Don't you hate it when the camera cuts away to the pocket?

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Impact Blue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm a huge fan of player mechanics. At the risk of sounding super nerdy, I've found that mimicking some of the favorite things I see in particular players gets me all pumped up to play and excited try new things about my game.

But seriously, the players that make it to TV broadcast are in games shot at a TPA of .850 or better, so what's the deal with all the pocket cams and crane-zooms on made balls? Often its every shot....the World Pool Masters broadcast is one big culprit that comes to mind. It's as if the second the cueball's sent it's an instant zoom in on the object ball and the pocket...wtf. Or it's just a series of quick camera jumps up and around the table...you don't even get to see the player complete the shot, or watch how he strokes the cue.

This could be just a product of watching too much pool. Who knows.

Thank GOD for TAR and Accustats. Sheesh. :D
 
It's an attempt to make pool as exciting as a Lebron dunk, a Kobe last second shot, a diving grab at 3rd, a knockout punch, the 100 meter dash, an Alex Rodriguez cover-up, Maria Sharapova, hot pool chicks, and Ben/Jerry's Cherry Vanilla.

And I think they're succeeding.
 
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I also would rather watch a player execute a shot in full, then constantly stare at an overhead. I believe a proper camera view would give the viewer at home a choice of focus, not just a ball headed toward a pocket. The equivalent for golf would be that the camera would be focused directly on the tee, a driver would just enter the frame and then as the ball is struck it pans down field. I have seen this to a slight degree but I have also seen much more execution of mechanics as well and I barely ever watch golf.
I loved to watch the Seminole Pro vids on ProPoolVideo for this reason. They had great commentators that didn't have to constantly draw on a screen to explain a situation and you could also view the player fully executing a shot, while still being able to see the balls drop.
 
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I agree.

For me it's a waste of time watching these games and a waste of money buying them. Can't learn a thing from them except maybe just maybe shot selection and who won. But you'll never learn how the shot how made.
 
What I hate is agonizing over the break, showing multiple replays... the regular shot... the overhead... the player only... yeah, it's an important part of the rack, but it's just not that interesting because it's the same thing every time. I'm not that interested in the random spreading of a pack of balls that got whacked hard. More interested in the controlled movement of a specific shot with a pinpoint leave.
 
They do that to make the non-players at home jump back when the ball is pocketed. I heard ESPN is going to 3-D billiard productions, this is their preparation for it.

Personally, I think bowling would be more fun in 3-D, but that is just me.
 
Impact Blue said:
I'm a huge fan of player mechanics. At the risk of sounding super nerdy, I've found that mimicking some of the favorite things I see in particular players gets me all pumped up to play and excited try new things about my game.

But seriously, the players that make it to TV broadcast are in games shot at a TPA of .850 or better, so what's the deal with all the pocket cams and crane-zooms on made balls? Often its every shot....the World Pool Masters broadcast is one big culprit that comes to mind. It's as if the second the cueball's sent it's an instant zoom in on the object ball and the pocket...wtf. Or it's just a series of quick camera jumps up and around the table...you don't even get to see the player complete the shot, or watch how he strokes the cue.

This could be just a product of watching too much pool. Who knows.

Thank GOD for TAR and Accustats. Sheesh. :D
Click to expand...

The other bad thing about all the pocket cam shots is that you seldom get to see what the cue ball is doing. These players almost always make the ball, so what's important is how they get shape!

Mark
 
The announcer will say watch the action of the Cb. Great! That is what I want to see. Then they switch to the pocket cam to show the ball coming to the pocket. This would be great if it was a porno, a cam showing the action inside.

I want to see the whole shot. The players arm, the stroke, and Cb action. I also want to see all of the safeties being played. I hate it when they skip them just to show balls dropping into pockets.

The pool director needs to be a pool player and show what the players want and not try to cater to the occassional non playing viewer.
 
I wish the camera would be absolutely fixed for the 3 seconds before and the 5 seconds after the shot. Only by doing this can the TV observer see the sublties of the players stroke, and the physics of the interacting balls on the table. Instant replay is fine from the same or from a different angle or perspective, but quite moving the cameras while the shot is in progress.
 
What they need is a helmet cam, like the quarterback wears in football, since nobody can ever see the true angle of the shot but the shooter. :thumbup: That pocket cam is absolutely worthless.
 
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