The fourth and final 2007 spring training telecast occurred Sunday.
The game was in Memphis against the AAA Memphis Redbirds. This telecast had all the same wrappings of the previous three telecasts - same little truck, different crew. The big difference of this telecast was the venue. Unlike the spring training ballpark of the Cardinals, this ballpark is exceptional. This ballpark has great camera positions with wonderful sight lines that include beautiful shots of the city of Memphis. This wonderful ballpark seems to be a mix of Petco Park in San Diego and Camden Yards in Baltimore. The crew was exceptional as well. Because of the skill of the video operator, the extenders were used on the two handheld cameras and the video was excellent. There is a huge difference to shooting baseball when the 18X1 lens on the handhelds can be put into “extender”. Without the extenders, the tightest shots of the pitcher or the batter were shots that cut off just above the knees – an ugly shot in my opinion. I prefer head to toe or above the waist shots.
The spring training part of our televised schedule is complete. The four spring training telecasts were an excellent warm-up for our TV production team as we head into the 2007 season.
We experimented with a roving handheld camera during three of the four spring training telecasts and found that this new “position” offers a unique “look” to our coverage. We will be using this roving position for our home games only early on, but, as we gain permission from the road venues throughout the season, we may also utilize this camera on the road as well.
We will be replacing the tight centerfield (camera 6) with this roving camera. Our usual camera 6 operator at our home games and I spoke about the new and different responsibilities of this position and the operator is just as excited as the rest of our team as we head into the season. It is my experience that many crew members (in every venue) are not as willing for change in baseball coverage as others. It was refreshing to hear our camera 6 operator say he was “looking forward” to the new responsibilities of this camera. There is a huge difference in a hard (fixed) camera than a handheld camera. Carrying a thirty pound camera on one’s shoulder for 3 plus hours can be very demanding and I am sure that we will make provisions for this operator to help lessen the load.
The 2007 season opener is tonight. The game is a national ESPN telecast and this means that this will be the first season opening telecast that I have not been a part of in twenty years.
ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball is arguably baseball TV’s best production. Although I do have tickets to tonight’s game, I may just stay home and watch the telecast. It may be a refreshing change and, who knows, I may pick up something from the telecast that will enhance our show.
The game was in Memphis against the AAA Memphis Redbirds. This telecast had all the same wrappings of the previous three telecasts - same little truck, different crew. The big difference of this telecast was the venue. Unlike the spring training ballpark of the Cardinals, this ballpark is exceptional. This ballpark has great camera positions with wonderful sight lines that include beautiful shots of the city of Memphis. This wonderful ballpark seems to be a mix of Petco Park in San Diego and Camden Yards in Baltimore. The crew was exceptional as well. Because of the skill of the video operator, the extenders were used on the two handheld cameras and the video was excellent. There is a huge difference to shooting baseball when the 18X1 lens on the handhelds can be put into “extender”. Without the extenders, the tightest shots of the pitcher or the batter were shots that cut off just above the knees – an ugly shot in my opinion. I prefer head to toe or above the waist shots.
The spring training part of our televised schedule is complete. The four spring training telecasts were an excellent warm-up for our TV production team as we head into the 2007 season.
We experimented with a roving handheld camera during three of the four spring training telecasts and found that this new “position” offers a unique “look” to our coverage. We will be using this roving position for our home games only early on, but, as we gain permission from the road venues throughout the season, we may also utilize this camera on the road as well.
We will be replacing the tight centerfield (camera 6) with this roving camera. Our usual camera 6 operator at our home games and I spoke about the new and different responsibilities of this position and the operator is just as excited as the rest of our team as we head into the season. It is my experience that many crew members (in every venue) are not as willing for change in baseball coverage as others. It was refreshing to hear our camera 6 operator say he was “looking forward” to the new responsibilities of this camera. There is a huge difference in a hard (fixed) camera than a handheld camera. Carrying a thirty pound camera on one’s shoulder for 3 plus hours can be very demanding and I am sure that we will make provisions for this operator to help lessen the load.
The 2007 season opener is tonight. The game is a national ESPN telecast and this means that this will be the first season opening telecast that I have not been a part of in twenty years.
ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball is arguably baseball TV’s best production. Although I do have tickets to tonight’s game, I may just stay home and watch the telecast. It may be a refreshing change and, who knows, I may pick up something from the telecast that will enhance our show.
posted by Cutting The Game at 11:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home