[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Larry Rawson and myself are confused...during the U.S. Trials, this list was
> flooded with commentary, both positive and negative, about the coverage by
> NBC and PAX, yet there has been virtually NO discussion about ESPN's coverage
> of five Golden League meets.
>
> Has anyone been watching? Does anyone care? Did it hurt that three of the
> shows were delayed a day or two? Trust me, we're not looking for pats on the
> back if you liked the shows, but feedback, good and bad, is always welcome(at
> least the good feedback).
OK, here goes. I watched the Brussels and Berlin within the past week. Comments
on Brussels:
W100 - One of the announcers says, "Watch the center of the track," after which:
they show a closeup from the side
then they switch to a wide-angle shot from outside lane 9 - (I focus on lanes 3,
4, 5 and 6)
then they switch to a closeup on lanes 3 and 4
then they switch to a side angle, in from lane 9
THE GUN
just as the runners are leaving the block, they switch again to a wide-angle shot
Now, pray tell me, how is one supposed to watch the center of the track when they
keep changing the camera, including right after the start?
The men's 100 start was similar, but not quite as bad. BTW, Lewis Johnson, during
the rerun of the race, said that Maurice Greene had "already made up the stagger"
on the rest of the runners. He also called the 10K a "27-lap race."
During the 10K, Larry Rawson, who is usually pretty good, said Tergat was running
like a metronome, at the same time that the lap splits superimposed on the screen
were showing the pace dropping off dramatically, to almost 68s laps. Then he
completely missed the fact that Tergat was passed, by a non-lapped runner, on the
last turn and had to sprint to win the race. Pay attention to the race, Larry!
The camera work has always bothered me more than anything about track coverage.
Shots of the runners' feet, straight-ahead closeups, etc. do not allow you to
follow what's happening in the race.
Overall, however, this coverage showed a lot more actual action than NBC's
coverage does, which is great.
Cheers,
Alan Shank
