In the beginning, there was the camera, which begat the MiniCam, which begat BumperCam, which begat UmpireCam, which begat . . .
After awhile, ”Honey, I shrunk the lenses” became the rallying cry for techno-nerds throughout the television industry.
Where will it end? Not anytime soon, if the plans by USA Network and ESPN are any indication.
USA, which brought HelmetCam to its coverage of the World League, will use NetCam throughout much of its 90 hours of U.S. Open tennis coverage, which starts Monday. ESPN, which had GoalCam during its Sunday night NFL telecasts last season, will debut JockeyCam during its coverage of Sunday`s Arlington Million.
JockeyCam, developed by Aerial Video Systems, will fit a jockey`s helmet with a 4-inch camera. A power pack attached to the jockey`s waist will feed the signal to a helicopter overhead, then back to ESPN`s on-site mobile unit. ”We will be able to show what the traffic is like between horses,” said ESPN producer John Wildhack, ”and how a race can be won by a jockey`s quick reaction to even the smallest opening.”
NetCam, created by Broadcast Sports Technology, is about the size of a lipstick tube and will be placed on the net strap at center court. Since it will rest just below the top of the tape, NetCam-actually two high resolution cameras facing opposite directions-will be able to pan 180 degrees.
”It`s still in the experimental stage,” said USA tennis producer Gordon Beck. ”The technology has been around for about six or eight years. We tried (the earlier version), but we felt it didn`t add that much. This (NetCam)
evolved because a couple of our people wouldn`t let this thing go. When we tried it again on a tournament earlier this year, it provided pictures with a little more impact.”
Such as giving viewers an opportunity to see the players face-to-face.
”It`s as close to being out there as you can do on TV,” added Beck.
”We felt it was something worth putting out there to enhance the viewing pleasure.”
But is going small getting too big?
”If you`re doing something just because it`s new, that`s a mistake,”
said producer Bob Mansbach, in charge of CBS` U.S. Open coverage. ”If you`re doing something to help the viewer, you`re doing something positive.”
Mansbach gave the example of one network using a MiniCam at the recent Republican convention.
”They mounted it on a guy`s head, or his shoulder,” said Mansbach. ”It was like, `Let`s get as bad a picture as we can on the air just so we can say we had this neat, different picture.` That`s the wrong attitude.”
But that won`t stop CBS, which hardly used its touted BaseCam during its All-Star Game telecast this year, from trying again.
”We`ve looked at a NetCam from a different developer (than the one used by USA),” said Mansbach. ”We`re looking at the feasibility of using it the second weekend.”
The reason for all the experimenting is ”you always have to go to different levels,” said Mansbach. ”We`ve talked about things like SkyCam for an interesting view of serving. But how can you rig it without lobs hitting it?”
CBS tennis analyst Mary Carillo had a suggestion: LineCam. ”Instant replays of close (line) calls never show anything,” said Carillo. ”You`d have to park a camera right on the line. It`s so frustrating when they say,
`Let`s look at the replay.` Who knows? It looks exactly the same. In baseball, you can see everything. In tennis, the ball looks fuzzy, the line looks blurred.”
Hmmm. Maybe if they attached a teeny camera to a linesman`s belt buckle. . . . Naw.
– Stupidity piled on arrogance caused Chicago Cable viewers to miss out on Sunday night`s White Sox-Rangers telecast on ESPN. When a Chicago Cable representative was told the network was sending out two games, he insisted ESPN was showing only the Reds-Mets contest ”because that`s what it says in the monthly guide.” When told ESPN had changed its schedule this week, the Chicago Cable rep wouldn`t budge: ”It`s not in the monthly guide.” And cable operators wonder why Congress wants to regulate them again.
– Bears owner Mike McCaskey took to the airwaves Friday morning to explain how center Jay Hilgenberg got away and received these reactions: ”We need a new stadium, don`t we?” (Chuck Swirsky, WGN); ”You don`t have a clue” about running a team (Mike North, WSCR).
– Random thoughts: While CBS was forced to prematurely end its coverage of the World Series of Golf because rain Sunday forced a late start, ABC cut away before the end of the Little League World Series title game Saturday because it was running into time for the network`s local affiliates. You wonder if the same decision would have been made had the U.S. team been ahead instead of trailing 13-4. . . . They`d better bag those huge logos for a supermarket chain at Texas Stadium before NFL fields start looking like NHL ice rinks. . . . TBS` Joe Simpson on Phillies catcher Darren Daulton, tied for the league lead in RBIs this year: ”One of the keys to his season has been staying out of Lenny Dykstra`s car.” Ouch.
– ”The SportsChannel Report” adds a new wrinkle starting Monday. In addition to its regular 10:30 p.m. time slot (10 p.m. Sundays), a special edition of the program will air immediately after every White Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls game on the cable station. . . . WGN-Ch. 9 sports anchor Dan Roan hosts
”Bears Rookie: Playing for Keeps” at 7 p.m. Thursday. The half-hour documentary follows fourth-round draft pick Will Furrer from training camp to cutdown day. . . . In addition to WLUP Radio, all Illinois football games will be carried by WLLI-FM in Joliet. . . . ”Inside the NFL,” hosted by Len Dawson, Nick Buoniconti and Cris Collinsworth, begins its 16th season at 10 p.m. Sept. 10 on HBO. . . . SportsChannel will air 72 college football games, starting with Bowling Green vs. Western Michigan at 6 p.m. Thursday. Among the other live telecasts are two involving Northern Illinois-Oct. 10 vs. Southern Mississippi and Nov. 21 vs. Toledo.
