How About a Separate Sports Video Forum?

[Denise Wall]

Man, I would love a sports forum. I need and warm and fuzzy place where everybody doesn't flip out when you say you have to use auto focus sometimes :-)

[Shaun Roemich]

Originally Posted by Don Bloom

Can't remember all the details but I DO remember a lot of it not being too humorous.

If it was "live truck" stuff, remember: what happens on the truck STAYS on the truck!

I remember the first Blue Bomber CFL football game that went to the Jumbotron at Winnipeg Stadium - it was a TORRENTIAL downpour and I was operating East side camera, much as you see in the photo except about 50 lbs lighter.

So, as the rain continues, all us shooters are on the field wearing our slickers. No problem. Cameras are in Portabrace slickers. No problem. The brand new Jumbotron loses a vertical panel of LEDs. Down to 7/8 of our screen. Director says "everyone, watch framing and keep action inside Title Safe".

Half an hour later, we are down to HALF our screen and essentially we are shooting PORTRAIT format now because the working part of the screen is higher than it is wide.

Then it shuts down completely. Now we have to pack up our camera positions DURING an ongoing CFL game WHILE PLAY IS IN PROGRESS.

We get up to the control room an hour later and the director says "Well, let's beat the crowd to Hooters - first round is on me"

Took a WEEK to dry the board out. Not sure what went wrong but funny as heck in hindsight.

[Don Bloom]

Auto Focus!?!?!?!? OH NO!!!!!! Auto focus?!?!?!?!? flip flip flip flip flip flip flip!!! ;-)

Ah that felt good to get out of my system and Denise, you are 100% right. Sometimes auto is better and that's the way it is. You use what works, right?


Shaun, yes it stays on the truck or at least in my head-no torture in the world can make me reveal-ouch ouch! OKOKOKOK, I'll tell you! (after coffee.)

That jumbotron sounded like a lot of fun :-O

[Richard Alvarez]

When I started in Television - 1974 in Houston, Texas - we used to hall the five-tube GE STUDIO cameras to events. I ran camera for "Houston Wrestling" (where I met Andre' the Giant), World Team Tennis, Astro's games in the Dome, the short-lived World Football League, Houston Aero's Hockey in the Coliseum, Rodeo Events, and college basketball.

Recently, I've worked cable tv multi-cam shoots of college basketball, high school football, little league baseball championships, and junior college track and field.

Yeah, we got war stories.

[Shaun Roemich]

Originally Posted by Richard Alvarez

I ran camera for "Houston Wrestling" (where I met Andre' the Giant)

Met Mad Dog Maurice Vachon and Puppy Dog Fred Peloquin from the early days of AWA Wrestling at a Winnipeg ceremony to acknowledge the accomplishments of Mad Dog. Somewhere I have a picture...

Was shooting ringside for a WWE or WWF inhouse feed at the old Winnipeg Arena and Kane was making his grand entrance. Well, the problem is, I'm 6'3" so Kane didn't look as big as he really is (and he is big!) so I scrunched my knees a bit to bring me down to "normal" camera guy size. He "pushed" the camera lens out of the way (live to the video boards) and whispered "Thanks"

Worked with a lot of wrestlers and show management over the years - GREAT bunch of guys.

[Colin McDonald]

Will we be including Beach Volleyball in this new forum? Just thought I'd ask.

Full of things like deep-DOF, fast pans, zooms, autofocus and high frame rates.
Honest.

[Richard Alvarez]

Shaun - yeah, I met "Mad Dog" - and "Rowdy Roddy Piper", back when he was a good guy. Jose Lothario, a host of other 'oldies but goodies'.

KHTV in Houston was my first job out of High School - as a Communications Major at UH. Loved shooting the wrestling matches.

I was running Camera One, which was mounted on an elevated platform perhaps three feet high, which was situated ON TOP of a rickety series of stages that were used for the 'interviews'. All in all a fairly unstable platform to shoot from. My camera was hot, when someone started shaking the platform. Without turning around, I shouted "WHOEVER THE FRACK IS BEHIND BE - BETTER SETTLE DOWN!"

"OH - SORRY" the deep voice made it through my dual muffs.

I turned to look, almost eye to eye - into Andre' the Giant's face. And yeah, I'm 6'4" and was still impressed. Really nice guy though - his English was very poor in those days.

As the rookie on the team, it was my job to set and retrieve the 'thump mic' we put under the ring. After the main event, I would crawl under the ring to get the mic and pull cable. (There was usually a match or two after the Main Event). I was crawling out from under the ring, when some wrestler landed (mostly) on top of me. Yeah, I 'broke' his fall. I was a pretty tough 19 year old at the time, and bounced back okay - but the wrestler who tossed the guy was really upset that I got smashed.

[Joe Sonnenburg]

I am really excited about this new forum/sub forum. I have been shooting sports for a few years and have loved every minute of it (I swear I have the best job)! I love hearing some of these stories and am looking forward to creating some of my own memories. I'm just getting into the field and can't wait to learn from everyone!

[Shaun Roemich]

Originally Posted by Richard Alvarez

And yeah, I'm 6'4" and was still impressed.

Well heck, and I thought I was the biggest shooter on DVi! May still have you by "weight class" though... <laughs> Yeah I'm a pretty solid handheld guy...