most of the graphics on FSC look sort of amateurish. especially the score/time box in the upper left. the FSC logo on the upper right (especially when integrated with the "live" indicator, i think looks great. so here is a mockup i have put together that integrates the score box with the logo/live indicator. obviously it could use some improvement but i feel it is better than what they are currently using. if you're from FSC feel free to rip off my idea.
nice work, but it breaks the cardinal rule of broadcast gfx. There's a reason gfx are on the left hand side of the frame. As you have it now it reads from right to left, and not left to right like everything else in our culture.
well it could easily be put on the other side. my main intention was to reduce clutter but keep identity. this still clearly identifies that it is Fox Soccer Channel, but looks much better and less cluttered. also, it is conceivable that people don't get enough credit. i mean after all, just because it's in the upper right corner and not the upper left corner doesn;t mean people can't still see it and comprehend what it says.
I know why you did it, but you have to understand that in the b-cast biz putting things together is a no-no. You want separation so people can indetify and read the gfx w/ a minimum amount of effort. The left side is for scores, the right side is for branding.
i am more about breaking down barriers created by arbitrary rules. who cares what networks have done in the past? why not try something new? it's not dangerous, and it's certainly not going to cause as much backlash as other new things that have been tried this year like side-by-side commercials or skycam. it's a new, more attractive place for the score to go. I understand why the broadcasting industry does it the way they do. because that's the way it's always been done. What i am hoping for is that someday someone in the broadcasting industry will grow some balls and challenge the norm.
I understand your attitude, but you are thinking about yourself and not the viewers. Challenging conventions is always good, but it also has to be useful. The issue that peope read left to right is key. You can't change that because it's cultural. The reasons graphics are the way they are is not just becasue networks are stuck in a funk, it's also for practicality. I spend many hours arguing with my peers in the biz about things like this as well as camera angles, transition efx, etc.... I'm not a fan of the way the the US broadcasters produce their programming, from gfx to cameras, etc...they try to cram waaay too mcuh on screen, and most people just don't really give a ******** about 4 pages of stats when they are watching a game. I'm a fan of the UK/BBC "less is more" philosophy. Sky Sports is on the edge of being overbearing. ITV is in the middle.
you're not giving people enough credit. they can figure out where the score is by looking at it. sometimes corporate types think way too much. the average joe doesn;t give a rats ass where on the screen his score box is as long as it is there and not blocking any action. left to right may be cultural, but it is something ONLY the broadcaster would care about. besides, i have seen score indicators many times that go across the entire top of the screen. an ad on the left, score in the middle, and network indentity on the right.
If I remember correctly, most networks put all the baseball stuff on one side. The box with the diamond that shows which bases are occupied, the count, the score and the inning. All on one side. I don't think this confuses anyone.
They're better off putting a watermark logo on the bottom right and a much smaller score board than the one you drew on the top left.
I'm not sure if you're insulting me here. If you are don't take it any further. Your use of the phrase "corporate types" shows ignorance on your part about who makes decisions regarding graphics and how they are used in broadcasts. Don't make such assumptions. In the future you should use the phrase "artists", because that's who creates them. All networks have guidelines, the artists are always trying to push the envelope. That why you see new graphics packages almost every year for all the major sports. I assume that you've done a very exhaustive study to make that claim. Do you know how much money the networks spend on determining what the "average joe" wants? Millions. They know what *all* the average joes want. BTW - If you *really* knew what the "average joe" wants you'd have put the scores over Carmen Electra's tits. Right. When was the last time you read anything right to left in the US? It's not just broadcasters who care, it's the government, publishers, manufacturers, etc... look at your car, your microwave, a menu, your phone, etc... everything is that way. Sorry it's not *creative* enough for you, but before you tackle TV gfx why don't you tune up on your local newspaper and see how far you get? Go ahead and walk in to the layout department and tell those "corporate types" how they've got it all wrong, they aren't creative enough, etc... Running a score bar across the top is nothing new and it still reads left to right doesn't it?
mine also reads left to right. it's not like i said "3 VHC 0 COB" they say "CHV 3" and "BOC 0" it's not going to take a rocket scientist to see what it is. as for the corporate types i meant the people that come up with and enforce the guidelines are the corporate types. the guys that come up with focus groups that find out what the average joe is looking for. mcdonalds spends millions of dollars a year to find out what the average joe wants and comes up with it's "i'm lovin' it" marketing campaign which totally misses the mark. MLS executives spend money and ask people what they want, then they give them outlandish uniforms, a countdown clock that stops, and the shootout. These are the same execs that rely on focus group data (or much more likely just ASSUME THEY KNOW WHAT'S BEST) for other things like "scoreboard screen placement" among other things. i'd give credence to what you say if you could find me 1 person that would be confused by my score box being in the right instead of the left. besides, i only stuck it in the right because that's where FSC sticks their logo. it could just as easily be on the left and move the network ID to the left with it. All i was trying to show is that the network ID and the score box could be intergrated and i decided to take one of the designs they already use (the network ID with the "Live" indicator) and expand it. This wasn't meant to be a debate on where this thing should go.
Unless if you're CBS Sports showing NCAA basketball. Score in the bottom right along with miniature CBS eye, CBS eye in the top right (verrry redundant), and other scores in the top left. ABC and ESPN also flip the score from side to side, depending on who has the ball. (At least they were doing this. On 1/1 they unveiled a new graphics package, which hopefully they'll stay with.) CBS NFL's coverage also does a flip-system. The score is on the same side as the team with ball possession, and other scores are on the opposite side.