The anticipated telecast with a full complement of equipment and the home crew was delayed a day as we were rained out on Friday night.
The wait was well worth it.
Working a home telecast is a treat. There was a problem with one of the cameras, but truly, there is "no place like home". If only I would have held up my side of the bargain.
The Saturday telecast was a good example of the game following the pre-conceived “script” of our open.
The main theme of our open segment concerned the starting pitcher of the visiting Milwaukee Brewers. This hurler was a very important component to the 2006 World Champion Cardinals’ club. He was the MVP of the 2006 NL Championship Series and he also pitched great in the World Series.
On Friday night, before the game was postponed, there was a pre-game ceremony in which this player was presented with his World Series ring. The scene of this former Cardinal receiving his ring while his former teammates were on the field applauding was a very touching and telling piece of video.
We could not have aired a more compelling example defining the theme of our telecast. And, following our “script”, this pitcher pitched great and picked up the win.
Usually, our game theme surrounds one of the St. Louis Cardinals, but there are instances when the theme of the show will concern another variable. These variables may include a certain Hall of Fame player competing in the contest, a historical event, or even a previous encounter between the two teams.
The Producer plans the theme of the show. We televise 153 games throughout the season, and it takes a talented person to come up with interesting “twists” each and every telecast. Once the theme of the show is developed, the key for the Producer is to revisit the theme throughout the telecast.
Saturday night’s telecast was a good example of useful techniques utilized to revisit the theme.
We used flashbacks (ring ceremony and 2006 World Series), a sound bite from the Brewers’ pitcher (he talked about returning to face his former club), and game specific video packages (capturing the quality pitching performance).
Once again, we made use of our roving hand held camera to capture the flavor of the ballpark. Our Play by Play announcer and our Color Analyst occasionally played up this camera when it was on the air and, I believe, their involvement really enhanced the “experience at the ballpark” that this unique camera was trying to capture.
During the telecast, we aired an excellent pitch-by-pitch replay that portrayed the importance of changing speeds AND the value of using both sides of the plate.
There was an enlightening piece of live video that summed up the frustration of one of the star players in the game.
Indeed, there were some excellent “moments” in the show.
However, early in the telecast, I found myself being way too aggressive. I was cutting too much and I made some really poor decisions. I felt like I was directing baseball for the first time and it ticked me off.
Every TV baseball Director makes mistakes in every telecast.
When a Director gets upset, concentration is lost and mistakes snowball.
Good Directors do not get upset.
I was not very good tonight.