The State of TV Coverage Camerawork

[BarrelBoy]

I can't be the only one to be disappointed with the current state of TV coverage of the game. Whatever you might think of the commentators, the camera work is frequently terrible. The camera is frequently zoomed in so far you can only see the ball carrier with no clue as to where his opponents are, where his team mates are, or sometimes even what direction the goals or boundary line are. Is he under pressure? Is he about to be tackled? Does he have support? What are his options? I have no idea. He lays of a handball, or a kick. To whom? Who knows? The ball shoots out of screen and it takes a moment for the camera to adjust.

This happens so often I can only assume it's a deliberate choice of the directors to "get close to the action" or something, but it completely ruins the watching of the game because you simply can not tell what's going on.

 

[3rd Grade Maggy]

I wouldn't blame the camera operator. It's a deliberate choice by the direction team and I hate it.

 

[langers1971]

I can't be the only one to be disappointed with the current state of TV coverage of the game. Whatever you might think of the commentators, the camera work is frequently terrible. The camera is frequently zoomed in so far you can only see the ball carrier with no clue as to where his opponents are, where his team mates are, or sometimes even what direction the goals or boundary line are. Is he under pressure? Is he about to be tackled? Does he have support? What are his options? I have no idea. He lays of a handball, or a kick. To whom? Who knows? The ball shoots out of screen and it takes a moment for the camera to adjust.

This happens so often I can only assume it's a deliberate choice of the directors to "get close to the action" or something, but it completely ruins the watching of the game because you simply can not tell what's going on.

you are absolutely spot on here

the choice of "picture" going to air at any given time is an absolute disgrace.

you woulkd swear that Stevie Wonder is running things the way it is right now!!!

simply not good enough

 

[Partridge]

I can't be the only one to be disappointed with the current state of TV coverage of the game. Whatever you might think of the commentators, the camera work is frequently terrible. The camera is frequently zoomed in so far you can only see the ball carrier with no clue as to where his opponents are, where his team mates are, or sometimes even what direction the goals or boundary line are. Is he under pressure? Is he about to be tackled? Does he have support? What are his options? I have no idea. He lays of a handball, or a kick. To whom? Who knows? The ball shoots out of screen and it takes a moment for the camera to adjust.

This happens so often I can only assume it's a deliberate choice of the directors to "get close to the action" or something, but it completely ruins the watching of the game because you simply can not tell what's going on.

How about how often they feel the need to show random relatives in the crowd (endlessly), endless amounts of non-action on the interchange bench, anything except the actual game.

Still, it's spun gold compared to the commentary.

 

[Cleavy]

so the solution is to award the rights to another network?

 

[Clark G]

I posted this in another thread but Eddie and Jimmy discuss the poor camera angles here:

 

[Clark G]

so the solution is to award the rights to another network?

Would that help? Nine started the close up rubbish when they had a share of the rights from 2002 to 2006. But Seven have taken it to a new low.

 

[IKnowtheDog]

The camerawork at the English cricket and AFL/VFL matches leaves a lot to be desired. Forget the standard of commentary, camerawork is more important.

Would love to know the video footage clubs get for their analysis because they'd be lost based on the product the general public sees.

 

[Cleavy]

Would that help? Nine started the close up rubbish when they had a share of the rights from 2002 to 2006. But Seven have taken it to a new low.

depends if they have "fresh ideas" or if it's the usual boys club running the production

 

[Clark G]

The camerawork at the English cricket and AFL/VFL matches leaves a lot to be desired. Forget the standard of commentary, camerawork is more important.

Would love to know the video footage clubs get for their analysis because they'd be lost based on the product the general public sees.

You have a point because as bad as some of the commentary is, sound can be turned down or off. But with the camera angles, either you watch what is presented to you or don’t watch.

 

[Cleavy]

You have a point because as bad as some of the commentary is, sound can be turned down or off. But with the camera angles, either you watch what is presented to you or don’t watch.

don't watch and listen to the radio broadcast.

 

[TheExtractorFactor]

Completely right, it’s gone to absolute crap. The part that annoys me the most is when a player is tackled and it’s a 50-50 holding the ball or in the back. They zoom all the way in so you can’t see the umpire, we then hear his whistle but have to wait to see which player ends up with the ball as to what the decision is! The umpires need to be framed in so we can visually see what their call is, it’s imperative to the coverage. The people directing this nonsense obviously are not footy fans at all.

 

[YouBeauty]

This thread is spot on, it's almost as if I wrote this myself.
The vision is way too zoomed in, you can't see whats happening or whos around when the ball exits the contest.
With the constant zooming in and out and panning, I feel I need to take a motion sickness tablet because it makes my head spin.

 

[YouBeauty]

AFL is shot the same way it was in the 1970s.
There has been little innovation apart from the down the ground stuff.
It should be zoomed out in a similar fashion to how soccer is shot.

I also think there is an opportunity to experiment. Why not shoot it down the ground rather than side on? You'd actually see how the play is unfolding.

 

[enzso]

The FIFA coverage of the Matilda's game last night was rubbish too. Sam Kerr goes nuts after scoring a goal and we get a view of the back of her head!

Anyway I don't think you can use soccer as a template for how AFL should be filmed. There are far fewer contests in soccer and where there is a contest it's usually over quickly. Contests in AFL can often involve more than two players and the ball can stay in a tight pack for some time. They need to zoom in to show what's going on.

 

[Del208273]

Contests in AFL can often involve more than two players and the ball can stay in a tight pack for some time. They need to zoom in to show what's going on.

It's the level of zooming in that's the problem in AFL coverage.

They should go no tighter than about 8-10m.

Allows viewers to see the contest and players nearby.

Going in too tight means sudden pans and ball constantly leaving frame.

How many times have the camera operators anticipated the drop zone of a long kick, zoomed in to what they believe will be the contest, yet the ball doesn't go anywhere near them?

 

[enzso]

It's the level of zooming in that's the problem in AFL coverage.

They should go no tighter than about 8-10m.

Allows viewers to see the contest and players nearby.

What happens then though is that the tight shot is wide enough to follow every single handball and even a short kick. After a couple of handballs and a short kick you suddenly don't know where you are on the ground anymore. Sure you can see the players around the contest, but where are they on the field?

The wide and tight cameras also need to complement each other. If the tight camera is too wide it looks like a "jump" when they cut to it - so if the tight camera goes wider, the wide camera needs to change by the same amount. I don't know about you but sometimes when I watch AFL and they have almost an entire half of the field in view I often can't tell which player belongs to which team, let alone see where the ball is.

 

[Del208273]

After a couple of handballs and a short kick you suddenly don't know where you are on the ground anymore.

Hang on.

You said in a previous post that they need to zoom in to see what's going on.

Zooming in means less of the field in the frame.

You've contradicted yourself.

 

[enzso]

Hang on.

You said in a previous post that they need to zoom in to see what's going on.

Zooming in means less of the field in the frame.

You've contradicted yourself.

Not at all - it's a balance yeah? My point was if the tight camera is a bit wider as you've suggested, they can stay on it longer because it can follow the ball more easily. That's a bad thing. You need the balance between tight and wide, but you also want the tight view tight enough that they're still forced to zoom out for a kick.

 

[1989]

Zooming in on the ball travelling towards the goals on a set shot is annoying. You lose so much perspective and can't see the players on the goal line and goal umpire (which provide perspective on depth and accuracy), and have no idea whether the ball is going to sail through for a goal / behind or drop ten metres short.

 

[enzso]

Zooming in on the ball travelling towards the goals on a set shot is annoying. You lose so much perspective and can't see the players on the goal line and goal umpire (which provide perspective on depth and accuracy), and have no idea whether the ball is going to sail through for a goal / behind or drop ten metres short.

Yeah that's stupid. They have a camera at the other end they can use, and should, particularly when the player is on or outside 50

 

[HarryBeef]

Almost unbearable tonight, spent half the game zoomed in on players' cheekbones.

 

[Clark G]

Almost unbearable tonight, spent half the game zoomed in on players' cheekbones.

The lead up to the last Carlton goal was shocking. Zoomed in right on the player with the ball. Could not see anything else.

 

[Cleavy]

Almost unbearable tonight, spent half the game zoomed in on players' cheekbones.

Even the cuts to the crowd were terrible

 

[HarryBeef]

Even the cuts to the crowd were terrible

At one point we had a close up of a pole that Longmire was standing behind.