I have watched quite a bit of baseball in the past few days. Playoff baseball is always exciting and I enjoy watching the games.
My wife has a hard time watching these games with me because while I am watching the game, I am also noticing the telecast.
“That was great.”
“I can’t believe they missed a pitch.”
“Nice.”
“Did you see that?”
There have been some beautifully cut moments in the telecasts and some of the shows have had a nice flow to them. I have seen some excellent replay sequences, but, there have been too many rote sequences for my taste. Centerfield for the pitch, tight centerfield for the swing, dissolve to the high home camera for the play. I just saw the exact same thing in the live cut only in slow motion. Mix it up!
With the equipment allotted to the crew in the playoffs, more “chances” should be taken.
I think the best thing about the replays in these playoff telecasts has been the use of real time replays. When the crowd is going nuts, these replays capture the excitement and the moment as good as they can be captured.
The importance of the games and the atmosphere of the ballparks create a situation where a Director can get fired up and over cut.
In one of the series, I prayed that no runner would reach base because the Director was scared to death whenever there was a runner on first. The high third base camera was continually taken showing the pitcher in the stretch and the runner leading off first base. The pitcher would throw home and by the time the Director took the centerfield camera the ball was at home plate. In fact, once, the runner did attempt to steal and the Director cut to high home camera for the throw to second base BEFORE the ball reached home. In essence, a pitch was missed. If, in this situation, the runner attempts a steal and the Director does not show the “jump” live, well, that camera is most certainly in a tape machine.
What made this situation more maddening was the fact that the Director kept showing the pitcher/runner from the high third base camera even when there wasn’t a steal situation and/or the runner at first was NO threat to steal. WITH TWO OUTS AND THE PITCHER AT THE PLATE, THE RUNNER IS NOT GOING TO STEAL.
Know the situation. Know the game.
The Director for one of the other series certainly knows the game and cut terrifically in certain situations. When the game came to a pivotal moment, this Director delivered with crisp shots at a great pace. The Director mixed in shots of the two teams in an equal fashion with telling tight shots. These memorable shots were effectively cut at a pace that captured the moment and heightened the excitement. The immediacy of the replays and the quality of the replay sequences contributed to the success of this telecast.
I enjoyed this Director’s cut even in “down” situations where the action slowed a bit. The Director continually worked hard and the cut had a purpose with a nice smooth flow to it.
I look forward to viewing more of this Director’s work.
I also look forward to watching more playoff baseball.
Unfortunately, my wife will not watch with me.