TV Pool coverage ruined by bad production

hang-the-9

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have seen some really horrible production done on TV, horrible camera work, commentators that know nothing about pool (or at least half of them don't).

I have a video of a 80s women's match that is unwatchable due to the camera work and going between different tables without any warning. They zoom in on the player and cueball, and miss the shot. I wanted to see it, but had to turn the thing off it was so bad.

Anyone else have some matches that were ruined by a bad producer and novice camera people?

I will post some clips on YouTube of the one I have, and also have one of Ronnie Allen doing some commentary for a TV match with some neat player interviews that happened after the Color of Money came out.
 
I've been watching a lot of good streaming lately and it's amazing how much better it is then much of the TV pool I've seen (which is actually not a lot). TV pool suffers from:
- Commentators whose biggest contribution is to say asinine things like "he needs to win this game."
- Cameras that follow the player around instead of showing the table layout
- Hand held cameras that move around a lot and show angles like the OB coming straight into the camera
- Skipping games during commercials
- Switching camera angles just as the shot is taken

There is one TV pool commentator that has been doing it for decades. I can't remember his name but he's married to Ewa. He's just as bad now has he was 20 years ago. I can't understand how he could commentate for 20 years, be married to a pro pool player, and still not seem to know much about the game. I know they want the play-by-play commentator to not get too technical, but geez.
 
jeffj2h said:
I've been watching a lot of good streaming lately and it's amazing how much better it is then much of the TV pool I've seen (which is actually not a lot). TV pool suffers from:
- Commentators whose biggest contribution is to say asinine things like "he needs to win this game."
- Cameras that follow the player around instead of showing the table layout
- Hand held cameras that move around a lot and show angles like the OB coming straight into the camera
- Skipping games during commercials
- Switching camera angles just as the shot is taken

There is one TV pool commentator that has been doing it for decades. I can't remember his name but he's married to Ewa. He's just as bad now has he was 20 years ago. I can't understand how he could commentate for 20 years, be married to a pro pool player, and still not seem to know much about the game. I know they want the play-by-play commentator to not get too technical, but geez.
Click to expand...

Mitch Lawrence is the guy you are talking about.
 
At least they solved the problem - they simply stopped showing pool on television. :sorry:
 
Just talking camera work.....

I think the Mosconi cup was great. Loved the camera work.
 
Txstang1 said:
I think the Mosconi cup was great. Loved the camera work.
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Those guys know their pool, you need to see the hack jobs I have seen though. Need to edit out some parts and will post a link to the match I was talking about. It's like watching someone film on a deck of a row boat in a gale.
 
jeffj2h said:
I've been watching a lot of good streaming lately and it's amazing how much better it is then much of the TV pool I've seen (which is actually not a lot). TV pool suffers from:
- Commentators whose biggest contribution is to say asinine things like "he needs to win this game." Yes.
- Cameras that follow the player around instead of showing the table layout
- Hand held cameras that move around a lot and show angles like the OB coming straight into the camera I hate the freehand, wide angle camera BS they show on ESPN
- Skipping games during commercials
- Switching camera angles just as the shot is taken Professional snooker usually dedicates a couple shots to the player's mechanics and fundamentals. If you want people to take interest in the game, show people how to play pool correctly.

There is one TV pool commentator that has been doing it for decades. I can't remember his name but he's married to Ewa. He's just as bad now has he was 20 years ago. I can't understand how he could commentate for 20 years, be married to a pro pool player, and still not seem to know much about the game. I know they want the play-by-play commentator to not get too technical, but geez.
Click to expand...

Txstang1 said:
I think the Mosconi cup was great. Loved the camera work.
Click to expand...
These are the people who bring you professional snooker matches. They know how to light the area around a table, as well as keeping a camera on a mount to provide a rock solid view of what's going on.

hang-the-9 said:
Those guys know their pool, you need to see the hack jobs I have seen though. Need to edit out some parts and will post a link to the match I was talking about. It's like watching someone film on a deck of a row boat in a gale.
Click to expand...

As I've said before, they need to take note of what professional snooker producers do. Keep the camera on a tripod and provide a rock solid view of what's going on! None of this freehand, wide angle camera stuff on ESPN.
 
What was really tough was the lights.....

years back they would always put the camera in front of you and the bright light was right in your eyes.

I think there is a song called Blinded by The light.

Good theme song for pool on TV back then.
 
The Accu-Stats 1P challenge from this past weekend is the best streaming of pool I've seen. They had
- Expert commentary
- Instant replay (!)
- John Madden style instant drawing of shots on the screen
- Solid audio and video
- HD

The one thing I'd love to see on a stream, and I don't know if it's technically possible, is a 10 second rewind. How many times have you been watching a stream while doing something else and then hear "That was the shot of the century!!"
 
The televised matches in those older days were probably done by veteran broadcast production crews and producers. The reason why it looks poor to pool players is because video taping pool requires a different style than your general broadcast production. The camera men don't pick the shots randomly. The Director tells each camera operator which shot he wants them to frame, then he calls what camera he wants the technical director to take. It's not that those guys where hacks, it was because they were not used to the unique aspects of shooting a pool match. Today's internet streams look far better as far as the framing of the shots and which camera angles to set up because most of these internet stream productions are done by pool players or enthusiasts.

That said, I wish some of these internet streams would sync with video reference all the cameras and video switcher to each other. I like the fact that there are more static shots of the pool table where the action is vs artistic production of the entire match atmosphere, but the choppiness of the video switching bothers me a little. I know setting up a full broadcast level production for an internet stream is still a long time away due to the cost it would require, so I'm happy with what is out there currently either way.
 
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