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.