Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Prep Sportscasting 101 - Stage Left

Why does high school or prep sport video coverage need to be schlocky? Yea, that’s a real word and it refers to all those jumpy, loud, dizzying video captures you typically see for prep sport footage. We think there are some freaks in the Prep Sport community who might have talent. Some Sports Casting talent and we want to see it. So do your viewers. Let’s see how we can kick it up a notch with a little “personality” in front of the screen.
Before we start, let’s contrast how different sportscasting can be…even at the pro level. I love DirecTV. I can watch my local NBA team on the big networks and another game on the local network. Wow…what a difference in the sportscasting talent. The big networks sportscasters actually have something to say. For the local guys, you’re pounded over the head with lots of insight like “You got to put the ball in the hoop to make points”. Really?? It’s painful so we DON’T want to go that way when we’re sportscasting Prep Sport.
First, start with the best footage whether you’re in it or now. We have lots of tips on what to avoid and what to concentrate on when capturing Prep Sport video action. If the video is jumping around or being blocked…it’s painful to watch. Let’s not set off a wave of vomiting from too much motion. Audio’s a big deal. It can kill your footage. If the crowd’s too loud or wind is hitting the mic, that’s a problem. The first decision is whether you want to be in front of the camera or run voice overs later on in the edit bay. By edit bay, I mean that piece of shareware you use to modify your videos. It’s not bad to run voice overs across video footage. You have much more control and ultimately, people want to see the huge catch or monster dunk. Your head in the way probably doesn’t help much.
The edit bay is where you can strip, enhance, and clean up both the video and audio. Really, most of the work is done there…not on the front end. If you have someone with some real flair in front of the camera, then by all means. We’re amazed almost daily how creative members of the Prep Sport community can be. Some of the members in front of the camera are funny. Others are serious but with a sense of style. Some are so bad that it becomes good. That all works and you’ll know if it’s working by how many people view it or rate it up. Some of the most popular footage ranks well only because of the Prep Sportscaster in front of the camera or the voice over commentary. Get creative and fun but make sure to stay withing our Community Playbook rules for language and content. The truly gifted shouldn’t have a problem there.
We’ve even seen some footage in the network where high school kids made a make shift sportscasting stage. Yea, it had a little of Waynes World in it but ultimately, they were funny and ran pretty good game. It ranked well on pretty average actual prep sport video action. So let’s see what you and your friends can come up with . 3…2…1.. and YOU’RE LIVE.

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