Worlds - worst camera work ever! (no spoilers)

[Artemis]

Ok, cudos to CBC for giving us so many hours of coverage. But take away all their brownie points and then some for not sending anyone over there! The feed they're buying has to be the worst camera work I've ever seen for a skating event, and that's saying something! It's like they got a work experience student from the local middle school. No, actually, I take that back, a student would probably do a better job.

The camera operator doesn't seem to have grasped the concept that skaters move. Fast. And when there's a pair, you're supposed to capture both of them. Not an empty piece of ice between the two of them.

I don't care nearly as much that they didn't send the commentating team to Sweden -- sure, it's not as good, but they can still do a decent job remotely. But there's no making up for bad camera work. Grrr. :evil:

Did ABC send their own team, or are they buying a video feed?

[smelltheice]

The camera work was done by Swedish TV but the reason it missed alot was that it was filmed in the 16:4 aspect which is suited to wide screen tv's. Normal tv works on a different resolution. I guess everyone in sweden has a wide screen tv. I found it ok except for the odd occasion but then se have a wide screen tv so it worked fine

[Artemis]

Hmm, I have wide screen too. I wonder why it was so bad for me then?

[frvanilla]

I was hoping it was a film ratio issue.

But I get my feed from CBC online broadcast and I also find the cameramen missed out a lot of moments, especially the side by side jumps. I supposed on WMP, the issue of wide screen tv doesn't happen. The video should fit in the screen anyway. :roll:

[PAskate]

I had the same problem on ESPN last night and I also have a wide screen TV. I was so frustrated getting only one skater in a pair or dance team at times. :frus:

[Sessy]

I've been watching it live on eurosport and I have to agree, worst camera work ever. Did they hire a Polish immigrant worker or something? Seriously there was a waltz jump (supposed to be 2axel) missing from one of the ladies' performances due to a camera switch just at that point and I was seriously getting dizzy from their fadeouts and fadeins from different camera's.

Also the commenters we got here in the Netherlands are a disaster. It's like they don't even know skating. They keep calling the himmelpirouette a "layback pirouette", which is the English term for it, not the Dutch one, and okay I might be able to forgive calling the spot the toeloop since that's also a Belgian term for it, but nonetheless.
But apart from that they go like "ah, she didn't fall, she just put both her hands down on the ice" - how is that not a fall? And they make a billion remarks which just have me thinking, no kidding sherlock!, but they don't comment on like obviously flutzed lutzes and cheats. Also whenever one of the guys said "She's doing well!" the girls started to miss one jump after another. At some point even he noticed it, but continued saying it. JINX!!!
I want Joanne Haanappel back as a commentor! :(

[sk8tmum]

I'm probably in the minority, but, I like the camera work; it's different from the usual stock angles and positioning, which get boring after a while. My own weird pleasure: seeing the shots of the skates, and that, so that you can see the battered, worn boots and also what type of blades they wear - ! At least there seems to be some sort of effort to put some creative editing into it, whether successful at all times or not.

I could, though, live without the excessive "up the skirt" angles. I remember a few years ago seeing news coverage that this type of focus was not being used anymore because it was offensive and inappropriate; given that a couple of the European skaters seem to be wearing thongs instead of panties, I wish they were following that here.:roll:

[Artemis]

sk8mum, whose coverage are you watching? It can't be what I've been seeing. The only close-ups of boots I've seen have been in the replays (and I agree, that can be really interesting, esp. in the dance where edges count for so much). And there's been abolutely nothing in the way of interesting angles or creative editing ... unless you count editing the skaters right out of the picture as being "creative." :evil:

[sk8tmum]

CBC Country Canada throughout - I don't stay up late enough to watch CBC. and I do like the replays, which is part of what I"m enjoying ... and some of the closeups, the fade in and outs that they've been using on the dances, etc.

[BatikatII]

I think all the camera work is from Swedish TV and everyone just buys it in. They have some good points like the camera that runs alongside but the editing is awful and the camera lost the skater so many times and the pair teams where they manged to show only one of them in the jumps more than once was driving me mad.

Recently i've been doing a lot of videoing of skating myself and it's not so easy but even as an amateur videographer I didn't lose the skater! This is the worst I've seen of any televised skating competition. Trying to be too clever I think and cutting too often between the camera shots didn't help.

Losing the skaters from shot altogether though is just unforgivable. I think they have also forgotten it's a competition not an entertainment show so I dont need to see the pretty shadow of the skater, I need to see the skater! and yes in a pairs programme I do want to see BOTH skaters!

I have widescreen TV so it definitly isn't a picture aspect ratio issue just misguided camerawork.

Still it's been a great competition.

[Bailey]

Why was it that ABC had a much clearer picture than CBC and different camera angles? Did they have their own cameras at the event?

PS> What was with the wrap up on ABC this afternoon? Has ABC lost the contract for skating or are Dick and Peggy retiring?

[slusher]

I liked the camera work. I will agree that some of the transitions in shots lost the skater but they were filming with more than the usual set up of camera on each side and a boom on the end. They had the camera on the pulley and one from way up high. I thought the high camera was incredible at showing the size of the ice and the coverage.

I also really liked the close up of the feet. I also like how they framed some shots with the glass sculpture.

Then watching the ABC coverage, definitely they had their own cameras, traditional style.

ooohh synchro Team Surprise is skating in the gala right now, gotta go!!!! Hope they put that on regular TV.

[Nicki]

PS> What was with the wrap up on ABC this afternoon? Has ABC lost the contract for skating or are Dick and Peggy retiring?

ABC's contract with the ISU expired last year. They felt that The ISU was asking for too much money in order to renew their contract , so they didn't renew. Peggy and Dick's contracts were only with ABC, while Terry Gannon, Susie Wynn and Peter Carruthers had contracts with both ABC and its sister station ESPN. ESPN has shown all of the ISU events this season using Terry, Susie , Peter and Paul Wylie. This is the first time we've seen Dick and Peggy together sice last season. They must have been able to make a one time only deal with ESPN.

ESPN's contract ends at the end of this season, and they have also not renewed their contract, so this is the last time we will be seeing this commentating group together, and possibly any future ISU events in the US.