AFL Broadcasting article

[old55 23,348]

19 hours ago, Diamond_Jim said:

In their defence this season they have been using tighter camera angles to hide the crowd absence.

Out of interest why are they sticking the crowd in spots they are rarely seen

They are on level 2 so they can't touch the ball if it comes over the fence.

[JTR 2,846]

Sorry if already mentioned in the article, or thread. Too much reading for me this early in day!

One thing that's been bothering me this season is the lower angles they are using, presumably in an effort to maintain the crowd noise illusion and not show empty stands in the background.

It's particularly bad when play is on the opposite wing to camera and all the players are running around in the top 1/4 of my screen. Looks terrible, especially when ball is kicked and it disappears out of the top of the screen. 

Same happens when they do that close-ish angle from behind the player kicking on goal. They don't track the ball, meaning it disappears out of top of the screen and we don't see where it's going till it comes back down.

Makes me feel like I'm watching the game from the concourse of the G.

[Diamond_Jim 12,511]

I have noticed in some games at certain grounds they are positioning a camera that is close angle but looking down at the play on say a sixty degree angle. It does give you just that little more coverage than the usual close shot.

There is nothing more frustrating on TV than seeing a player in the clear prop and then go sideways while at the same time being denied a view of why that decision was made.

[old dee 23,743]

7 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

I have noticed in some games at certain grounds they are positioning a camera that is close angle but looking down at the play on say a sixty degree angle. It does give you just that little more coverage than the usual close shot.

There is nothing more frustrating on TV than seeing a player in the clear prop and then go sideways while at the same time being denied a view of why that decision was made.

Always better when you are at the game, cannot happen this year of course.

[binman 42,544]

16 hours ago, tiers said:

Re the camera angles. When I go the game I typically sit on the one spot high up in the grandstand and watch the whole game from that single spot. Even on a big footy ground I can get a feel for what is happening.

Unless the image is severely shrunk it is impossible to reproduce this view on even a wide screen tv. What would help would be more interesting views from behind the goals more often during the game instead of the boring repeated replays of marks and goals. Show us how and why it happened just like they do on the weekday tv shows where they review the games.

 

Totally agree. 

I have been banging on about the camera angles for years, in so far as its inability to show the game properly.

 In particular the lack of down the ground shots as it is that angle you can see the running patterns, zones and structure and set ups.

Its why I sit at the top of the ponsford stand when I go to the g. Interesting, but not surprising that is the angle fed into the coaches box.

A bigger issue in many regards is how [censored] the commentators are and how dominated it is by thick ex footballers who once out of the game for more than a couple of years are clueless about what is happening in the game tactically.

Watson is the latest in this long line of peanuts. Ling is the worst of the lot.

For Pete's sake hire some proper experts and people who do their own research.

There is only one decent player commentator and that is Daisy Pearce. And BT the buffoon is so obviously threatened by her intellect that he often dismisses  her comments.

Right accroos the footy media there is a ridiculous absence of actual analysis so your average fan dies not get to learn or understand the incredibly complex tactical elements of the game. Zones, tempo, structure, systems etc define how the game is played and looks.

So much footy media. So little information. Stupid talking head pressers full of cliches and puerile gossip from the likes of sam McClure. 

Does my head in.

The article below, also from ABC news, is a terrific example of an insightful article that helps build am understanding of the game, the sort of analysis that there should be way more of accross all mediums (abc seem to be having these analytical articles semi regularly. There was the one on the crows fall that was discussed in the lever thread):

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-02/the-gold-coast-suns-rise-in-2020-but-is-it-a-false-dawn/12409144

[george_on_the_outer 7,556]

It would be nice if the Directors on the day would show the ACTUAL action, not the previous play again and again. 

There are obviously less cameras at the game, but I don't care how someone marked the ball, if they are now kicking for goal, and then we miss that part, only to see it on replay.

Another is focussing on the bench when the ball is in play.  The director has 2 screens available to show that, but put the action on the main one please!

[Nasher 33,607]

Great article.

I fully agree on the camera angles. I’m mostly a TV watcher of AFL (having grown up watching TFL footy live in Tasmania) and it is so difficult to fully comprehend what’s going on. I get a bit envious when I see posts from some of Demonland’s finest analysts; I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of developing that level of understanding, as much as I would love to.

A few years ago - maybe 10? - FOX trialled this thing where they let you select what camera angle you wanted, which included the ability to have a wide view that could see half the ground. You could also turn the commentary off without impacting the sounds of the game, which I would definitely do with the current mob. I don’t know why in the era of smart TVs and interactive viewing, why the broadcasters don’t do more things like this.

And also, the commentators. For the love of god, hire professional commentators, not just any footy jock who feels like earning another few hundred k in a jobs for the boys industry. Have one commentator who calls the action and never adds their 2c when they don’t know what they’re on about (looking at Hudson’s effort last night) and one analyst who really understands the tactical side of the game and can give some genuine insight. In other words, not Jonathan Brown. Ross Lyon’s voice might put you to sleep, but I doubt there’s anyone available more qualified to complete the picture for us.

There is so much work that could be done to breathe a bit of life in to the TV experience.

[Anti-Saint 245]

cameras on umps - how come Ch 7 did not persevere with these cameras - they are lighter, hi res better each year - but you'd have that drone of commentators talking about the players' comments - we don't want to hear the commentators we want to hear the players! 

[Anti-Saint 245]

On 7/11/2020 at 12:33 PM, sue said:

A lot to like in this:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-11/what-if-broadcasters-are-the-source-of-afl-image-problem/12437678

(Mods: couldn't find an existing topic, merge please)

great post Sue - tks - and - I'd like to "sue" commentators Messrs: Brayshaw, Healey, Taylor, Ling, Hudson et al for crimes against my love of footy!

[daisycutter 29,600]

1 hour ago, Anti-Saint said:

cameras on umps - how come Ch 7 did not persevere with these cameras - they are lighter, hi res better each year - but you'd have that drone of commentators talking about the players' comments - we don't want to hear the commentators we want to hear the players! 

agree about the commentators, but i don't really want to listen to player chitchat and grunting either