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I was thinking that same thing yesterday. "Damn, there have been some great moves and passes in that section....too bad for everyone watching on TV it just looks like the rider is on a pogo stick for 10 seconds"
But what do I know, that's not even 2 cents worth.
Contrary to the opinions of some people on this board, the camera placing is deliberate to give the best view of the racing to the TV audience. In Washougal's case, putting a camera anywhere other that the entrance/exit of the whoop section won't give a better view of the action. At best, you'll actually miss passes because the camera will be panning to catch something else (which already happened several times yesterday). At worst, the camera will have to be so close to the track that anyone watching on a device bigger than an iPhone will get motion sick from the panning.
The Shop
Would an overhead crane or drone give a better view or is it not possible?
I've never been there either, but from watching on TV over the years, the trees where smashingpumpkins is standing don't look like they would allow a TV tower (like the scissor lift in the background) to fit there. I don't know if it's cost prohibitive, or even logistically possible, but one idea might be to do something like that overhead camera/zipline thing they use at Supercross. They could have it running the length of the whoops, just above crowd level. It would definitely give the audience an idea of the speed these guys carry through that section.
I take it the visibility with trees, etc, makes it hard to place cameras in better spots, but damn, the amount of times the camera switched to the next camera, only to focus on an empty corner for a second or 2 was frustrating. Links between cameras didn't have much flow at all.
Same people running the show it will produce the same results....
Pit Row
My daughter was so good, she rode them backwards.
I get the feeling that most of the camera ops and producers used for the Outdoors are all newbies that don't have a lot of motorsports experience. We seem to be the training ground for a lot of broadcast crew. Once they get some experience they move on and the cycle repeats itself. Such is the life when you are a niche sport with a relatively low viewership.
This has happened so many times this year. An intense last lap battle and they cut back to the leader who has a 15 second gap. We watch him cross finish line and ride to the podium. And then we never know how the other intense battles turned out.
Agree with all of the above on the whoops. There's plenty of room to add a side angle. The whoops at Washougal are such a signature part of the track they need to do a much better job.
The same goes for most of the tracks. Most tracks have a signature section but you rarely see it captured properly.
Another peeve ... they stay with the same riders too long. Occasionally they cut away to other riders ... but then they stay with those riders too long.
And the last lap / finish routine drives everyone nuts. If there is some contractual requirement to show the lead rider ... even when he is cruising around at half speed then they need to have other cameras ready to capture any kamikaze last lap battles behind the leader.
Post a reply to: Can we please get a better shot of the Washougal whoops