UK
I didn't realise it was the BBC playing out the retrospectives, were these played out from the UK then? My point still stands though, if ITV were the host broadcaster of an event in this country, they wouldn't cut to an external shot when they took an advert break, they would carry on providing a feed for other broadcasters to use. If this is what NBC were doing then the BBC were probably right to show the VTs given that they couldn't go back to their own studio.
Not sure why you keep mentioning NBC?
Its normal for an international feed to cut to a wide shot, the US practice is just a slight extension of that. It'll be there as a 'safety net' for affiliates who, for whatever reason, might cut back in early- that way viewers don't get camera repositioning or production chatter. NFL coverage doesn't really have a true international feed, broadcasters take the output of the OB truck at the stadium, with the option to not take commentary or mix it at a different level. It can be a bit messy, especially if broadcasters want to cut in late to miss sponsorship messages but still get the start of play. Its slightly different for the Superbowl where a separate international feed is provided- infact I've a feeling its completely separate with different cameras as well as different graphics, no sponsorship messages and commentary which explains the rules of the game more. It also has a fixed number of fixed length ad breaks (US network can vary the length or make up commercial time later) making it easier for international broadcasters. C5 took it when they showed the Superbowl and the BBC did the first year they had the rights- although the following year (and since) they used the US Network feed because of requests from fans, and because the first time they did it meant UK viewers got to hear John Madden on his final game. Sky used a brief shot from the international feed (different graphics being the giveaway) whilst CBS were showing their panel and it was showing a static ground level camera, so might have been even more badly affected than CBS.
There were plenty shots of crowd / player / officials the rest of the time until CBS' pitchside studio was up and running when they spent time showing the panel along with shots of what was going on. So there wasn't much to miss when the static shot of the stadium was on during the ad breaks- as soon as CBS were back from a break the BBC rejoined their pictures.
They may have needed 62 cameras to properly cover an American Football match but there was no American Football being played at this time, How many cameras do you need to show crowd shots? 11 cameras sounds plenty.
Depends which cameras they were- if they were mostly ground level they would have struggled, but fortunately for them they seemed to have enough to give viewers a good sense of what was going on. Production communication might have been affected as well, certainly sounds like it was to some areas of the stadium.
Not quite sure what you're referring to?
The Superbowl retrospectives were played in by the BBC to cover the gaps when CBS went to commercials during the blackout. So other than a shot of the outside of the stadium and a bit of production chatter you wouldn't have missed much. Nothing was hidden from the viewer- we were seeing exactly what was available and CBS passed on the information as they knew it.
The Superbowl retrospectives were played in by the BBC to cover the gaps when CBS went to commercials during the blackout. So other than a shot of the outside of the stadium and a bit of production chatter you wouldn't have missed much. Nothing was hidden from the viewer- we were seeing exactly what was available and CBS passed on the information as they knew it.
I didn't realise it was the BBC playing out the retrospectives, were these played out from the UK then? My point still stands though, if ITV were the host broadcaster of an event in this country, they wouldn't cut to an external shot when they took an advert break, they would carry on providing a feed for other broadcasters to use. If this is what NBC were doing then the BBC were probably right to show the VTs given that they couldn't go back to their own studio.
Not sure why you keep mentioning NBC?
Its normal for an international feed to cut to a wide shot, the US practice is just a slight extension of that. It'll be there as a 'safety net' for affiliates who, for whatever reason, might cut back in early- that way viewers don't get camera repositioning or production chatter. NFL coverage doesn't really have a true international feed, broadcasters take the output of the OB truck at the stadium, with the option to not take commentary or mix it at a different level. It can be a bit messy, especially if broadcasters want to cut in late to miss sponsorship messages but still get the start of play. Its slightly different for the Superbowl where a separate international feed is provided- infact I've a feeling its completely separate with different cameras as well as different graphics, no sponsorship messages and commentary which explains the rules of the game more. It also has a fixed number of fixed length ad breaks (US network can vary the length or make up commercial time later) making it easier for international broadcasters. C5 took it when they showed the Superbowl and the BBC did the first year they had the rights- although the following year (and since) they used the US Network feed because of requests from fans, and because the first time they did it meant UK viewers got to hear John Madden on his final game. Sky used a brief shot from the international feed (different graphics being the giveaway) whilst CBS were showing their panel and it was showing a static ground level camera, so might have been even more badly affected than CBS.
There were plenty shots of crowd / player / officials the rest of the time until CBS' pitchside studio was up and running when they spent time showing the panel along with shots of what was going on. So there wasn't much to miss when the static shot of the stadium was on during the ad breaks- as soon as CBS were back from a break the BBC rejoined their pictures.
Quote:
They may have needed 62 cameras to properly cover an American Football match but there was no American Football being played at this time, How many cameras do you need to show crowd shots? 11 cameras sounds plenty.
Depends which cameras they were- if they were mostly ground level they would have struggled, but fortunately for them they seemed to have enough to give viewers a good sense of what was going on. Production communication might have been affected as well, certainly sounds like it was to some areas of the stadium.