You may love your college football team or your state’s various sports teams, but they aren’t the ones that bring you their own exploits live (and also recorded) for posterity. George Foreman didn’t set-up the cameras, press the record button and then run into the ring and start swinging punches, after all. The sports community sells their broadcasting rights for BIG money to the broadcasting community, and then the broadcasting community does its part in carrying forward the various athlete’s personal and team legacies and legends, both for current and future fans, by turning around and selling what they have expertly packaged for the public’s consumption into sports channels, newsroom shorts, and studio archives (for reference, clips, and future ‘best of’ compilations).
Some shots are not the easiest to grab - sometimes, the cameramen feel as though they're in the sport, too![/caption]
Expert collecting, packaging, and presentation cover a huge range of work, requiring technology, technique and skill. While the sports figures get the spotlight, their support team is necessary to get them to (and ready to be in) the spotlight and it’s the broadcast team that provides the spotlight and ensures that the world gets a chance to see and hear their champion’s exploits (and sometimes their follies). The standard broadcast activities and professions are represented in sports media, of course, all with their own unique twists on standard techniques to focus more readily on their particular medium.
Some people whom you might not consider, at first hand, as part of the media team is the attorneys. If commerce is the force that drives the train of this industry, then law provides the tracks, bridges, and some of the obstacles (as well as solutions to obstacles) that that train encounters. Think of lawyers as railroad workers. The Rome Treaty of 1961 established many of the rights and protections, and definitions of piracy that the industry uses today. Considering that this treaty is 53 years old has prompted many media concerns to petition the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for a new treaty, particularly in light of the pace with which technology is moving, the increased sophistication of media pirates, and the introduction of new media outlets that were not even on the radar as possibilities over half a century ago when the treaty was signed. The WIPO made some Internet treaties in 1996 and set up a committee in 2011 to look at all the issues that need redress for a major new media-related international treaty. Piracy issues, as well as broadcasting negotiations, have been sports media’s main legal issue in recent times. New broadcasting rules become even more important as new types of broadcasting become viable. Google’s 2006 acquisition YouTube has begun negotiations directly with some sports teams, dipping their foot in the sports media pool with initial moves being made with archival footage and live streaming video potential from the sporting event. Traditional sports media can’t afford to ignore some of the new sports outlets YouTube and similar internet sports media that it exemplifies.
Sports broadcasting has its own special topics of controversy beyond merely which team or individual is the best this season. The sports media genre generates some social media all its own, as well as its own takes on some current social issues, regarding equal rights and glass ceilings — it’s been firmly alleged that female sports broadcasters are at a distinct disadvantage versus their male counterparts. Both from the standpoint of not being taken as seriously as males and to having less access to locker-room interviews than their male counterparts. Female athletes (particularly those in team sports) also seem to have issue with being taken as seriously, and there are allegations of the occasional figure in the sports hierarchy behaving badly (i.e., such as certain coaches or other power figures making unwanted advances).
Basketball may seem like an easy sport to record, but following the bouncing ball is not as easy as it might seem![/caption]
Specific sports social media issues include the use and misuse of performance enhancing drugs (i.e., steroids). Another specific sports media issue is East Coast Bias (this is a U.S. & Canadian issue), wherein sports broadcasters & journalists are viewed as treating east coast teams (along with individual athletes) as if they are more important than west coast athletes. Two of the main causes for this are thought to be due to North America’s time zone structure and the assertion that there are simply more sports fans in the east; since most people favor their local teams, this would create a ‘natural’ bias.
Then there’s the extreme behavior of individual athletes that generates quite a bit of broadcast fodder. The antics of such individuals as Mike Tyson and OJ Simpson are so famous they require no elucidation. Then there are all the individual cases of performance-enhancing drug use, followed by scores of misbehaving millionaire athletes with charges ranging from sexual misconduct to (standard) drug abuse, various drunken episodes, and more.
Recording any major sporting event for your channel requires the proper tools. When undertaking electric field production at a major sporting event, it’s best to make sure your production truck contains the following goodies: A video switcher with a DVE. A video server (gotta have my slo-mo and instant replay shots). A character generator for scores and stats. A solid selection of microphones. A mixing console. A stack of hard disc drives and a suitable recorder. A top of the line coffee maker and a big container of premium roast. A handful of camera operators, a couple of announcers and the director. Now you’re ready to roll!
And when you’re talking slow motion, one company – a personal favorite – pops into my mind: Tightrope Media systems and their new ZEPLAY - ANY SPORT, ANY STADIUM system. Four Angles of Replay Ready to Air in 7 Frames I amazing! The ZEPLAY features 8 channels (4 input and 4 output), displays simultaneously, giving twice the number of instant replays, with no back-side and all with only one operator!
The magic starts with The ZEPLAY controller. It features a t-bar that allows you to play a clip at +/-200% speed and a jog/shuttle wheel with magnetic stops for a tactile control. All operations are available at your fingertips, giving the operator both accuracy and speed needed when under pressure. This sends into the ZEPLAY Server. A single ZEPLAY unit can store up to 160 hours of HD footage (40 hours per channel), all enclosed in a 4RU, 21" deep chassis. With this footprint, it’s perfect for flypacks and mobile production. ZEPLAY also provides macro programmable GPI inputs and outputs, so you can run tally and easily integrate with your existing production system. And, to tie it all together, ZEPLAY's software interface allows you to customize and save your layouts for a more optimized workflow. Its multi-viewer displays all four inputs and outputs simultaneously on the same monitor, allowing the choice. The play bar is a graphical representation of the game's timeline; in addition, all plays can be tagged and stored in the play list for instant retrieval and playback.
I couldn’t help but to mention this product – it is truly awesome! For anyone out in the field (sports field, that is!) the action will always be captured and can always be replayed! For more information, go to: http://www.trms.com/broadcast/zeplay
Now, the camera operator faces some special hurdles in sports broadcasting. A thorough knowledge of the sport being filmed is a must. Such camera operators know where to look, when to look, and if it’s safe to shut down equipment temporarily to save power, or not. Does the camera operator follow the players or the ball (or puck)? Knowing the particular nuances of any coaches involved allows the veteran sports camera operator to gain a feel for the best areas of the field to watch for any surprises. What aperture do you use on your camera? Well, that depends on the sport and the lighting conditions. Generally speaking, a small aperture is good for soccer, and a large aperture for football. Not all videographers are camera operators, of naturally.
Conversely, some camera operators are not even broadcast professionals, either. I’m speaking of those instances in sports where a special camera, such as an Ion Air pro or a GoPro, is attached to an athlete or some of that athlete’s equipment (or vehicle or animal) prior to a sporting event. Care must be taken with such cameras, undoubtedly, not because of excessive fragility but rather so as not to interfere with the athlete in any way while the device is being used; as a general rule, the more dangerous the activity the more care needs to be taken with all the athlete’s equipment (cameras included).
The sports broadcasting specialization of the media has its own unique industry professional: the sportscasters. Sportscasters are sports commentators
The view INSIDE one of those mobile production trucks (or semi trailers) with all of the support equipment for the cameraman's view to make it to you![/caption]
who often focus on just one sport. Some, like the athletes themselves, can become stars in their own right (ala Howard Cosell); others’ claim to fame might be a particular phrase or two they originated, like Chic Anderson’s commentary on the performance of that magnificent chestnut colt Secretariat, when it took the Triple Crown in 1973; as Mr. Anderson said: “He is moving like a tremendous machine!” or when Affirmed and Alydar were running neck and neck in line for the 1978 Triple Crown, he said: “We'll test these two to the wire!” Lest I leave out “Let’s get ready to rumble!” by the highly recognizable Michael Buffer of ring-fame.
The current broadcast announcing formula is a team of two announcers: The Game Announcer and the Color Commentator (other nations sometimes have differing titles for this broadcast duo). The Game Announcer typically covers the action and highlights in the sporting event itself with the other remaining silent or acts in a clearly supporting capacity, with the pre-and-post game and during the slow times being the Color Commentator’s time in the sun. The game announcer will typically have far more broadcast experience than the color commentator. Color Commentators are often being recruited from the ranks of retired coaches or athletes of the sport being presented; as such, they are marvelous sources of anecdotes, statistics, strategies and relevant insights and experiences. These announcers often visit the spotlight, but it is the rest of the sports broadcasting team that keep the tremendous machine of this media behemoth moving toward the wire.
This arrangement is epitomized in parody/satire by two Saturday Night Live actors (Jason Sudeikis & Will Forte) as Pete Twinkle, the game announcer, paired with Greg Stink, the color commentator. I’ll leave it to you to find them on the Internet, with their lively style describing various fictional sporting events in order to promote their sponsor’s products. As they say in the ad-biz, it’s all in the placement – and there’s some pretty funny placement going on with these two manning the desk! Check them out:
Next time you’re watching your favorite sporting event, be sure to notice all of the camera people and listen to the announcers – realize that there’s far more people putting the package together for you so that you’re able to enjoy the event from home. No matter how many people are on the field or in the ready to play, there are scores of people behind the scenes making them look their best.