WHITEPAPERS
Capitalizing on Creativity by Incorporating Digital Film Into Sports Broadcasting By Bob Caniglia, Director of Sales Operations for the Americas, Blackmagic Design
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oday’s limited in-person crowd sizes and the ever-changing sports video climate have demonstrated the need to captivate virtual audiences in new ways. Recently, there has been an increase in utilizing cinema cameras with larger sensors in live sports and sports broadcasting, supplementing the use of traditional broadcast cameras. Even the recent Tokyo Olympics used cinema cameras to leverage high dynamic range (HDR), shallow depth of field, and 4K while capturing footage at the Games. Cinematic broadcasting offers new storytelling options and diversified capabilities for engaging fans and viewers. As consumers of media, we are so used to seeing cinematic images right at home on our TV screens or even our mobile devices. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, with the explosion of digital film, HDR, 4K (and even 8K), and streaming video, our living rooms turned into movie theaters while we watched the latest releases from our couches. There is a place for that experience in sports broadcasting as well. Sometimes our eyes crave that blockbuster action and in-your-face, in-the-moment entertainment regardless of the medium. At the same time, the pandemic forced broadcasters, networks, and studios alike to get more creative when it came to capturing and delivering content. For example, virtual fans were used in lieu of empty stadiums, streaming video became even more popular, and broadcasters explored new tactics to engage viewers, like additional and unique camera angles. As spectators began to return in-person, a new hybrid video model Blackmagic Design’s URSA Broadcast G2
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SPORTSTECHJOURNAL / SPRING 2022
emerged where broadcasters retained the new tools developed during the heart of the pandemic and employed them alongside — and as part of — traditional broadcasts. Even as COVID-19 regulations lessen and life begins to return to normal, the new hybrid video model that emerged over the past two years will likely continue in some capacity, particularly in the sports world. It will be important to continue to adapt and keep finding new ways to make the viewing experience engaging for both in-person and at-home viewers.
> CINEMATIC SPORTS BROADCASTING Cinematic shooting lets you focus on certain aspects of the sports world in a way that most broadcast cameras don’t allow. A more cinematic style will allow you to focus in on things like specific athletes, plays, teams, etc., or focus away from certain elements of the game, such as an empty arena or empty seats due to low attendance numbers. For example, larger sensors are more common to cinema cameras and produce shallow depth of field, which provides the ability to blur a background. With cinematic broadcasting, you can get that much more creative and diversify the visual elements in your video, such as focal point, lighting, location, shot selection, scale, color, and more. As we know, video as a medium is a great way to get a message out there. Incorporating various new video elements takes the message further and allows us to tell a more interesting story that may resonate with an audience in new ways. While sports broadcasting has relied solely on broadcast cameras in the past, there is room at the table now for new types of cameras. Of course, adding new cameras to your arsenal is a big decision and can be a significant invest-
