They don't want to do that because that would make their jobs incredibly boring. Step 1 - set up camera Step 2 - hit record Obviously they would have to go to commercials and stuff, but they want drama! They want action! They want to show their skills and their art. Meanwhile, we're just trying to watch basketball.
I don't think it's that; I genuinely think they think it's making the experience better. I disagree with their opinion on the matter, but I think they want to prioritize high quality presentation. It's little things, mostly: They zoom in a bit too much, which made sense when TV's were 4:3 and small. Now we all have 50" TV's, and can see the action fine. Zoom out a bit so we see the entire half court earlier in the play. The ball handler can be a little bit more to the edges of the 16:9 frame to accommodate this... They linger too long on reaction shots after makes; the game has sped up in the back court, but they still linger on a reaction shot until the ball handler is at half court. But we have a guy who specifically does a one-man press twice or three times a game. Let's see him do his work! I have similar nit-picks about everything in life, which is why I don't have any friends.
I do this on a semi-regular basis. I like Mike and Mike, but I also like to tune into national and opponent broadcasts to get a fresh perspective on how others around the league perceive our team and our players. I fucking hate the Clippers and their whining, but respect Ralph Lawler's knowledge of the game. I HATE Houston's whining and flopping on the court, and if it's possible, their announcers are even worse - the worst business (and this time, I mean it). The Kings may suck on the court, but their team of Grant Napear and Jerry Reynolds are first rate. The Knicks also suck on the court, but Mike Breen and Walt Frazier have great chemistry and are very knowledgeable. Both UTA and MIN also have good on air talent. I can't remember all the names, but both teams are credible and very listenable for a fan of the opposing team. But, that's just the announcers, I don't really tune into other broadcasts to evaluate their camera angles - unless they miss a key play. BNM
Again, use those camera angles for the instant replay during a stoppage in the action. Getting too creative during live action leads to missing key plays, like Crowder's lead-changing 3-pointer last night. Sure, show me the emotion on Aminu's face during the next dead ball. During live action, I'd rather see that actual play 100 times out of 100. BNM
Can we get a HERO shot of HCP eating a HERO sandwich? Maybe put it up on the Jumbotron to get fans pumped for game 3.
I got the opportunity to sit in the truck with HCP a couple years ago and it was awesome! It's controlled chaos. My head would explode if I had to juggle everything they do and do it on the fly.
Excellent post The. Thanks for sharing. I think you and the crew do a fantastic job with the replays and stuff like that. I do have a pet peeve of my own, and it is highlighted here: Why is every single camera focused on a "HERO" shot, instead of the game? WTF? My longest running peeve in watching basketball is when someone makes a play, the camera focuses on a closeup of them running up the court for 12 seconds, and we miss the game in the process, including the next play. (I'm talking about basketball broadcasts in general, not yours.) I haven't noticed this nearly as much as I used to, so I appreciate that it seems to have been addressed at least somewhat. But seriously. I've almost broken my TV over this too many times to count. Keep up the good work.
I wonder; do you think using an occaisional split-screen or PIP for those kinds of shots might alleviate your and others' frustration with them?
I hate it. Please tell your director to stop doing it. When a guy is running on a fast break, then we switch to this lower angle from the baseline, you can't even tell how high or far he jumped. Same with those worthless angles from overhead. It's fucking stupid. You don't need to overthink it with these camera angles during live play. We just want to watch the game. It's not about how creative Quentin Tarantino is in the truck with the camera cuts it's about the game. Just let us watch. Feel free to use those different angles after the fact in a replay or one of those great HCP highlight reels. Every other area of a Blazer broadcasts is great and I think heads and shoulders above most of the other teams, but this one thing has become exceedingly annoying, at least to me.
Hmm...probably. Although, split screen shots of someone talking while the game is going on, so we can see the person talking but can't see half the action, is the absolute gold standard of rage-inducing stupidity in sports broadcasting. Like I need to see the face of the fucker talking while I'm missing the game. Thanks, fucktards. Oh, Sorry. Started to rant there for a second. Yeah, it sounds like an ok compromise, but they'd still need to cut back to the game in a timely manner.
What gets me, and it doesnt matter what channel or what game, it happens to all, is the huge ads tossed over the screen when coming back from commercial and there is a view of the city. I love checking out the arial views of cities ( a passion of mine actually) and almost always you get 4.5 seconds of huge ads and .5 seconds of the actual view... I must say though, thats about my only real complaint
I think it's freaking great for replays. But it sucks when they cut to in during a live shot because by the time your brain picks up who is who and where the ball is and who else is where and what they're doing, the play is over and you're left wondering what you missed. Especially when you're watching the game in a bar and can't hear the announcers...
One of my big peeves is when teams display the previous quarter's stats on a graphic that covers half of the entire screen while the subsequent quarter is getting under way. The Blazers did this for many years but thankfully they revamped it this season. Keeping the stats on a dynamic banner on the lower portion of the screen is much better. Btw HCP, I've gotta say compared to the rest of the league, you guys have the best-looking graphics hands down. Sleek and professional. I can't stand the uniform packages that CSN or Root Sports use in other markets. I'm glad the Blazers aren't beholden to CSN's graphics here.
