Shooting for Sports

SPORTS! 

(Tim and Eric's Sports Song) 

We've all at one point in our lives have watched some sort of sporting event on television. Whether its the Olympics, a collegiate sporting event or even the pros we've all seen similar styles of how a sporting event is covered. But when you watch the event, do you ever notice how many different camera angles there are covering that event? Do you ever hear the differences in sound throughout the stadium and in commentator's booth? Heres what the mapping looked like for the FIFA 2014 soccer championship. 

 

Notice the strategic placement of the 26 cameras and microphones spread out throughout the soccer stadium. The majority of microphones are pointed at the field to capture the sounds of the game but there are also a few microphones pointed at the stands to capture the roar of the fans when their team scores a goal. The combination of these microphones give the viewers at home the sound needed to feel like they're at the game. In addition, cameras are also strategically placed throughout the stadium to give viewers at home all the angles of the game. Notice the cameras placed on the sidelines of the field to give viewers those wide angles to see the whole game and the close up shots of the players and coaches. Also note the cameras on cranes behind the goal posts that give viewers all sorts of different angles behind the goal post.  

Take a look at this highlight reel and see where each shot comes from and try and guess what microphone is capturing the sound.  

Score One For the Home Team

Go On is one of NBC's new shows for the current fall season. This is also Matthew Perry's opportunity to break back into the TV industry. His last stint in TV was the underrated Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I feel this time around, Perry has picked the right horse to back. According to the Hollywood Reporter, last week it had a steady rating of 3.3, better then The New Normal.

I'm not really into the whole sports scene, but this show has acquired a perfect balance between sports jargon and character development to have a wide audience. Besides following the life of sports radio personality Ryan King, the show follows his development and growth trying to recover from the loss of his wife. In order to cope with this, Ryan is sent to a loss support group, where he encounters and becomes a part of a misfit group of "losers". From what I've seen of the current season, Overall, I'd say that it might not be a home run, but it certainly scores one for the home team (see what I did there, sports).

Sports Media

Over the break, a father asked me to videotape his son's football game and edit the good plays he makes into a high-light real. He gave me a hand held camera and told me the different angles to shoot at for where his son would be on the field, whether it was defense or offense. This was by far the hardest event I ever shoot at. Football is such a quick game and i was constantly losing concept of where the ball and Jon were. Jon played the running back position so he was pretty much on every play. Jon's father wanted me too be zoomed in as much as possible and to always have his son on camera.

Towards the second quarter, my hand was already starting to get tired, and there was nothing i could really do about it. A tripod would have rally been handy. After halftime, Jon rushed for a 47 yard touchdown, breaking three tackles and diving into the end zone. The best part was that he was running towards me the entire time, so the shoot does like pretty cool as i zoom out and refocus during the play.

In post, I added some music and labeled what each short bit was before playing it. Mr Struss, Jon's father, was very please with what I accomplished and said that if Jon's team makes it to the championship, he would ask me to do the same thing again. Then it hit me. There are so many parents that spend a tremendous amount of money to have highlight tapes shoot for their son or daughter. So currently, I am making a website that will be linked on my old school's website for parents interested in a highlight tape for their child's college resume. I already have gotten few phone calls, and have 3 jobs for when I go back home after christmas. I think I might really have something here. Once the site is finished, I'll post again and have a link to the main page.