This past weekend we televised each game of the three game series from Detroit.
This was the second time that we have televised out of Detroit’s Comerica Park in the past two seasons.
While I worked out of Detroit for hockey for many years, these two visits are the only times I have done baseball in that city.
Of all the venues in the National Hockey League, Detroit was always my least favorite to televise from. The mobile unit never seemed to work properly; there were always audio problems, the on-camera location was terrible, and the camera locations were average at best. The crew members were pleasant and did a good job, but the limitations of the arena greatly impacted on the quality of the telecast.
I directed baseball from Detroit for the first time last season.
The working conditions were, once again, terrible. We were in a dual feed situation and our work area was very cramped. The camera locations were better than the locations in the hockey arena but, all in all, these locations were average at best. Last season, the difference between the hockey experience and the baseball experience was the crew. While the hockey crew worked hard, was pleasant, and enjoyed themselves, the baseball crew was lazy, had a chip on their shoulders, and was miserable. Televising baseball in Detroit last season was the worst experience of the season. In fact, when the 2007 Major League Baseball schedule came out in September, 2006 and it showed the Cardinals playing in Detroit, our whole TV crew was ticked off.
As we left Los Angeles, the four members of our traveling party were dreading this three game series.
There was a huge difference in this season’s experience compared to last season. The dual feed was, once again, cramped and the camera locations were the same, but the crew worked hard, was pleasant, and enjoyed themselves.
They were a pleasure to work with. There was one bad apple on the crew but this “waste of time” wasn’t worth wasting any time over.
All in all, covering the game action in this series was a much more enjoyable experience than working on the telecast from Detroit last season.
Our TV team also has some responsibilities for the pre-game and the post-game shows. The usual Producer for these shows was unable to be in Detroit for the weekend series. Earlier in the afternoon, this Producer communicated with the game Producer via telephone with instructions on the format, interviews, live hits, and the video necessary to be sent down the line to be recorded in St. Louis.
Then, during the actual pre-game show, this Producer communicated to the announcer through the game Producer via telephone. Thus, the counts to and from sound bites went from the pre-game Producer (in St. Louis) to the game Producer (in the mobile unit at the ballpark) to the announcer on the field. The immediacy of the “count down” to the “bite” was not as tight as is necessary and the quality of the show was affected.
Since we were in the back end of a dual feed, our show only had three camera operators. Because of the on-camera segments of the post-game show, one of these three camera operators must be released after the bottom of the eighth inning to man the booth camera for the post-game show.
Both the game and the post-game show are now affected by the loss of this camera position. The two positions remaining for the post game show in Detroit were the mid-first base camera and the tight centerfield camera. This meant that the live post game player interview had to be shot from one of these two positions. (Hardly ideal)
With the game telecast down to two cameras, it was imperative to utilize the “home” show coverage of the game to a greater extent because they were working with a full complement of equipment.
While it is true that every Major League Baseball TV team does it’s best to cover the great game of baseball, it is also true that every Major League Baseball TV team’s telecast is slanted towards the team it covers.
Thus, the St. Louis Cardinals’ telecast became the Detroit Tigers’ telecast.
For example, during lulls in the action, I will take more shots of St. Louis Cardinals players than players on the other team. I believe that every baseball Director “directs” the game in this same manner. As baseball Directors, we have the responsibility to our fans to 1 – cover the game, and 2 – highlight the players of the team we are representing.
A dual feed situation limits the ability of the TV team in the truck to showcase the players of the baseball team they cover.
While we understand the fiscal reasons for the use of dual feeds in our industry, this does not diminish the level of frustration the TV team feels when the “product” is affected.
The level of frustration I felt at the conclusion of this three game series was as high as I can ever remember.
It must be Detroit.