There was no blog concerning yesterday’s telecast because the game was rained out. Yesterday was a travel day and with no telecast to blog about, I read all of the previous Sparkletv blogs. I noticed that a central theme of most of the blogs concerned the “flow of the show”.
After reading these blogs, I asked myself, “What are the factors that dictate the “flow of the show”?
The pace of the game is certainly the most important aspect that determines the flow of the show, but there are many factors that contribute to the pace of the telecast.
It takes a total team effort by the TV production team to keep up with a well paced baseball game.
For the Director, there is a camera meeting before each telecast. It is during this meeting that each camera operator is given the responsibilities of their respective camera position. Some Directors like to have this meeting over headsets and some like to have the meeting face-to-face at the TV truck. Some Directors even hand out instructions on pieces of paper to the operators.
Every baseball Director cuts the game differently. Therefore, every baseball Director holds a different camera meeting.
It is my belief that the game will dictate my camera cut. I do have basic batter/ pitcher shot responsibilities but, depending on the situation of the game, my cut may change from batter to batter. I tell the operators that I will give them their responsibilities as the game dictates.
Some of the basic responsibilities for camera shots include scoring runners and pickoffs at first base. The camera angle that scores runners can be determined by many different factors. These factors include: the ballpark, the batter, and the TV feed. (dual or main) For example, scoring runners from the low third base camera at Wrigley field is nearly impossible because the home TV feed camera is between the dugout and the visiting TV feed camera. I do not believe that it is prudent to utilize a camera to score a runner if one of baseball’s superstars is at-bat. If that camera angle can better capture the moment by isoing the superstar than it can by isoing the runner, then that camera responsibility is changed. If our telecast is in a dual feed situation, our feed will join the home (main) feed for pickoffs and scoring plays.
As stated earlier, TV baseball Directors issue camera instructions/responsibilities over headsets, in person, and with detailed written instructions. And, for the most part, Major League Baseball camera operators follow these instructions to a tee. Whether the responsibility is: follow (iso) the runner, the batter, the pitcher, the ball, the manager, a fielder, or even the umpire, if the camera operator does not know how to frame the shot, the shot is unusable and the flow of the show is affected..
The shots of the players on the field should be either head-to-toe, waist shots, or tight face shots. During my camera meeting, I will tell the camera ops; “Head to toe or waist shots. Late in the game, if the game dictates it, we will work in tight faces.”
Still, many times, the camera shot will show the player cut off at the knees, off center, or too tight.
The flow of a telecast is greatly affected when the Director, before taking the shot, has to frame the shot. There are professional TV sports camera operators in the country that either do not care or do not know a good framed shot if it hit them in the face.
When there is a particular camera operator of this ilk, my call throughout the telecast may sound something like this after the ball is hit:
“Take 2” (The responsibility of camera 2, high home is to follow the ball)
1….runner….head to toe…ready 1….take 1
Ready 2…take 2
Ready 1…loosen off to head to toe…take 1
5…Pitcher…waist shot…ready 5…take 5
1…Runner…head-to-toe…ready 1…take 1.
If, during these camera commands, I did not have to include, “head to toe”, “loosen off to head to toe”, “waist shot”, and “head to toe”, the shot sequence would have been tighter and more effective. The time it took to “get” the shot deterred from the overall value of the telecast.
I believe that the most compelling factor that determines the value of a telecast is the amount of “wasted” time on a telecast. The less wasted time there is in the show, the tighter the telecast.
Directors who have to “frame” shots, before taking shots, cannot direct a tight telecast. Framing camera shots for the operator creates wasted time.
If a Producer has to cue up replays, because the cue points of the replay operator are not tight, that Producer cannot produce a “tight” telecast. The Producer cueing replays for the replay operator only creates wasted time.
A good example of wasted time on replays comes when there is a play at the plate. The first angle shows the ball being thrown in from the outfield from the high home camera. The camera operator tightens in to a very tight shot of the ball and then loosens off for the play at the plate. (A great shot) The next angle is from mid-first base camera. This angle shows the ball being thrown in from the outfielder, tightens to the ball, and loosens off for the play at the plate. The second look at the ball in the air from the outfielder is wasted time. The ball in the air, seen once, is all that is needed for that reply sequence. The three or four seconds used on the second angle could be better used for another angle.
TIGHTEN IT UP!
When the telecast is over and the Production team is discussing the show, each member, be it the Producer, the Director, cameras, graphics, tape replay ops, audio and video, all grade the show on the flow.