipment ie. - bigger lenses, smaller cameras (lipstick umpire cams), immediate replay access, computer graphics, companies like Stats Inc., wireless microphones, etc. have all contributed to a new and different philosophy - put the fan "on the field."
In fact, of all the technological changes made to the sports television industry, audio is still years behind video. Once the viewer is able to not only see all the action but hear it as well, then and only then, will the viewer be rewarded with total coverage of an event. For example, I want to hear what the pitching coach is saying to the closer on the mound in the bottom of the ninth. I want to hear what the third baseman is saying to Albert Pujols who just ripped a triple.
I WANT TO HEAR MORE ON SPORTS TELEVISION!

During last night's telecast, something happened that I had never seen. Both the centerfield and the tight centerfield cameras were flaring so bad from the sun that neither camera was usable. It turns out the the cameras were being used on a new centerfield platform that was 10 feet higher than the previous centerfield position.
So for the first couple of innings each pitch was taken from the robotic camera located on the net behind home plate.
In a situation such as this, an adjustment to coverage was made that gave the telecast a different "look" than a usual telecast. The difference from the two camera angles (centerfield and behind home plate) is the pitch location is better shot from centerfield than behind home plate. The viewer is accustomed to the centerfield look and so are baseball producers and directors. But in this instance the coverage had to be altered. The home telecast will probably have to change the centerfield positions so that future telecasts will not be affected. Since we were on the back ened of a dual we rode the home feed. Tonight, we are solo so we instructed the truck engineers to place the two centerfield positions down one level on the platform.
A person who was greatly affected by the unusable cameras was the video "coach" of our club. He charts every pitch of every game and it is virtually impossible to chart pitches from a camera behind home plate. I received a call from the clubhouse in the bottom of the first inning and explained the problem. The video "coach" was worried that this would occur throughout the series until I explained that the cameras would be moved and there should not be a problem.

A few thoughts about today's telecast.
We went from a dual feed to a full blown single feed.
ESPN was there with their "day" game, but we had our full complement for a single feed - no dual feed - which meant that we had Camera 1 - low 3rd, Cam 2 - hi home, Cam 3 - hi 1st, Cam 4- centerfield, Cam5 - right field power alley (Cincinnati only) Cam 6 - tight centerfield, Cam 7 - booth.
It was a straight forward telecast/game.
The interesting thing that happened was that the Cam Ops were totally quiet. The loud Operator of the previous telecast was silent as well. However, the camera op who never shut up on Wednesday night and did not talk tonight, was still awful. Unprofessional or professional - still a horrible baseball camera op.

Tonight, I was involved in a major league baseball telecast.
During the telecast, a camera operator displayed unprofessional behavior. This operator talked incessantly.
Let me explain. A typical local telecast in major league baseball includes a producer, a director, anywhere from 6 to 10 camera ops., 4 to 8 tape ops, audio, audio assist, technical director, video op, graphics operator, 3 to 6 tape operators, stage manager, stats, eic (engineer in charge of the truck), utility.
On any given telecast there are 20 to 35 people who are involved in bringing the final product to the viewer. There are hundreds if not thousands of split second decisions made by each member of the crew to provide the most succinct, the most memorable moments of each telecast. When one ingredient of this equation does not fulfill it's part of the telecast, it affects the final product.
Now, as a director, it is my responsibility to ensure that this does not happen. This can be accomplished in different ways. Each producer and each director handles adverse situations differently. Some yell and scream. This method has become against the norm. This profession was filled with screamers 20, 15, and even 10 years ago but they are not as common now. In fact, it is now common knowlege among current producers and directors that the screamers are the ones with the biggest egos and the least talent.
Sometimes a reminder to "keep it down" or "stay focused" or "that's enough" is all it takes to get everyone back to the job at hand. (I hate it when a TV Producer or Director say "on the same page" but that is another blog)
Now back to tonight's telecast.
A director has the ability to both talk and listen to the crew. In fact, there is a talk switch and a listen switch. I urged the camera person to tone it down a few times. When I realized that this operator was not listening to me, I turned off my listen switch for the game. The problem with this decision is that while there was one unprofessional operator, the other operators are true professionals and I was not able to hear them when they had insightful comments to make. I did tell the TD (technical director) to let me know if any of the other camera ops wanted to talk to me - which he did occasionally. I only turned on the listen switch occasionally during the telecast and the talk was incessant.
If a crew person in any of the capacities of the telecast is detremental to the final outcome of the telecast, then each and every member of the crew should view this as a personal insult to their professionalism and confront the crew member responsible. This industry is full of excellent, hard working in dividuals who are proud that their work on the telecast provides the viewer with an enjoyable and memorable telecast.
The telecast turned out to be one of the most compelling of the season. We covered it as well as can be expected being that there was a disrupting force on the crew itself and we were the hind end of a dual feed.
I will blog about the dual feed in the near future. For those of you who are unaware, the dual feed is a combination of the home feed and the visiting feed where the home feed has the full complement of equipment and the visiting feed has a lesser complement and piggybacks the home feed.

This blog will provide thoughts and ideas about current sports television production from the director's chair inside a mobile production unit. I will cover all aspects of a professional sports telecast including: venues, mobile units, equipment, crew, talent, producing and directing.