Television Sports Production - Fourth Edition

Television Sports Production

TELEVISION

SPORTS

PRODUCTION

Fourth Edition

by Jim Owens

Asbury College

Acquisitions Editor: Elinor Actipis

Project Manager: Dawnmarie Simpson

Associate Acquisitions Editor: Cara Anderson

Marketing Manager: Christine Degon Veroulis

Cover Design: Eric DeCicco

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Owens, Jim, 1957-

Television sports production / Jim Owens. -- 4th ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80916-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-240-80916-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Television broadcasting of sports. 2.

Television--Production and direction. I. Title.

GV742.3.O84 2007

070.4'497960973--dc22

2006026784

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 13: 978-0-240-916-8

ISBN 10: 0-240-80916-5

For information on all Focal Press publications

visit our website at www.books.elsevier.com

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Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

PART 1 INTRODUCTION TO REMOTE PRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Chapter 1 What Is Remote Production? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Live versus Live-to-Tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Remote versus Studio Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Chapter 2 Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Personnel Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Freelance Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 3 The Television Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

HDTV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Interactive/Internet Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Television for Mobile Phones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Personal Video Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Media Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Chapter 4 Mobile Unit/OB Van . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Inside a Mobile Unit/OB Van . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Production Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Audio Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Videotape Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Video Control Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Outside a Mobile Unit/OB Van . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Communication Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Types of Mobile Units/OB Vans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

The Compound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Safety: The Mobile Unit/OB Van and

the Remote Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

PART 2 PLANNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Chapter 5 Planning the Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Coordination Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Remote Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

The Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Venue Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Location Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Other Areas for Survey Consideration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Areas that Significantly Impact the Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Camera Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Camera Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Types of Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Why POV/Robotic Cameras? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Indoor Venue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Outdoor Venue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Other Lighting Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Stereo Audio for Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Basic 5.1 Surround Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Audio Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

Microphones Pick-up Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

Microphone Sound Generating Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Types of Microphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Phantom Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Microphone Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Microphone Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Communication (Intercom) Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

Electrical Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Program Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

Backup Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Location Sketch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Budgeting for the Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Chapter 6 Pre-production and Set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Production Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

The Show Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Equipment Set-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Setting Up a Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86

Cabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Camera Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

Facilities Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Rehearsals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

vi CONTENTS

PART 3 CREATING THE PRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

Chapter 7 Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Producing the Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

Directing the Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Types of Sports Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Action Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Stop-and-Go Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Directing Stop-and-Go Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Directing Emphasis on Scoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Pumping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Continuous Action Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Camera Action Tends to Be Rapid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Increase in Shot Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Camera Changes During Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Team and Individual Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Team Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Individual Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Building Emotional Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Dealing with the Dominant Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Limited Space for Coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110

Horizontal versus Vertical versus Circular Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110

Horizontal Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110

Vertical Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

Circular Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

Coverage Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Follow-the-Bouncing-Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Needs of the Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Directing Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Facilities and Coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Directing Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Assigning Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114

Camera Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Directing Replays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Directing Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

The Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

Camera Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Camera Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Camera/Lens Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Shooting Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Caring for the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

Shading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Audio for Remotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Audio Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

CONTENTS vii

viii CONTENTS

Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Television Graphics Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Tips on Making Great TV Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

The Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

Chapter 8 Sports Announcing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Play-by-Play Sportscast Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Announcer Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Go Beyond the Obvious . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Spotters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Chapter 9 Post-production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Editing Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Chapter 10 Television, Computers and Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

The FoxTrax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

Virtual Information Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148

Racef/x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

“Matrix” Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148

Transposition Replay Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

StroMotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

Virtual Ads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Internet/Interactive Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Technology Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

PART 4 HISTORY OF SPORTS TELEVISION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153

Chapter 11 Milestones in Sports Broadcasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Appendix I Truck Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

Appendix II Olympic Broadcast Planning Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Appendix III Camera Diagrams and Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Alpine Skiing

Aquatics (Swimming)

Athletics (Track)

Baseball

Basketball

Bobsleigh and Skeleton

Figure Skating

Football (American)

Football (Soccer)

Motorcycle Road Race

Tennis

Appendix IV Microphone Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Baseball

Basketball

Football (Soccer)

Tennis

Appendix V Event Storyboards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Opening Ceremony XIX Olympic Winter Games

Appendix VI Intercom Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Small-scale Production Intercom System

Medium-scale Production Intercom System

Large-scale Production Intercom System

Appendix VII Lighting Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Sources and Recommended Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275

CONTENTS ix

FOREWORD

With a presence in nearly every nation, television broadcasting has become one of the most

influential means of communicating to the world at large. Through advancements in remote

television production, it has become possible for billions of people around the world to get the

“best seat in the house” at the greatest events in the history of sport without leaving the comfort

of their own homes. From the kick-off of the World Cup, to the final pitch of the World Series,

to the triumphs of Olympic competition, live sport broadcasting captivates viewers and makes

them a part of the action.

Many factors can affect the coverage of a remote sport event, including weather, lighting, and

natural sound. A successful production relies on extensive planning, taking into account location,

budget, technology, and the intricacies of the sport itself. More importantly, the people selected

for the production crew have the greatest impact on the overall success of the production.

This publication provides a broad overview of how to successfully plan and implement a remote

television production. You will find detailed descriptions of the types of mobile units/OB vans,

cameras, audio equipment, and lighting requirements used to produce live or taped coverage

of sport events. You will learn about different types of sport action and different techniques

used by producers and directors to capture the essence of each sport.

I would like to thank the many contributors to this publication and, as you explore the contents,

I hope you will find Television Sports Production to be a useful resource.

Manolo Romero, President

International Sports Broadcasting

xi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people generously provided their expertise and support for this project. We would

like to thank the following contributors:

Editorial: Hank Levine, Mark Parkman, Linda Parker, and Kathy Bruner

Technical and Production Assistance: James Angio, Larry Auman, Iain Logie Baird, Dennis

Baxter, Greg Breckel, Steven Brill, Anna Chrysou, Helen Borobokas-Grinter, Keith Brown, John

Bruner, Craig Cornwell, Ron Crockett, Chad Crouch, Darryl Cummings, Thom Curran, Pe￾ter Diamond, Pat Dixon, Brian Douglas, Yiannis Exarchos, Mike Edwards, Kent Farnsworth,

Pem Farnsworth, Gabriel Fehervari, Steve Fleming, Haik Gazarian, Tom Genova, Marsha

Groome, Mike Hampton, Michael Hartman, Mike Hasselbeck, Lytle Hoover, Mike Jakob,

Chris Jensen, Kostas Kapatais, Sue Keith, Dimitris Koukoubanis, Joe Kusic, John Lawler, David

Lewis, Joseph Maar, Alexander Magoun, Rachael Masters, Dan MacLellan, Bryan McDougal,

Steve McVoy, Gary Milkis, Don Mink, Mark Orgera, Maria Persechino-Romero, Jeffrey Phillips,

The Poynter Institute, Ed Reitan, Steve Restelli, Scott Rogers, Ursula Romero, Andy Rosen￾berg, Pedro Rozas, Josep Rubies, Joe Sidoli, Don Slonski, Donald Slouffman, Kristin Spiessens,

Ralph Strader, Meg Streeter, David Rodriguez, Dave Schoemaker, Ryan Soucy, Keith Southwick,

Sportscliche.com/tv, Matthew Straeb, Curt Wallin, Doug Walker, Mark Wallace, David

Warnock, Adam Wilson, WLWT, Dan Wolfe, and David Worley,

Layout and Design: Teri Jarrard

Photographs/Illustrations: ABC News, Alphacam, Asbury College, Audio-Technica, Auman Museum

of Radio & Television, Dennis Baxter, John Bruner, Dartfish, Fischer Connectors, Flying Cam,

Gyron Systems International, International Olympic Committee, Lemo Connectors, Lighting

Design Group, Gary Milkis, Miranda Technologies, Mountain Mobile Television, NBC Olympics Inc.,

ORAD Hi-Tec Systems Ltd., RF Central, Manolo Romero, Rycote, David Sarnoff Library, Shook

Electronics USA, Shure Incorporated, Sportvision, Swe Dish Wahlberg Selin and Vinten Camera

Support Systems, Telex Communications, Temple University Archives, and Visage-HD,

Text Illustrations: Lynn Owens, Katie Brandt, and Teri Jarrard

Special thanks to Asbury College

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