The telecast of today’s game was one of those shows that every baseball TV Director loves to cut.
The game had good pitching which provides a decent flow to the telecast. There were some stellar defensive plays that gave the show some nice replays. A baseball game with a decent flow and good replays is a pleasure to work on. But there is no play in a baseball game that is more enjoyable to cut than the home run. And, in this game, a player hit three home runs and came up in the seventh inning with a chance to hit four.
I remember a game during the 1993 season when a member of the team I was covering hit four home runs in one game. That game was one of the most memorable I have ever worked on.
There are many different ways to cut a home run. If it looks like it’s going to be a home run when the ball leaves the bat, I like to stay on the centerfield camera (camera 4) a little longer than usual to see if there is a reaction from the player who hit the ball. Then, I cut to the high home camera (camera 2) to show the ball going over the fence.
Now the fun starts.
There are many different shots to choose from when a home run is hit. Naturally, shots of the home run hitter, both tight and wide, can be used. I like the shot from the low first base camera (camera 5) that starts on the pitcher and then picks up the guy who hit the home run as he runs from second base to third base and then pushes to the crowd. If a member of the home team hits the home run, then crowd shots are mixed into the cut. Another enjoyable aspect of the home run is setting up the camera shots (isos) that are going into the replay machines.
We call our replay machines Red, Green, A, B, X, and Y. During home games, here are the respective tape machines, the cameras in each machine, and the responsibility of the camera operators when a home run threat is at the plate.
Red –Camera 4 (centerfield…follows the pitch from pitcher to catcher, follows the batter out of the box, waits for the tally light to go off, and then shag the ball.) Green – camera 3 (mid-first…tight batter to tight ball follow.) A - Camera 6 (tight centerfield… tight ball follow from the pitcher to the catcher and then stay with the batter around the bases. Tighten to the batter between bases, but make sure that we see the home run hitters’ feet touch each base.) B – Camera 1 (left field corner… tight ball follow or bring the batter out of the box and stop at the first base dugout which is the home teams’ dugout.) X – Camera 5 (low first…head to toe on the batter and, after he hits the ball, let him run out of the frame and push to the crowd) Y – Camera 7 (robotic on back stop)…tight swing or ball follow or Camera 2 (high home)…ball follow. In this particular game/telecast, the player hit homeruns in his first three at-bats. I tried to cover each home run differently, always including shots of the crowd going crazy because these shots really crank up the moment. A home run shot sequence may go something like this: ball flies over the fence, camera 6 starts wide with crowd in background and pushes to the homerun hitter rounding first base, Camera 5 goes to the pitcher and when the home run hitter comes into frame, picks him up as he runs to third base. As he rounds third and heads for home, this camera will push to a tight crowd shot. Camera 4 is wide showing the player crossing the plate with the crowd in the shot. Camera 5 picks up the player tight and brings him into the dugout. All this time, the talent is “laying out” (not talking) and the crowd noise is telling the story.
As I have stated, there is no moment in a baseball game that is more fun for the Director than cutting the home run. However, I think the most enjoyable moment of today’s telecast was not the first, second, or third home run. The most enjoyable moment was when this player came up in the seventh inning with a chance to hit his fourth home run. The anticipation of another blast energized the ballpark and the TV crew fed off this energy. We were ready.
Off the bat, the ball looked like it had enough to make it over the fence. The crowd roared in eager anticipation of a historic moment, but the left fielder caught the ball on the warning track.
Sometimes, preparing for a memorable moment can be just as gratifying as covering the moment as it occurs.
The game had good pitching which provides a decent flow to the telecast. There were some stellar defensive plays that gave the show some nice replays. A baseball game with a decent flow and good replays is a pleasure to work on. But there is no play in a baseball game that is more enjoyable to cut than the home run. And, in this game, a player hit three home runs and came up in the seventh inning with a chance to hit four.
I remember a game during the 1993 season when a member of the team I was covering hit four home runs in one game. That game was one of the most memorable I have ever worked on.
There are many different ways to cut a home run. If it looks like it’s going to be a home run when the ball leaves the bat, I like to stay on the centerfield camera (camera 4) a little longer than usual to see if there is a reaction from the player who hit the ball. Then, I cut to the high home camera (camera 2) to show the ball going over the fence.
Now the fun starts.
There are many different shots to choose from when a home run is hit. Naturally, shots of the home run hitter, both tight and wide, can be used. I like the shot from the low first base camera (camera 5) that starts on the pitcher and then picks up the guy who hit the home run as he runs from second base to third base and then pushes to the crowd. If a member of the home team hits the home run, then crowd shots are mixed into the cut. Another enjoyable aspect of the home run is setting up the camera shots (isos) that are going into the replay machines.
We call our replay machines Red, Green, A, B, X, and Y. During home games, here are the respective tape machines, the cameras in each machine, and the responsibility of the camera operators when a home run threat is at the plate.
Red –Camera 4 (centerfield…follows the pitch from pitcher to catcher, follows the batter out of the box, waits for the tally light to go off, and then shag the ball.) Green – camera 3 (mid-first…tight batter to tight ball follow.) A - Camera 6 (tight centerfield… tight ball follow from the pitcher to the catcher and then stay with the batter around the bases. Tighten to the batter between bases, but make sure that we see the home run hitters’ feet touch each base.) B – Camera 1 (left field corner… tight ball follow or bring the batter out of the box and stop at the first base dugout which is the home teams’ dugout.) X – Camera 5 (low first…head to toe on the batter and, after he hits the ball, let him run out of the frame and push to the crowd) Y – Camera 7 (robotic on back stop)…tight swing or ball follow or Camera 2 (high home)…ball follow. In this particular game/telecast, the player hit homeruns in his first three at-bats. I tried to cover each home run differently, always including shots of the crowd going crazy because these shots really crank up the moment. A home run shot sequence may go something like this: ball flies over the fence, camera 6 starts wide with crowd in background and pushes to the homerun hitter rounding first base, Camera 5 goes to the pitcher and when the home run hitter comes into frame, picks him up as he runs to third base. As he rounds third and heads for home, this camera will push to a tight crowd shot. Camera 4 is wide showing the player crossing the plate with the crowd in the shot. Camera 5 picks up the player tight and brings him into the dugout. All this time, the talent is “laying out” (not talking) and the crowd noise is telling the story.
As I have stated, there is no moment in a baseball game that is more fun for the Director than cutting the home run. However, I think the most enjoyable moment of today’s telecast was not the first, second, or third home run. The most enjoyable moment was when this player came up in the seventh inning with a chance to hit his fourth home run. The anticipation of another blast energized the ballpark and the TV crew fed off this energy. We were ready.
Off the bat, the ball looked like it had enough to make it over the fence. The crowd roared in eager anticipation of a historic moment, but the left fielder caught the ball on the warning track.
Sometimes, preparing for a memorable moment can be just as gratifying as covering the moment as it occurs.
posted by Cutting The Game at 7:25 PM
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