@geoffbutler69: Dude! I have a question. Why is it that when the ball is snapped, the camera ALWAYS zooms in onto the pocket only? Prior to the play, you can usually see almost all the players on offense and defense but every time, once the ball is snapped, they zoom in heavy. Most of the time you CANNOT see the WR routes at all. The ball is just in the air and you do not know who it is going to. (DRIVES ME INSANE! It frustrates me so much that I usually dont even watch television anymore. To me, it takes away from the game. Watching football live is a completely different experience.)
Their crazy rules work for a tv audience. There are so many cameras at an event now due to the quality and size of present cameras. The flying rig is amazing, the stabilization systems on side line rigs, no more cables, and more great things. The equipment makes the program amazing to see.
I LOVE this video. As a high school video coordinator and end zone camera operator I’ve always dreamed of filming or directing a game for broadcast. We film games with only 2 cams and for technical review so seeing what you do is so exciting. Thank you for this. Now I’m dreaming of being camera 6.
I just paid attention to the man behind the curtain, and can no longer watch a game the same way again without calling out the camera number in my head. Thanks for this!
In my younger days, I used to spend a lot of time watching local TV news, and I got in the habit of "directing it" from my living room. I found that my local news outlet had three different directors, and I could tell which of them it was by their rhythm.
Fascinating stuff, I do camera for my local church and that has gotten me thinking more about cameras in all sorts of productions and it’s amazing how difficult this job is. Mad respect for all the folks like yourself bringing us this excellent football!
I've watched college football for years and never thought about it being filmed unless my team needed a better replay angle. I really enjoyed this video and will not look at a broadcast the same.
Big football fan, done a lot of still photography, and when this came across my feed I jumped on it SO fast! It did not disappoint. Terrific information! Thanks for this! 🥰
It's crazy to think that the camera operators are in charge of not only giving the viewers the best view possible, but also the review team. Makes sense though.
Seven minutes in before replay is mentioned. The tape room is howling! All kidding aside, this is a great vid and totally matches my experiences. Nice job explaining the job to the masses! I feel like the TV crew is criminally undervalued when broadcasts are discussed and this does a great job of pulling back the curtain a bit.
I'm in my second year as the technical director for sports at my D2 university and there is so much that learned and can apply to our production. We only have 4 manned cameras + replay, but there are so many things I learned that will pass on top my camera ops.
Great video! Just learned recently about “spotters”, would love a video about all that goes on in the booth, how the commentators are fed information, etc. Great video!
I'm not a sports fan or into broadcasting, but I love watching videos like this and seeing how the productions are organized. I'd love to learn more about the director and producer jobs.
Great video, can't wait to see more. Going to use this to help educate the students I work with better on responsibilities and what we're looking for in our shots for athletic live streams. Thanks man!
I Was a Football Director in college for SEMO on ESPN+ our camera setup was almost identical. 3 play cameras with the same roles, high endzone, low endzone and two handhelds. Biggest thing we did differently was we permanently made camera 3 our White hat camera. This helped avoid confusion on who was getting the ref and allowed camera 3 to know when to smoothly pan to the ref. Also, because of no Cart camera, our handhelds were in charge of getting the goal line angles. Quite the smaller production but we made it work!
To me, the worst part about football on tv is that they dont show the recievers routes and DBs coverage during the play. Id much rather have a more zoomed out, sort of all 22 style. Or another good option would be having the camera behind the offense facing the defense.
I agree completely! I damn near refuse to watch football on tv now. When I go to live games, I can almost predict td passes by looking at the entirety of the 22 players on the field. Can't do that with TV coverage.
7:12 The second best unis I've seen all year with Bo Nix in shotgun. Endzone shots give you a good feel for what the QB has to think through during the snap count.
As a broadcasting major from way back then, this is a fascinating video. I love the behind the scenes aspects of television. I was a local master control operator, so I have a suggestion. I would like to see the goings on of inside the "truck" parked outside the games. I'll keep watching, thanks!
This was extremely informative and well made ... I only wish I had watched it BEFORE working the Chiefs vs. Steelers Christmas broadcast so I was a lot more informed about the various camera positions and names.
Never worked network games, but I've directed and shot dozens of small market college and high school games, and we did much the same, just on a smaller budget and usually with only 3-4 cameras. It's cool to know we were doing it right.
I wish they wouldn’t zoom in on QB’s and just show us formations. Too often we miss a formation of coverage because of these Hollywood directors trying to capture something meaningful and failing. 1970’s broadcasts were filmed better with less transitions. Less cameras would be so much better.
Great video! As a football fan i found this very informative. Love to see behind the scenes techniques and concepts. For your content, I would recommend using background music and using cutaways and pauses to break your speech up. As interesting as I found this video, fifteen minutes of continuous talking at the same tone was making me lose focus at the halfway point.
When I was in high school, I assisted the camera crew for our high school football games. The local cable company that produced it didn’t have wireless cameras, so it was my job to drag 100+ yards of coax cable back and forth down the field, following the sideline camera. They only had two cameras, one in the booth and the sideline.
You touch on using graphics to show play progress. Would you be interested in exploring graphics in a game, especially the one that shows where first down will be?
This was fantastic! I have always thought about how they shoot the games and how many cameras they use. The directors job seems like it would be incredibly difficult and take a very long time to master.
We are certainly planning on continuing this series in the future. We do already have baseball and basketball videos on our channel if you'd like to check them out!
Nice job with the descriptions! I imagine operating cameras has become much easier since 16:9 became the standard and you no longer have to use the 4:3 safe zone!
Good job. Football telecasts are, overall, much better than way back in the fifties. There is one shot that seems to have been abandoned from the past. I used to love the camera shot from behind the defensive line that really showed the linebackers and line play. This was especially fun when watching Deacon Jones and the Rams defense during the late sixties.
I have always wondered why the sky cam is not used more. It can be positioned behind the offense to give the audience a view of what the q'back sees so we have a better understanding of his decision making. Mostly we see the q'back running around looking for a receiver and it would be nice to see the condtions that affect his decision.
I have no practical reason for knowing any of this, but it was still really interesting. Unfortunately, now I’ll be calling out the camera numbers while watching football on tv. Nice presentation.
Geat video !! Can you do a video on what happens in the studio where the directors do their jobs with all the screens they see of the cameras' feeds Thanks!!
Really interesting! I'm hoping for the day I can just get a spider cam broadcast above/behind the QB so we can watch the route progressions and defense movement. Also with no cuts so I can see the substitutions and pre-snap adjustments.
Excellent explanation of each of the camera positions 👍🏿 Have witnessed multiple close calls were camera operators nearly fell off the cart, due to it stopping suddenly, or took off quickly in an attempt to keep up with an offense during a no-huddle two minute drive. Cheers
It can certainly be a bit rocky up there at times, especially when trying to get somewhere quickly. Luckily, we are harnessed in! Safety is always more important than getting the shot :)
Really great video. I would love to hear what you hear in your headset. I imagine all directors are different but I'm curious as to whether it's chaotic and screaming or calm and measured. Thank you!
Fascinating, well made video. Can you explain how the commentators analyze plays so quickly. E.g.,how do they know almost instantly who made a block or what coverage the defense used?
Preparation. Yes, merely vocalizing what We All See is the main part of their game. But they have charts, lists, stats etc. done by others or themselves pre-game. They don't go into their job cold. They know & speak to players. After all, no one would want to be shown up on air by Greg Olsen, right?
Thanks for the great informative video. Can I ask why it is such common practice to zoom into the QB and linemen on every play? I rarely get to see the WRs routes and coverage as the play unfolds. I'd much prefer the entire play to be broadcast more zoomed out. Am I in the minority with this opinion or does it hurt ratings? I'd appreciate a reply if you have the time and thank you for enlightening me!
Glad you enjoyed it! In the modern era, since people watch sports on such a wide variety of devices, it's typically a safer option to lean towards tighter shots. Wide angles of a football game might look great on the flat screen in your living room, but someone watching on their phone or a small TV at a bar may have more trouble seeing. Plus, with instant replay, it's always possible to go back and show routes or coverages after the play if time allows.
@@keystoneproductionnetwork8729 Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. I understand the need to keep small format viewers into consideration.
I agree completely! I want the All 22. Watching football in person is a completely difference experience. I cannot count on my hands how many times I called a TD pass 15 seconds before the snap because I could see 22 players and felt the situation. Most people have no idea what linebacker and defensive back play really looks like. Drives me insane.
It is! The all-22 is usually operated by the home team's video department, since it is used for film review, and they simply send a video feed of that camera to the production truck.
Can you make a video breakdown how the assignments for games are distributed? How you get different sports, how many games you do a week/month year. Really interesting dude
This is so cool and loved learning about it as I run a camera for my church. Just had a quick question do the refs use your footage in reviewing a ruling or a fowl on the play or do they have there own dedicated cameras for those situations?
Great question. The refs do use TV cameras for the review process, but they are operating on a dedicated replay review system, separate from the replay team and equipment used for the broadcast.
I have actually not done many games that have included pylon cameras, but from my understanding it does not. The pylon would be a complimentary look, as it is really only valuable as a replay angle when the play is close to the sideline.
Can a director or operators have an impact on the game itself, depending on which camera angles are set up and available for replay? Thank you for the great video!
They certainly can when it comes to official reviews. With larger broadcasts, so many cameras will be used that official replays are bound to be viewable from one of those looks. Smaller broadcasts can definitely miss key moments if all of the operators are busy with other assignments, but directors will do their best to cover their bases.
no idea why this popped up on my timeline, but I’m glad. This was really good.
Glad you enjoyed it!
mine too.
As a football fan, this just brought a whole new level of appreciation to the games I love.
Fantastic job!!
Thank you so much! Very glad you enjoyed it!
Sports director here. Great video. I think I'll just show this for my next football camera meeting :)
Thanks so much! And feel free to do so! :)
Directing is insane. I've seen videos of it being done. The concentration you guys have is amazing. I really don't think I could keep up.
"It's football. You've all worked football before. Watch this vid if you have any questions."
How do I become a football camera operator? Serious question
@geoffbutler69: Dude! I have a question. Why is it that when the ball is snapped, the camera ALWAYS zooms in onto the pocket only? Prior to the play, you can usually see almost all the players on offense and defense but every time, once the ball is snapped, they zoom in heavy. Most of the time you CANNOT see the WR routes at all. The ball is just in the air and you do not know who it is going to. (DRIVES ME INSANE! It frustrates me so much that I usually dont even watch television anymore. To me, it takes away from the game. Watching football live is a completely different experience.)
Their crazy rules work for a tv audience. There are so many cameras at an event now due to the quality and size of present cameras. The flying rig is amazing, the stabilization systems on side line rigs, no more cables, and more great things. The equipment makes the program amazing to see.
I LOVE this video. As a high school video coordinator and end zone camera operator I’ve always dreamed of filming or directing a game for broadcast. We film games with only 2 cams and for technical review so seeing what you do is so exciting. Thank you for this. Now I’m dreaming of being camera 6.
This video was way better than the Jets game that I watched yesterday. I’m going to save this video and watch it again from time to time.
Why is Michael Phelps talking about cameras
I was wondering the same thing about Eli Manning…
Too cold for swimming right now
Omg I saw this before the video started you’re so right 😭
@@jjwwqqI said Eli as well b4 I saw you comment, I see the Phelps as well though😂😂😂
Wolfman Jack
Superb! You've drawn back the curtain on something that I've long wondered about.
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
I just paid attention to the man behind the curtain, and can no longer watch a game the same way again without calling out the camera number in my head. Thanks for this!
In my younger days, I used to spend a lot of time watching local TV news, and I got in the habit of "directing it" from my living room. I found that my local news outlet had three different directors, and I could tell which of them it was by their rhythm.
Clear, concise explanation of camera positions. Thanks for making and posting this video.
Fascinating stuff, I do camera for my local church and that has gotten me thinking more about cameras in all sorts of productions and it’s amazing how difficult this job is.
Mad respect for all the folks like yourself bringing us this excellent football!
I've watched college football for years and never thought about it being filmed unless my team needed a better replay angle. I really enjoyed this video and will not look at a broadcast the same.
Big football fan, done a lot of still photography, and when this came across my feed I jumped on it SO fast! It did not disappoint. Terrific information! Thanks for this! 🥰
I enjoyed this video. Now when the Super Bowl comes there are a lot more cameras with so many angles to show. Thanks for sharing.
Nice of Eli Manning to host this video
It's crazy to think that the camera operators are in charge of not only giving the viewers the best view possible, but also the review team. Makes sense though.
Wonderful. Thanks for the inside look. A fine presentation, clear and comprehensive
Excellent! I've been so interested in NFL TV production behind the scenes, but it's been hard to find. Thanks for pulling back the curtain a little!
I got a new found appreciation for the whole team and all of the work they do to bring us each game.
I am an audio engineer who does some live event production. I am familiar with technology, but your explanations are very clear!! Great Video!
Thank you! Appreciate the kind words!
Seven minutes in before replay is mentioned. The tape room is howling!
All kidding aside, this is a great vid and totally matches my experiences. Nice job explaining the job to the masses! I feel like the TV crew is criminally undervalued when broadcasts are discussed and this does a great job of pulling back the curtain a bit.
My sincerest apologies to everyone in tape! I'm sure we will find a way to spotlight our replay ops in the future. I appreciate your kind words!
I'm in my second year as the technical director for sports at my D2 university and there is so much that learned and can apply to our production. We only have 4 manned cameras + replay, but there are so many things I learned that will pass on top my camera ops.
Clear, concise, and super informative video about something I experience every week but never thought that much about. Thank you!
Really fun video. I love logistics that are simply explained.
Great video! Just learned recently about “spotters”, would love a video about all that goes on in the booth, how the commentators are fed information, etc.
Great video!
Amazing video! I learn so much every time you release videos in this series. Please keep going!
I am stoked that this was recommended to me. Very well done video as well!
Awesome video! Amazing how seamless they make it look
Glad you liked it! It's definitely a lot of hard work behind the scenes.
Loved this. So many moments illustrated that I never gave proper thought to.
would love to see a How Motorsports is Shot!! loved this
I'm not a sports fan or into broadcasting, but I love watching videos like this and seeing how the productions are organized.
I'd love to learn more about the director and producer jobs.
It's a pity that all this organization is lost on soccer where on TV, too many hero shots make it impossible to see everything going on.
Great stuff. Thank you for your insights.
Great video, can't wait to see more. Going to use this to help educate the students I work with better on responsibilities and what we're looking for in our shots for athletic live streams. Thanks man!
Loved this video man, one of the best explanation videos i’ve ever seen. Keep it up🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thank you so much! I very much appreciate that!
I Was a Football Director in college for SEMO on ESPN+ our camera setup was almost identical. 3 play cameras with the same roles, high endzone, low endzone and two handhelds. Biggest thing we did differently was we permanently made camera 3 our White hat camera. This helped avoid confusion on who was getting the ref and allowed camera 3 to know when to smoothly pan to the ref. Also, because of no Cart camera, our handhelds were in charge of getting the goal line angles. Quite the smaller production but we made it work!
Great video. Good information. Well presented.
To me, the worst part about football on tv is that they dont show the recievers routes and DBs coverage during the play. Id much rather have a more zoomed out, sort of all 22 style. Or another good option would be having the camera behind the offense facing the defense.
I agree completely! I damn near refuse to watch football on tv now. When I go to live games, I can almost predict td passes by looking at the entirety of the 22 players on the field. Can't do that with TV coverage.
If you can wait for replay, watch the NFL+ All 22 Cam version.
The AFFL uses that camera angle
Great video! What a cool look into something many viewers don't think about
7:12 The second best unis I've seen all year with Bo Nix in shotgun. Endzone shots give you a good feel for what the QB has to think through during the snap count.
Great video!
This is really good content dude. Thank you.
Love this series!
Soccer next please!
Good job! Very interesting…
Not involved in video productions whatsoever, still found this to be fascinating. Thanks for posting.
this was so neat and informative, i really appreciate the inside knowledge!
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!
As a broadcasting major from way back then, this is a fascinating video. I love the behind the scenes aspects of television. I was a local master control operator, so I have a suggestion. I would like to see the goings on of inside the "truck" parked outside the games. I'll keep watching, thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it! We are working towards a potential BTS video inside a production truck, so stay tuned!
This was extremely informative and well made ... I only wish I had watched it BEFORE working the Chiefs vs. Steelers Christmas broadcast so I was a lot more informed about the various camera positions and names.
Never worked network games, but I've directed and shot dozens of small market college and high school games, and we did much the same, just on a smaller budget and usually with only 3-4 cameras. It's cool to know we were doing it right.
I wish they wouldn’t zoom in on QB’s and just show us formations. Too often we miss a formation of coverage because of these Hollywood directors trying to capture something meaningful and failing. 1970’s broadcasts were filmed better with less transitions. Less cameras would be so much better.
What a great video, it's already impacted how I watch the game and what things I notice.
This is a very interesting video as someone who is a complete outsider to football television production. 👍🏻👍🏻
I love this stuff
This is a really cool video! Informative and interesting! Thank you 💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Great video! As a football fan i found this very informative. Love to see behind the scenes techniques and concepts.
For your content, I would recommend using background music and using cutaways and pauses to break your speech up. As interesting as I found this video, fifteen minutes of continuous talking at the same tone was making me lose focus at the halfway point.
Thank you for the recommendation! We are always looking for ways to improve our content. Glad you enjoyed the video!
When I was in high school, I assisted the camera crew for our high school football games. The local cable company that produced it didn’t have wireless cameras, so it was my job to drag 100+ yards of coax cable back and forth down the field, following the sideline camera. They only had two cameras, one in the booth and the sideline.
Good job, thanks!
Very interesting to learn the details like this. I really enjoyed watching this!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
very informative!
Really good stuff here
You touch on using graphics to show play progress. Would you be interested in exploring graphics in a game, especially the one that shows where first down will be?
This is definitely something we are looking into highlighting. Stay tuned!
This was fantastic! I have always thought about how they shoot the games and how many cameras they use. The directors job seems like it would be incredibly difficult and take a very long time to master.
wow dude, super interesting, thanks!
I love these. Will you be doing one for each sport, including hockey, basketball and soccer?
We are certainly planning on continuing this series in the future. We do already have baseball and basketball videos on our channel if you'd like to check them out!
Very Interesting!
I remember how much of a breakthrough it was back in the 90s (maybe 80s?) to have a “reverse angle” replay from the other side of the field.
Nice job with the descriptions! I imagine operating cameras has become much easier since 16:9 became the standard and you no longer have to use the 4:3 safe zone!
This was awesome, I know this is pretty specialized stuff but a similar video on basketball would be really interesting.
You're in luck! We actually have videos for both basketball and baseball already on our channel.
Good job. Football telecasts are, overall, much better than way back in the fifties. There is one shot that seems to have been abandoned from the past. I used to love the camera shot from behind the defensive line that really showed the linebackers and line play. This was especially fun when watching Deacon Jones and the Rams defense during the late sixties.
Great video and I'm now a subscriber to your channel! (I've shot sideline video for high school football and soccer for the past 25 years).
So glad you enjoyed it! Welcome to the channel!
I have always wondered why the sky cam is not used more. It can be positioned behind the offense to give the audience a view of what the q'back sees so we have a better understanding of his decision making. Mostly we see the q'back running around looking for a receiver and it would be nice to see the condtions that affect his decision.
I remember during Covid, one major NFL broadcaster did this for the season. It was so cool!
Bro this is amazing! I would love one for the other Football (soccer)!!
Something i never knew i was at all interested in.... neat.
I love watching the game on TV and always wondered how they do it.
I have no practical reason for knowing any of this, but it was still really interesting. Unfortunately, now I’ll be calling out the camera numbers while watching football on tv. Nice presentation.
Geat video !! Can you do a video on what happens in the studio where the directors do their jobs with all the screens they see of the cameras' feeds Thanks!!
Really interesting! I'm hoping for the day I can just get a spider cam broadcast above/behind the QB so we can watch the route progressions and defense movement. Also with no cuts so I can see the substitutions and pre-snap adjustments.
Excellent explanation of each of the camera positions 👍🏿
Have witnessed multiple close calls were camera operators nearly fell off the cart, due to it stopping suddenly, or took off quickly in an attempt to keep up with an offense during a no-huddle two minute drive. Cheers
It can certainly be a bit rocky up there at times, especially when trying to get somewhere quickly. Luckily, we are harnessed in! Safety is always more important than getting the shot :)
Wtf I just work this this guy like a week ago 😅😂😂 crazy how the internet works good work mate
That's awesome! Thank you! Where did we work together?
LA Tech @@keystoneproductionnetwork8729
That's awesome. So glad you enjoyed the video!
Fire video 😈
Good to know you're staying around the game, Eli.
Very interesting.
Do you have an NHL video in the works? I have a bug-a-boo with their production
You should do Hockey next!
Cool video. I am glad Eli Manning found a good next career shooting football video. :P
Really great video. I would love to hear what you hear in your headset. I imagine all directors are different but I'm curious as to whether it's chaotic and screaming or calm and measured. Thank you!
Don’t forget the all 22. In college games this is usually supplied by the home school and routed into one of the replay machines.
Great video would love to see a video on the chaos of a fog game or a white out like part of the Pittsburgh Cleveland game was. How do things change?
Fascinating, well made video. Can you explain how the commentators analyze plays so quickly. E.g.,how do they know almost instantly who made a block or what coverage the defense used?
Preparation. Yes, merely vocalizing what We All See is the main part of their game. But they have charts, lists, stats etc. done by others or themselves pre-game. They don't go into their job cold. They know & speak to players.
After all, no one would want to be shown up on air by Greg Olsen, right?
@@ChewsCarefully they also have people that are telling them things as they happen so that they know what to say and know who..
@@cflisthebest I'd find that distracting. Then again that might just be me - - oh look a shiny thing!!
This was interesting!
Damn it’s an art fr
I like shooting up top. It shows the game better and its easier to follow the ball.
As an NFL fan and soccer director, I loved this. Any chance you could do one for soccer? Happy to provide consultation if that's not your forte
Thank you so much. We definitely hope to do soccer sometime in the future, and I will certainly keep that in mind!
I really wish the sky cam was used more as the game camera, feels like you are on the field with a great view down field
Thanks for the great informative video. Can I ask why it is such common practice to zoom into the QB and linemen on every play? I rarely get to see the WRs routes and coverage as the play unfolds. I'd much prefer the entire play to be broadcast more zoomed out. Am I in the minority with this opinion or does it hurt ratings? I'd appreciate a reply if you have the time and thank you for enlightening me!
Glad you enjoyed it! In the modern era, since people watch sports on such a wide variety of devices, it's typically a safer option to lean towards tighter shots. Wide angles of a football game might look great on the flat screen in your living room, but someone watching on their phone or a small TV at a bar may have more trouble seeing. Plus, with instant replay, it's always possible to go back and show routes or coverages after the play if time allows.
@@keystoneproductionnetwork8729 Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. I understand the need to keep small format viewers into consideration.
I agree completely! I want the All 22. Watching football in person is a completely difference experience. I cannot count on my hands how many times I called a TD pass 15 seconds before the snap because I could see 22 players and felt the situation. Most people have no idea what linebacker and defensive back play really looks like. Drives me insane.
Super intereseting stuff!! I'm wondering about All-22 footage, is that also a special camera assigned to filming it?
It is! The all-22 is usually operated by the home team's video department, since it is used for film review, and they simply send a video feed of that camera to the production truck.
Can you make a video breakdown how the assignments for games are distributed? How you get different sports, how many games you do a week/month year. Really interesting dude
That's certainly something we can look into doing in the future!
The NFL is "Sports Entertainment". Camera work is essential.
This is so cool and loved learning about it as I run a camera for my church. Just had a quick question do the refs use your footage in reviewing a ruling or a fowl on the play or do they have there own dedicated cameras for those situations?
Great question. The refs do use TV cameras for the review process, but they are operating on a dedicated replay review system, separate from the replay team and equipment used for the broadcast.
Does the use of pylon cameras alter where the cart camera sets up for goal line shots?
I have actually not done many games that have included pylon cameras, but from my understanding it does not. The pylon would be a complimentary look, as it is really only valuable as a replay angle when the play is close to the sideline.
Can a director or operators have an impact on the game itself, depending on which camera angles are set up and available for replay? Thank you for the great video!
They certainly can when it comes to official reviews. With larger broadcasts, so many cameras will be used that official replays are bound to be viewable from one of those looks. Smaller broadcasts can definitely miss key moments if all of the operators are busy with other assignments, but directors will do their best to cover their bases.