ELi5 How a cameraman at a sports event able to track a fast moving ball with such a great focus on it?
In: 2760
I ran camera for college football for about 15 years. Short answer is practice, long answer is practice and remarkable technology.
First thing to keep in mind is the cameras used aren’t your point and shoot style that regular consumers buy for $1000 or less. A single camera set up is hundreds of thousands of dollars with a couple getting into the millions.
They are made to do exactly this type of shooting so having the proper equipment makes the job 1000s of times easier.
Second is the practice and experience. The way the cameras and the controls work how much or little force to use when focusing, zooming, turning the camera on the tripod, ext. The cameras are usually super balanced and can be turned with zero effort. Having said all that the camera guys still mess up frequently (see pump fake shots!) but unless you know what to look for a good camera operator can mask mistakes and make the shot still look decent.
I compare it a lot to playing a new video game. When you first get it and don’t know what all the buttons do, what combos you can hit, and how much you can push the envelope and still “survive”.
But after a few hours of play time and some basic instruction most people get very fluid with the movements of the game. It works the same way with running a camera. Your just pushing buttons and levers and turning your screen.
It got to be second nature on kick off to start off showing the whole kicking team and once the ball is kicked be able to zoom in on the football in the air full frame before backing out enough to get the person catching the ball fully in shot before he catches it. Looks impressive but is one of the easier things to do once you get the hang of it because the movement and speed of the ball stay very consistent.
Hope this helps!
Latest Answers