Game Videology

[The Paddy]

As the tech continues to get better, cheaper, more accessible, etc., it looks like a lot more games are going to be taped and posted to the interwebs. I'll spare everyone the nerdier aspects of discussion in regards to cameras, uploading specs, etc., but there is a question that seems suited for community as a whole.

What's everyone's preference on the trim-down? A shorter vid where only balls-in-play are shown, or a longer cut that includes every pitch (balls, strikes, fouls)?

I've typically trimmed them down to only deciding plays (in order to try and avoid having to watch a fair bit of nothing-going-on), but the past couple of vids posted have made me question that. The AZ/STTB vid showed only deciding plays, and that seemed to cause a bit of audience confusion (esp. in regards to a few kicking choices, not knowing what the count was).
The Florida game vid featured the entire game, and benefited greatly from the First-to-Third commentary, but I'm not sure how watchable a full game like that would be without the commentary. An MLB style stat bar in the corner is always good, too (with inning, score, runners on base, etc), but like the commentary, that adds time and effort to the process. (Ideally, stat bar and commentary would be best, but not sure how feasible that is).

Obviously kickball game vids appeal to a fairly niche audience, so it's not like we have to impress the world at large with them. To a non-baller, watching a lot of nothing going on would probably suck. But knowing how nerdy most of us are about the game, the slower/longer chess match does have appeal.

Thoughts?

[Zer0ne]

If you include a bar that tells the viewers the inning, score, count, and where they are in the lineup then I don't think you have to worry about trimming down the video. You can still show every at kick, but trim it down to the deciding pitch, such as strike 3, ball 4, or ball put into play. The info bar will tell the viewer what has happened in that at kick up until that point. You could even include a field diamond like they do in MLB where it shows a runner on the bases.

[The Paddy]

If you include a bar that tells the viewers the inning, score, count, and where they are in the lineup then I don't think you have to worry about trimming down the video. You can still show every at kick, but trim it down to the deciding pitch, such as strike 3, ball 4, or ball put into play. The info bar will tell the viewer what has happened in that at kick up until that point. You could even include a field diamond like they do in MLB where it shows a runner on the bases.

Something like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgYHscN22lA

[Trey it Up]

If you include a bar that tells the viewers the inning, score, count, and where they are in the lineup then I don't think you have to worry about trimming down the video. You can still show every at kick, but trim it down to the deciding pitch, such as strike 3, ball 4, or ball put into play. The info bar will tell the viewer what has happened in that at kick up until that point. You could even include a field diamond like they do in MLB where it shows a runner on the bases.

This is exactly what every kickball video should strive for.

[Typod]

Looks good Paddy. What ever happened with the doc? Also this is probably some youtube thing, but whats up with the letterbox?

Also great job with the gfx.

[The Paddy]

Thanks, T. I could put together a thesis on what's wrong with the vid, but overall, I think it turned out all right for the first-time effort it was. Letterboxing is half youtube, half me screwing up aspect ratio conversion for an SD youtube upload. Someday I may kick out the HD version and get that fixed. That is, you know, if I decide that it makes sense to revisit something for tech reasons that's over a year old. Feh. Learning process, I suppose.

Re: the doc; I kinda hosed myself with the immersive year-long R&D I just finished. Everything that I thought it should be about changed. So I need to wrap my head around a new direction.

[The Paddy]

If you include a bar that tells the viewers the inning, score, count, and where they are in the lineup then I don't think you have to worry about trimming down the video. You can still show every at kick, but trim it down to the deciding pitch, such as strike 3, ball 4, or ball put into play. The info bar will tell the viewer what has happened in that at kick up until that point. You could even include a field diamond like they do in MLB where it shows a runner on the bases.

This is exactly what every kickball video should strive for.

I can't disagree. Trouble is, the sheer amount of effort to do something like this becomes counter-productive to try and do for every game (esp. if one wants to include commentary...or ever better, COLOR commentary). But certainly a good thought for key games. We've got a final coming up in SoCal here in a couple of weeks. Maybe I'll get in touch with the fellow vid-nerds to see if we can't try a proof-of-concept for something this involved.

[Zak]

I think a good mix would be comentators with the cut down video. Maybe someone from each team to explain what happens for a paticular play and give some insite into what is going on. It doesn't have to be as indepth of the Founder's Cup game between The Others and Best Coast Ballers, but if there's commentary it helps when they have some background info on the teams playing.

[Kickbot]

I think a good mix would be comentators with the cut down video. Maybe someone from each team to explain what happens for a paticular play and give some insite into what is going on. It doesn't have to be as indepth of the Founder's Cup game between The Others and Best Coast Ballers, but if there's commentary it helps when they have some background info on the teams playing.

Trimmed down video with commentary requires a lot of pauses. If you leave in all the pitches, the commenters have time to discuss different facets of the game.

Without comments, I definitely prefer the trimmed down version.

Great videos, Paddy. I really enjoy watching them.

[Lost_Sage]

Def agree with Oak here. Good broadcasting is storytelling and makes even breaks in the action seem important and information-filled. A good broadcaster can shine with (a) really good research on the teams/setting and (b) insider information on the athletes/coaches' thought processes, among other things.

You definitely have to keep the commentary focused, though. My brother (you think my broadcasting and public announcing is good, check out his) remembers some very good advice a classic baseball announcer once gave. The announcer brought an egg timer to the media booth. If, by the time the timer rang, he hadn't reminded the audience of the score, the timer was his cue to do so.

I think a good mix would be comentators with the cut down video. Maybe someone from each team to explain what happens for a paticular play and give some insite into what is going on. It doesn't have to be as indepth of the Founder's Cup game between The Others and Best Coast Ballers, but if there's commentary it helps when they have some background info on the teams playing.

Trimmed down video with commentary requires a lot of pauses. If you leave in all the pitches, the commenters have time to discuss different facets of the game.

Without comments, I definitely prefer the trimmed down version.

Great videos, Paddy. I really enjoy watching them.

[The Paddy]

The announcer brought an egg timer to the media booth. If, by the time the timer rang, he hadn't reminded the audience of the score, the timer was his cue to do so.

I do like the idea of hearing an egg timer ding in the background every few minutes.

Reminds me of a quote I heard (can't remember the original source of the quote) regarding BAD sports announcers:

"Being a sports announcer is easy. You just talk until you think of something to say."

[Chuckle Jason]

On the note of Video does anyone know where to find the Founders Cup Final from this October?

[timberwolf]

Thus far, I have tended to mix it up a bit. Some occasions, I've done just a highlight video which is trimmed down to just show some (though not all) kicks, runs and fielding plays. Other occasions, I've shown the game in its entirety. I know some people like to see the full games, fouls and all, while others like the highlight reel version more. It usually depends on what I want to feature. Generally I like putting together some fast-paced action plays with some lively music to get pumped up by, but for some "big games" I'll show the full game to try to capture and convey as much of the "moment" of the game that I can.

[The Scorekeeper]

i have no video editing software, except windows movie maker and i haven't taken the time to figure out how that works (i'm sure it's stupid easy, but i'm lazy) so i usually will make individual clips of each pitch/play as i'm recording, and upload them all into flickr, for those that really want to sit through every single pitch, then upload just the actual functional plays into a youtube playlist, for those that just want to watch the game progress.

[btaylor]

On the note of Video does anyone know where to find the Founders Cup Final from this October?

I think OSC has about 7 extra videos of the finals.
...sorry, it's a VERY slow day at work.

[McNugget]

I love this topic. What did you use to show the baseball diamond with runners on base? If its not too complicated I will totally try an make videos that way going forward.

[The Paddy]

I built the stat bar/diamond template in After Effects, and then filled the numbers/baserunners in with Final Cut. It was something of a brute force process, because Final Cut needed to render every time I did a change on the alpha channeled elements. Still working on a more elegant solution for that.

I can send you the current template (build for an HD frame). And once I get something sussed out that I like that includes B/S/F, I can make that available to everyone, too.

[Chuckle Jason]

On the note of Video does anyone know where to find the Founders Cup Final from this October?

I think OSC has about 7 extra videos of the finals.
...sorry, it's a VERY slow day at work.

Haha...i'm guess 7 has something to do with the roster thing?? Anyway, was just trying to find video of that. I assumed it existed somewhere

[Trey it Up]

I doubt you'll ever see video from that game. WAKA won't release their video because there were too many controversial calls. OSC won't release their video because they don't want to draw more attention to their scandal.

[MEATBALLKEVIN]

i like the shirt videos when the 60 min game is broken down in to under 10 minutes with just showing the play. But i think it should say the count when that ball is kicked.

But for commentary you would need the full game so there is time to talk and analyze. Something that i would be down for doing sometime.

[Lost_Sage]

i like the shirt videos when the 60 min game is broken down in to under 10 minutes with just showing the play. But i think it should say the count when that ball is kicked.

But for commentary you would need the full game so there is time to talk and analyze. Something that i would be down for doing sometime.

As would I.

[Typod]

I doubt you'll ever see video from that game. WAKA won't release their video because there were too many controversial calls. OSC won't release their video because they don't want to draw more attention to their scandal.

I filmed the entire game in HD.

[The Paddy]

i like the shirt videos when the 60 min game is broken down in to under 10 minutes with just showing the play. But i think it should say the count when that ball is kicked.
But for commentary you would need the full game so there is time to talk and analyze. Something that i would be down for doing sometime.

I know that was a typo, but it actually has a bit of serendipitous relevance considering WAKA's unfortunate choice in updated shirt design (JUST LOOK AT THE SHIRTS THEY WEAR !!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!)

[mozbot]

Paddy, remind me to give you a copy of the old Valley Girls vs. Warner Pros championship game we shot on three cameras, edited and did a professional VO with me and Richard at Foster's old voice over studio. Fun stuff. I have a shit ton of copies.

[The Paddy]

I have a shit ton of copies.

One thing that's unquestionable about me: I like tons of shit.

Should we try and do something similar for the upcoming champ game? I have a shit ton of cameras (as do various members of one of the teams playing).

[krabbas]

i like the shirt videos when the 60 min game is broken down in to under 10 minutes with just showing the play. But i think it should say the count when that ball is kicked.

But for commentary you would need the full game so there is time to talk and analyze. Something that i would be down for doing sometime.

As would I.

I would be down to watch any game with Sage on play by play and Kevin on color.

[admin]

I doubt you'll ever see video from that game. WAKA won't release their video because there were too many controversial calls. OSC won't release their video because they don't want to draw more attention to their scandal.

I filmed the entire game in HD.

Nice.
Admin

[The Paddy]

I love this topic. What did you use to show the baseball diamond with runners on base? If its not too complicated I will totally try an make videos that way going forward.

Updated GFX bar/template. Any thoughts? Anything missing?

[Zak]

looks good to me

[The Scorekeeper]

i like the shirt videos when the 60 min game is broken down in to under 10 minutes with just showing the play. But i think it should say the count when that ball is kicked.

But for commentary you would need the full game so there is time to talk and analyze. Something that i would be down for doing sometime.

As would I.

I would be down to watch any game with Sage on play by play and Kevin on color.

seconded.