Behind the scenes in MLS TV production

[j66j66]

Here's a pretty interesting interview (http://ussoccerplayers.com/exclusives/index.html?article_id=1091) with Michael Cohen, Executive Producer for SUM and MLS, who coordinates with the broadcasters. I found these quotes especially informative:

Cohen: There’s a natural maturation of what’s happened in our broadcasts. Over the last 12 years, we’ve all realized that maybe we shouldn’t spend our energy on trying to rein in the ‘casual fan’ on our MLS broadcasts. The telecasts are going to be designed not to shut out the average sports fan, but a little more to the point where we are going to go towards the soccer fan.

USSoccerPlayers: What about the differences between the way games are broadcast here and overseas?

Cohen: If you walked into a truck in Europe, and I have many times, each cameraman is, in a sense, his own director. Not only did they grow up with the sport, but they've been working with the sport in a technical capacity for a very long time. We didn't have that. So we could have a top-notch director and producer, but if the technical people don't understand the game, you're going to have issues.

I'm not sure I completely agree with a lot of his assessment of where the broadcasts are at (and he's sure quick to characterize his detractors' arguments with the straw man "that's how they do it in europe" argument), but in the end it's a good look into the unseen parts of the broadcasts we love to hate.

http://ussoccerplayers.com/exclusives/index.html?article_id=1091

[CommonSense]

I liked the article, I thought he made some pretty solid points, although I didn't notice any attempt to goto a side-line reporter in the L'Pool Chelski match. I missed the first 20 minutes or so...

I liked that he admits they're no longer catering to non-soccer fans. Although I don't think this is entirely true, it's nice to hear it stateed at the very least. We need to stop attempting to turn 50 year old baseball fans into soccer fanatics, there's enough soccer fans in the country that you should focus on those. I'd like to see a little bit more effort marketing to teenagers-college kids though. From my personal experience it's pretty easy to get them to watch soccer, I've now converted two friend to EPL and US MNT fans, although they still don't like MLS much, partially because they rarely know when it's on.

[j66j66]

i did catch that attempt to go sideline in the scum/pool match... they were going to try to get an update on an injury, and after it didn't work out, they never returned to it. my ears perked up since i wanted to see how it would go.

i also agree they've only taken baby steps in focusing on current fans, but it's good to hear someone officially say they're giving up on converting the non-believers.

but the two things that surprised me was a) that even when your director/producer knows soccer, a lot more than i thought depends on the camera and technical guys in the trenches. that makes raising the quality a lot harder; and b) that he thinks the technical guys have reached a good level of comprehension and decision-making in the broadcast. i've seen improvement, but it still has a long way to go.

[Soccerdude redded]

You sure are a hard crowd to please. RBP wasn't build in one day:D. They still working on it.

[rocker]

i did catch that attempt to go sideline in the scum/pool match... they were going to try to get an update on an injury, and after it didn't work out, they never returned to it. my ears perked up since i wanted to see how it would go.

i also agree they've only taken baby steps in focusing on current fans, but it's good to hear someone officially say they're giving up on converting the non-believers.

but the two things that surprised me was a) that even when your director/producer knows soccer, a lot more than i thought depends on the camera and technical guys in the trenches. that makes raising the quality a lot harder; and b) that he thinks the technical guys have reached a good level of comprehension and decision-making in the broadcast. i've seen improvement, but it still has a long way to go.

this is something I remember with American coverage of the NHL.

I can't really watch the American hockey broadcasts -- the Canadian ones are so much better, particularly on CBC. And I realized it was because of the camera work. The Canadian cameramen grew up playing hockey and just had a sense of where the puck would go even before it did.... the American ones seemed to miss plays because of a lack of anticipation.
Camera work is definitely a cultural thing....

[bbsbt]

I liked that he admits they're no longer catering to non-soccer fans. Although I don't think this is entirely true, it's nice to hear it stated at the very least.I don't think he meant no more catering to non-soccer fans; they'll still cater to them, but it's gonna take a backseat to the soccer fan.

"Over the last 12 years, we’ve all realized that maybe we shouldn’t spend our energy on trying to rein in the ‘casual fan’ on our MLS broadcasts. The telecasts are going to be designed not to shut out the average sports fan, but a little more to the point where we are going to go towards the soccer fan."

[tab5g]

Cohen: If you walked into a truck in Europe, and I have many times, each cameraman is, in a sense, his own director. Not only did they grow up with the sport, but they've been working with the sport in a technical capacity for a very long time. We didn't have that. So we could have a top-notch director and producer, but if the technical people don't understand the game, you're going to have issues.

there are a lot of issues, but i'm not sure that SUM/MLS/Disney (and whoever they hire) have those "top-notch directors and producers" for soccer. i.e., if you dropped the Bristol producer/director into a game in Europe (with those technical people who do know what they're doing -- framing shots, moving with the play) i still think the viewer would see where the producer and director are a bit deficient with their "American" skills.

it's a learning environment. everyone associated with the productions and presentations has room for improvement, and they are showing some good progress.

it's a cultural thing. our production staff in the US (for the English language networks) are used to presenting other sports (AmFootball, baseball, basketball). soccer is a game they are learning. certainly the early years of MLS (on tv) haven't always been the prettiest things to look at, but they are working on it. practice and repetition (by the crews) will be to the fans' benefit in the long run.

[Onionsack]

You know, it wasn't that long ago when just getting MLS games on TV was a big deal. I mean i remember quite clearly, as i am sure many others here do, when most teams only had around half of their games brodcasted live and some didn't even broadcast home or away games at all (KC).

I can deal with a learning curve on production value so long as they are focused on what is important. ESPN has all the tools to do it proper and i think getting rid of O'Brien and replacing him with JP was a solid manuever. Harkes for Wynalda is a wash. Their production value has gotten better over the years, but they still need to ween themselves off the traditional US sport style of "talk your ass off about nothing to pass the time". Silence is golden sometimes, and they also need to make sure they get better crowd ambiance even if it means catching a few bad words..its cable after all.

But point i am trying to make, and its something we can apply to a lot of discussions around here, is that lets not forget how far we have come from just 4 years ago. I see many posters around town taking for granted stuff that they shouldn't. The new ones might not know better, but myself and others do.

[jade1mls]

Their production value has gotten better over the years, but they still need to ween themselves off the traditional US sport style of "talk your ass off about nothing to pass the time". Silence is golden sometimes, and they also need to make sure they get better crowd ambiance even if it means catching a few bad words..its cable after all.


x10.

And yet here is another place where CBC, a national over the air, not cable network is better than ESPN. FSC is a little better.

Compare this CBC broadcast:
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To this ESPN broadcast:
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To this Fox Soccer channel broadcast:
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As far as I can tell CBC and FSC use omni directional mics that capture the sound of the whole stadium and ESPN uses some directional "shotgun" mics that they point at the pitch. OR ESPN and FSC just leave have the stadium level much lower than the booth level where as CBC has the two levels pretty equal.

ESPN = Booth: 80%: Stadium: 20%
FSC = Booth: 70% Stadium: 30%
CBC = Booth: 55% Stadium 45%


Note to MLS: You have made improvements but we do NOT need to hear the announcers SO much louder than the atmosphere.

Take the atmosphere away from the broadcast and you're shooting yourself in the foot in terms of converting soccer fans to MLS fans.

If you want people to think your product is exciting and worth watching then please guide your broadcast partners in this area. It makes no sense to see supporters groups and full stadiums but not hear them. It just seems awkward and un-natural to soccer fans who watch other leagues (except the Mexican League which is just as guilty of this on Univision)

Allow the broadcasts to "breathe" and they will come to life.

[triplet1]

As far as I can tell CBC and FSC use omni directional mics that capture the sound of the whole stadium and ESPN uses some directional "shotgun" mics that they point at the pitch. OR ESPN and FSC just leave have the stadium level much lower than the booth level where as CBC has the two levels pretty equal.

ESPN = Booth: 80%: Stadium: 20%
FSC = Booth: 70% Stadium: 30%
CBC = Booth: 55% Stadium 45%


Note to MLS: You have made improvements but we do NOT need to hear the announcers SO much louder than the atmosphere.

Take the atmosphere away from the broadcast and you're shooting yourself in the foot in terms of converting soccer fans to MLS fans.

If you want people to think your product is exciting and worth watching then please guide your broadcast partners in this area. It makes no sense to see supporters groups and full stadiums but not hear them. It just seems awkward and un-natural to soccer fans who watch other leagues (except the Mexican League which is just as guilty of this on Univision)

Allow the broadcasts to "breathe" and they will come to life.


An outstanding post Jade. The difference in crowd volume is noticeable, and it makes the CBC broadcast much, much more compelling.

I hope any MLS folks surfing here take note of this. I can't think of any single thing that would improve broadcasts more.

[holiday]

just one tip about camera work in u.s. soccer...
when a player takes a shot, the camera pans to follow the ball.
fine.
but it just keeps on going and going and going...
if the ball flies over the net, the camera keeps panning past the goal. i've seen comical shots where on screen they're still following the ball as it's bouncing all the way to the baseball warning track at rfk.
even if the ball goes in the net, the cameraman isn't quick enough to stop panning across, and especially on slo-mo replays it's striking to see the camera shot keep zooming past the net, although the ball meantime has landed in the goal.
so the tip is: never pan the camera shot past the goal. stop there, automatically. if the ball flies over the top, who cares where it goes after that. if it's in the net, you get a nice shot of the goal.

all in all, though, i also have to confess i'm kind of fond of the clumsy side of american soccer broadcasts (and proud of the improvements).