My last two blogs have illustrated the importance that each individual crew member plays on a telecast. Just as a poor performance by a member of the telecast team brings the quality of the whole production down, the stellar execution of an individual on the telecast team raises the value of a TV baseball production.
Certainly, the quality of the Major League TV broadcast teams varies from city to city. While it is a pleasure to telecast from San Francisco (great crew), the possibility of a good telecast from Florida (year in and year out – a weak crew) proves to be challenging.
Being in the National League’s Central Division where our baseball TV team telecasts the majority of our games, I can honestly say, without disparaging the rest of the Division’s baseball TV crews, the dual-side crew in Pittsburgh is a real pleasure to work with.
Working the back-end of a dual feed can be very challenging.
When a TV baseball production team is on the back end of a dual feed, they only control three cameras of the 7 -10 cameras (depending on the city).
The three camera operators on our telecast Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh were fantastic. They were given their responsibilities and they performed these responsibilities to a tee.
My philosophy concerning a telecast of a Major League baseball game, as a back end of a dual feed, is thus: I am given three cameras with the option of utilizing any of the cameras of the primary (home telecast) feed. Because there are only two cameras in a Major League baseball TV production that have responsibilities that will work for any feed of a particular game – high home camera and centerfield camera – these two cameras are the only cameras from the primary feed that I put into our switcher to utilize during our telecast.
The responsibility of the high home camera in a baseball telecast is, basically, follow the ball. I prefer that, on a routine groundball out, the high home camera go to the first base umpire for the out call – do not go to the batter running up the first base line after making an out. My reasoning being that this player just made an out – he lost – so my immediate shot after the out is a shot of the pitcher – he won.
Baseball contains more one on one confrontation than any other sport.
I believe that the “winner” of these battles should be the emphasis of the shots a Director takes in covering the event that just occurred.
I tell my camera operators to shoot the player who “won” the battle.
I want a positive telecast.
Show me the pitcher who just got the batter out.
Show me the batter who just got the hit.
Shoot the player who just made a great defensive play.
SHOW ME THE PLAYER WHO JUST WON THE BATTLE!
Do not show me the player who just struck out as he walks to the dugout.
Do not show me the batter running up the first base line after grounding out.
DO NOT SHOOT THE PLAYER WHO JUST LOST THE BATTLE!
The St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan is no different from the Detroit Tigers fan who is no different from the Philadelphia Phillies fan who is no different from the Toronto Blue Jays fan who is no different from the San Diego Padres fan who is no different from the Seattle Mariners fan.
They are all BASEBALL fans.
Yes, they want to see their team win the game, but more importantly, they want to see the individual winner of each and every battle of the game.
True baseball fans appreciate a good play, respect a baseball athletic achievement, and appreciate an accomplishment on the baseball diamond.
That’s why baseball is the greatest game in the world: there are more opportunities for “winners” during a game than any other sport.
All sports fans love winners.
No Major League sport offers more opportunities for a winner than baseball.
Each pitcher/batter confrontation produces a winner.
Every single pitch in a baseball game could produce a winner and a loser.
If every baseball telecast team covered the game in a positive manner, every telecast would be successful.
SHOW WHO WON!
SHOW THE WINNERS!
Luckily, here in Pittsburgh, the camera operators realize the value of good play on the baseball diamond.
Certainly, the quality of the Major League TV broadcast teams varies from city to city. While it is a pleasure to telecast from San Francisco (great crew), the possibility of a good telecast from Florida (year in and year out – a weak crew) proves to be challenging.
Being in the National League’s Central Division where our baseball TV team telecasts the majority of our games, I can honestly say, without disparaging the rest of the Division’s baseball TV crews, the dual-side crew in Pittsburgh is a real pleasure to work with.
Working the back-end of a dual feed can be very challenging.
When a TV baseball production team is on the back end of a dual feed, they only control three cameras of the 7 -10 cameras (depending on the city).
The three camera operators on our telecast Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh were fantastic. They were given their responsibilities and they performed these responsibilities to a tee.
My philosophy concerning a telecast of a Major League baseball game, as a back end of a dual feed, is thus: I am given three cameras with the option of utilizing any of the cameras of the primary (home telecast) feed. Because there are only two cameras in a Major League baseball TV production that have responsibilities that will work for any feed of a particular game – high home camera and centerfield camera – these two cameras are the only cameras from the primary feed that I put into our switcher to utilize during our telecast.
The responsibility of the high home camera in a baseball telecast is, basically, follow the ball. I prefer that, on a routine groundball out, the high home camera go to the first base umpire for the out call – do not go to the batter running up the first base line after making an out. My reasoning being that this player just made an out – he lost – so my immediate shot after the out is a shot of the pitcher – he won.
Baseball contains more one on one confrontation than any other sport.
I believe that the “winner” of these battles should be the emphasis of the shots a Director takes in covering the event that just occurred.
I tell my camera operators to shoot the player who “won” the battle.
I want a positive telecast.
Show me the pitcher who just got the batter out.
Show me the batter who just got the hit.
Shoot the player who just made a great defensive play.
SHOW ME THE PLAYER WHO JUST WON THE BATTLE!
Do not show me the player who just struck out as he walks to the dugout.
Do not show me the batter running up the first base line after grounding out.
DO NOT SHOOT THE PLAYER WHO JUST LOST THE BATTLE!
The St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan is no different from the Detroit Tigers fan who is no different from the Philadelphia Phillies fan who is no different from the Toronto Blue Jays fan who is no different from the San Diego Padres fan who is no different from the Seattle Mariners fan.
They are all BASEBALL fans.
Yes, they want to see their team win the game, but more importantly, they want to see the individual winner of each and every battle of the game.
True baseball fans appreciate a good play, respect a baseball athletic achievement, and appreciate an accomplishment on the baseball diamond.
That’s why baseball is the greatest game in the world: there are more opportunities for “winners” during a game than any other sport.
All sports fans love winners.
No Major League sport offers more opportunities for a winner than baseball.
Each pitcher/batter confrontation produces a winner.
Every single pitch in a baseball game could produce a winner and a loser.
If every baseball telecast team covered the game in a positive manner, every telecast would be successful.
SHOW WHO WON!
SHOW THE WINNERS!
Luckily, here in Pittsburgh, the camera operators realize the value of good play on the baseball diamond.
posted by Cutting The Game at 11:38 PM
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