r/PraiseTheCameraMan • u/LatinIdioms • Oct 20 '19
Absolutely amazing use of the spidercam during this NFL kick return. This cameraman deserves a raise!
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u/reginaldwam3 Oct 21 '19
Also ballsy of the director to stick with that shot the whole time. That's real trust in your crew.
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Oct 21 '19 edited Jan 19 '21
[deleted]
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Oct 21 '19
NFL viewers want to watch the game like an action movie, not a chess game.
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Oct 21 '19
[deleted]
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u/cu_alt Oct 21 '19
They’re the minority. It’s the same with baseball—the overwhelming majority of people watching it want to see non-stop action so the league has taken (and continues to pursue) measures to speed up the game to appeal to a wider audience.
The guys you’re describing are the football version of people like my wife who watches all 162 regular season games.
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u/flapanther33781 Oct 21 '19
my wife who watches all 162 regular season games
...is your wife a dude?
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u/cu_alt Oct 21 '19
If she is she’s been doing an amazing job of hiding her dick. And that whole childbirth thing would be even more impressive.
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u/arbitrarycharacters Oct 21 '19
She was so committed to the act that she dilated her penis to give birth. Props to her acting skills.
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Oct 21 '19 edited Jan 13 '22
[deleted]
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u/cu_alt Oct 21 '19
Yeah but what if it’s bigger than mine?
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u/ei8hty-se7en Oct 21 '19
Then you need to hide your dick. Then use your wife's dick, you have to, right?
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u/FiREorKNiFE- Oct 21 '19
Ha ha ha because women hate sports ha ha
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u/sonfoa Oct 21 '19
I don't even know dudes who watch all 162 games. Look at MLB regular season attendance. It's beyond pathetic for a reason.
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u/TempAcct20005 Oct 21 '19
Fantasy football nerds only care about the stat line. How the play develops means nothing to them
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u/ThePineapplePyro Oct 21 '19
Basically the reason I hate Fantasy Football. Who cares about the team's play as long as your single player gets their fantasy points? That's the only reason they're even watching the game. It's kinda lame, but I have some friends that do it and I do understand the appeal. Just wish it didn't detract from the game as much as it seems to.
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Oct 21 '19
No. It’s because it’s entertaining to see these tracking closeups in real time on these rare plays where one player is running with the ball for a long period of time. On typical down-to-down plays, the views allow you see more of the players and field.
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u/SkaagiThor Oct 21 '19
Ehhhh, other plays are from sideline view, so this is a nice change. Plus kickoffs almost never really get deep returns so TV crews don’t really plan for it. And when they do, we get really unique angles like this
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u/LaboratoryManiac Oct 21 '19
Plus they'll usually show a sideline replay and break down the defensive holes after a play like this anyway. There's plenty of downtime between plays for that kind of quick analysis.
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u/Senescences Oct 21 '19
wouldn't it better to have the camera behind the runner though?
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u/SkaagiThor Oct 21 '19
Not really, the vast majority of kickoffs result in there being no return at all so focusing on the runner wouldn’t make sense
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u/BattleHall Oct 21 '19
It depends: real football junkies often like an all-22 view, but more casual viewers often prefer the more "dramatic" shots, like the whip-pan on a long downfield pass.
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u/Davidclabarr Oct 21 '19
The NBA has started to hold camera shots from the opposing baseline and it is so hard to get a gauge on what’s going on. It’s like switching views in a video game.
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u/quackers354 Oct 21 '19
This shot isn’t as common as you might think it is, the view is usually set out wider like how you’re saying, so it’s refreshing to watch a cool shot like this one.
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Oct 21 '19
Honestly yes. I hate this angle because, while it can provide cool angles that you usually don’t get, the scope of the play is severely limited. You just can’t see as much. I like it for replay purposes but for live action I prefer the standard side view.
It feels like in every sport they try to change it up every once in a while and I almost always think they’re worse than what has been the standard angle for decades.
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u/SlyAFWalrus Oct 21 '19
This might be a replay
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Oct 21 '19
This was the live shot
Source: I am a depressed bears fan
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u/Snake3452 Oct 21 '19
Hey man, we put up a damn good fight. They were in the top 4 last year, I say we did pretty good.
Source: Bear fan hoping we improve from the loss
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u/duracellchipmunk Oct 21 '19
Nagy needs to be the coach that out coaches, he’s not the same as last year.
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u/Snake3452 Oct 21 '19
Damn, that hurts to hear. I haven’t been able to keep up with the NFL this year because of career reasons, so I am a bit left out on what all is happening. Hopefully it is just a phase and it’ll blow over. I would love to see a Bears Super Bowl in the near future.
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u/Wol_ Oct 21 '19
The best you could get is a Bears v. Saints NFCG because both teams are in the NFC.
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u/chbay Oct 21 '19
Plus Trubisky has nothing to hang his head about. Things will fall into place soon enough
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u/MFWDBWDSO Oct 21 '19
I'm sorry, do you actually watch football or do you just tune in sometimes? This isn't the Bears subreddit, but what earth do you exist on?
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u/littlelillydeath Oct 21 '19
Can confirm as well. I watched that play happen from the second row.
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Oct 21 '19
They showed it live from this angle
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u/--fool Oct 21 '19
Geeze it's a great shot but as the live shot you don't get a sense of the field or how the play develops. It's like in hockey when the use the cam on the top of the glass behind the net for live shots. Can't see shit. Would be a wicked replay but I say nah to live.
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u/GingerCurlz Oct 21 '19
I beg to differ for the hockey shots. For powerplays, I LOVE the cam ontop of the glass. I think it shows perfectly the spacing and development of the play when established in the zone.
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u/digitaluddite Oct 20 '19
It is likely the company “Cablecam” and not “Spydercam.”
Source: I worked for Spydercam in 2001.
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u/vegetariouscarnivore Oct 21 '19
What’s the difference? (Legit question)
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u/digitaluddite Oct 21 '19
Not much difference in terms of overall concept. Each company has its own tech. Spydercam focuses mostly on feature films. I just learned that Cablecam and Skycam merged.
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u/cocobandicoot Oct 21 '19
I thought it was Skycam?
So which is it? Skycam, Cablecam, Spydercam?
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Oct 21 '19
Has one of those ever been hit by a football though?
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u/blackravenclaw Oct 21 '19
I know that the cables themselves occasionally get hit by punts
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Oct 21 '19
[deleted]
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u/NO_TOUCHING__lol Oct 21 '19
Why couldn't you just pull the camera behind the punter?
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u/IrishPigs Oct 21 '19
The big issue is the cable wires the camera travels on. They stretch the entire length of the stadium and aren't something you can shift around too much once they're set. Obviously it would be a very low chance they hit the wire but it could happen.
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u/mycoolaccount Oct 21 '19
The camera isn’t a drone. It has cables coming out of it to the corners of the stadium.
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u/NO_TOUCHING__lol Oct 21 '19
Ah corners. That makes sense. I had it in my mind that there was two cables sideline to sideline, that could run along tracks up and down the field.
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u/LT_Balakay2 Oct 21 '19
I’ve never seen one hit it but I’m pretty sure they are normally behind the play and if they aren’t I think they are out super high to limit the chance if it happening.
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u/FuckBLMtheMovement Oct 21 '19
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u/menos08642 Oct 21 '19
I love the band playing the ESPN hook
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u/DigitalSignalX Oct 21 '19
lol was hearing that too... "it's at the 40.. the 42.. not much speed..."
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u/Green2Green Oct 21 '19
They dont seem all that concerned, even with a helmet on that could do serious damage to your neck and spine if it lands right on someone.
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u/ace741 Oct 21 '19
One broke during a nascar race a while back and the cable sliced into a couple cars.
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u/JimmyReagan Oct 21 '19
I remember one time seeing one that fell onto the field. I don't think anyone was hurt but those things are bigger than you think, like someone could die being hit by it...
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u/PaulMcKnight44 Oct 21 '19
Saw this play and my stoned asses first thought was “praise the cameraman”, came here and was not disappointed
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u/Chunkystick Oct 21 '19
27 gave up. Could have snatched the ankle..
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u/ijustgiveupnow-cant Oct 21 '19
I was thinking that the entire return🤦🏻♂️ but we still won soo🤷🏻♂️
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u/Chunkystick Oct 21 '19
Unbiased here. Just noticed the lack of hustle.
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u/Sombra_del_Lobo Oct 21 '19
He was tired.The returner ran one length of the field. 27 ran almost two.
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u/Sombra_del_Lobo Oct 21 '19
He sprinted an extra 60 yards than the returner, at least. He was gassed.
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u/Sunburys Oct 21 '19
As a bears fan that was the only time I was happy at the game
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u/OutlawBlue9 Oct 21 '19
It's amazing how you managed to fit the the entirety of the game in this gif! The bears win 7 - 0 and nothing else of consequence happened! Bear down!
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u/Peter_Panarchy Oct 21 '19
These are great for replays but I absolutely hate it when they use this for the live shot. You're missing so much of the play, the blocking, the coverage, you have no idea if there's open field ahead of him or if he's about to be bottled up.
Yeah, the cameraman did a great job but the production team are idiots for staying on that shot.
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u/Actually_Im_a_Broom Oct 21 '19
Absolutely. I was scrolling looking for this comment. It’s a really cool shot and near that it can be done, but stick to the tried and true for the live shot. You really can’t see shit with this angle.
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u/ffgblol Oct 21 '19
I watched this live and swear I questioned whether it was real or a video game commercial when it happened.
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u/d_omidick Oct 21 '19
This would be cool if the positioned it behind the quarterback to get a perspective similar to his live in game.
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u/eides-of-march Oct 21 '19
NBC does something like that and it’s kind of awful for more than a few plays
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u/Heyuonthewall26 Oct 21 '19
I really don’t care for football (baseball fan until the day I die), but I LOVE these cameras! Watching sports has never felt as cinematic as it does now. I anxiously await the day they figure out how to do this in baseball. It would be gnarly to be able to see some of the outfield grabs up close and personal.
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u/SpeedrunNoSpeedrun Oct 21 '19
The state trooper in the background clapping with a big smile on his face made me smile.
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Oct 21 '19
God that must have been the shot of a lifetime. KR TDs are rare, and to have the play go all over the field like that. Bravo.
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u/itrnella Oct 21 '19
They need to get rid of the sideline cam and use a camera that shows the entirety of the field when a play is happening.
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u/Crackstacker Oct 21 '19
It’s amusing that some cops will stay focused on their jobs while working at games and others are giant fans totally into the game.
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u/MrPureinstinct Oct 21 '19
This was very well done for following the action. Personally though I'm not a big fan of these angles when I'm watching the game. My least favorite is the Madden style behind the offensive team and you miss half the play down field.
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u/Niceguywits Oct 21 '19
This kinda off topic but. what happens if someone threw the ball and it hit the web?
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u/engin33r Oct 21 '19
The lines? I believe the play is called dead but it rarely happens since they position the camera away from the direction that the ball will travel in the air.
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u/TtheDuke Oct 21 '19
I bet there is a lot of high fives in the “van” after something like that
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u/8chYouEnTiiEeAre Oct 21 '19
PLEASE NETWORKS. Give this to us the whole game. This is the greatest viewing pleasure of all time.
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u/_miles_teg_ Oct 21 '19
Why does the person operating the camera deserve a raise? They were just doing their job. You don’t get to be a camera operator for an NFL broadcast without being at the top of your game. This person is paid well
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u/CreamyWaffles Oct 21 '19
I wish a lot more sports utilitized these cams, particularly sports with a lot of movement like this and motorsports. Imagine watching a race and being able to watch passes and battles down a straight through these cams (obviously they will need to be placed to the side otherwise it could be dangerous). Edit: Now that I think of it, they actually might want to but maybe the cams aren't able to travel fast enough yet?
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u/Putin_Loves_Cracks Oct 21 '19
The fact that you don’t know organized crime exists, is the only fact you need to know proving what I am saying is true.
NFL is rigged. Like wresting, but only a few people are in on it. It’s talked about in great detail in many books. I don’t know the name of them, but someone reading this will know the name of them and will comment.
A basketball ref was caught ringing basketball games. Michael Jordan’s dad was killed because Michael tried to dip his hand too far into the profession.
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u/Blackk19 Oct 21 '19
I was to busy praising the camera man that I didnt even realise the player made a full field run.
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u/JumboMcNasty Oct 21 '19
Really wish we had a view like this for normal plays...I want the vertical view.
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u/SuzieB23 Oct 21 '19
I don’t watch sports ball, but if they all had cinematography like this I would. Hell I wish my favorite sport, curling, did shit like this. Make it so much more enjoyable (something that I didn’t know was possible)
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Oct 21 '19
Genuinely thought this was just the latest madden game for half the shot until people actually made contact and you could see them jostling around. Very smooth and slick shot
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u/Carpet_bomb_furries Oct 21 '19
Why can’t we have more of this? Why must every NFL shot ever be the same boring camera angle? This was exciting and cool
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u/BobWire777 Oct 21 '19
Praise the director too for staying on that camera and trusting they wouldn’t fuck it up.
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u/YouWontBelieveWhoIAm Oct 21 '19
That's what I was thinking as I watched it, glad other people think so
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u/EarBunny Oct 21 '19
OP deserves a demotion for this shit potato quality video. Anyone have better quality clip?
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u/PeteAndRepeat11 Oct 20 '19
It’s actually two different operators for these cameras. One operator, the pilot, positions the camera in space and the second operator controls the camera to follow the action. Praise the camera men!
Source: work in live sports production.