1:54. One hour, fifty four minutes.
That was the time of the game.
When a game moves at such a brisk pace, it poses a unique situation in the television truck. Just as there is no telecast more difficult for the Producer than a quickly paced baseball game, there is no telecast easier for the Director.
A baseball game that moves quickly allows the Director to get into a flow and establish a rhythm. A fast paced game does not allow wasted shots that disrupt the flow of the show. The crew stays sharp and the shots are there.
It is another story for the Producer.
The game coverage responsibilities for the Producer, replays, graphics, music, etc., are all more enjoyable during a fast game. There is something about a good flow that the TV production team really appreciates. However, these responsibilities are not all the Producer has to be concerned with during the telecast.
The Producer must also make sure that the sponsored elements air on the telecast. These elements include: open billboards, 2 mid-billboards, close billboards, (billboards are for the advertisers the telecast is “brought to you by.”) 4 team related items, (upcoming promotional events) lineups, starting pitchers, defense, 9 TV network promos, this day in history, audience participation poll question, trivia question and answer, call to the bullpen, and more. You get the idea. The Producer understands the importance of these elements as they all help pay for the production of the telecast.
So now you have a well paced game, which means a well played game, which means plenty of replays. It is now the Producer’s responsibility to mix in the replays with the sponsored elements and maintain a good flow to the telecast. Remember, a Producer cannot control the pace of the game, but the Producer does control the pace of the telecast. I can say with certainty that our Producer worked harder on this telecast than any all season.
The pacing of the telecast matched the pace of the game. It was one of our better telecasts of the season.
In the Open, we talked about the team’s success on the current home stand. They won the game to continue this success.
Segment two dealt with the two starting pitchers. They both pitched well.
In segment three we showed a graphic of the “easiest remaining schedules” in baseball. This showed the second place team, in the same division as the first-place club we cover, having the easiest schedule of all teams. This stressed the importance of winning each game by the team we cover. They won the game 3 – 1.
During the game, we continually updated the pitch counts of each pitcher. The pitch count graphic includes ball and strikes and was an effective way to show how well each pitcher performed.
When a game of this pace concludes, everyone involved in the telecast can finally sit back and take a breath.
I am sure that the Producer was more wiped out than anyone.