tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797661598984948197.post4776861359527819226..comments2009-08-12T09:18:28.336-07:00Comments on Badgekissers: If You Read One Article This Week...Ryan Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07332501015006830524noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2797661598984948197.post-34297788784110036072009-02-17T05:12:00.000-08:002009-02-17T05:12:00.000-08:00I prefer the mimetic displays myself, but that pro...I prefer the mimetic displays myself, but that probably comes from mostly watching UK football. European coverage (specifically I'm thinking of Spanish, French, and World Cup 2006) loves to cut to a touchline camera during a live game, which I always found disorienting. This could be partly because I'm not used to it, but also because the gantry shot allows us to watch as much as the pitch as possible, and half the fun of watching footie for me is seeing the teams organizing and reorganizing themselves on attack or on defense. <BR/><BR/>I can't explain why Europe loves to cut into the live action so much, aside from their desire for a bit more flair. Spanish coverage is obsessed with immediate replays of fancy footwork, often using an extreme close-up of the feet and the ball during a step-over or some other fancy-dan routine. This is probably why they're willing to embrace the sky-cam while the UK has tended to stay away from it. <BR/><BR/>I remember watching one of the first games that it was used at Nou Camp, and it basically stuck to a really high over-head perspective, mostly in replays to show the tactics of a move forward. This was used (more sparingly) in some of the Germany World Cup matches as well. I hadn't seen the use of the sky-cam to the extent the Milan derby did during live play before, but I imagine that has to do with getting comfortable with the technology.<BR/><BR/>The Sky Cam is widely used in American football, and has been for some years now. The reason for its use in live play there, and during free kicks in the Milan Derby, is probably due to the safety of the camera itself, as football and free kicks are (for the most part) only going in one direction so there's little chance of the ball coming back to interfere. <BR/><BR/>I can't imagine the kind of hell it must be to direct a football match. The Arsenal-Cardiff game had one or two moments of desperate panic when they tried to show a replay as soon as they could, and they frantically cut back to the live gantry shot when Cardiff would counter-attack into the Arsenal box. Must be terrifying.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05708208735733199005noreply@blogger.com