Executive Producer Report
Queens College Intro to Sports Broadcasting
Executive Producer Name: (You)
Name of show: UEFA Champions League: Manchester United vs Juventus
Location: Old Trafford (Manchester, UK)
Network: BT Sport
Airdate and time: 23 October 2018
SUMMARY OVERVIEW:
The BT Sport crew did this game justice, but did the show a disservice. It was a
crucial game to watch considering the stories that were going to be focused on. I do
believe there were things that I would have conducted differently but I believe that is
because I’ve grown up watching soccer religiously and have seen much better and
emotionally wearing matches. I’m emotionally invested in many of the players on from
both clubs because I’ve followed their careers most of my life. However, I felt that even
without my knowledge of the clubs and players, viewers were provided with stimulating
and expertly executed coverage throughout the game. This game in particular was
unique for the storylines. In a game between two clubs with long histories of great
competition I was anticipating the show to focus on the two players who have played
for both clubs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba. I was not disappointed, while much of
the screen time was dedicated to Ronaldo the show was able to tie in underlying
messages of what it means to be a great player and a player that becomes an icon.
PRODUCER EVALUATION:
How were storylines presented and followed throughout show?
I believe that the game storyline was set up very well. A match between these two
giant clubs is always an interesting affair. While this game wasn’t a make or break for
either club, every game in the Championship League is instrumental. Juventus was
favored to win despite the match being at Manchester United’s home, Old Trafford.
Distinguished as one of the most wildly successful clubs, Manchester United, has been
known historically for their grit and tenacity. These are traits that allowed them to
dominate the EPL for so long. However, grit and tenacity cannot always outmatch
talent, intelligence, and overall experience.
The crew was able to accurately convey a sense that this was no normal game. They
concentrated primarily on Ronaldo’s return to the club that is credited with giving him
his breakout, Manchester United. By choosing to draw focus on Cristiano Ronaldo and
Paul Pogba, the show skewed more towards a Manchester United bias. The preshow
laid much of the groundwork for a majority of the game, having hosts known globally for
their accomplishments while playing professionally. Of the four preshow hosts, two
were Manchester United iconic veterans, Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes.
Understandably, Ferdinand and Scholes are realistic, yet hopeful, for a successful United
match despite the enormous talent that Juventus has accumulated and put out. The
post show discusses at length the reasoning behind United’s tactics, comparing their
performance to that of a team playing an away game, not one with a home advantage.
The post match analysis was spent discussing the evolution of the game, and a
critique of the quality that Juventus has versus that of Manchester United.
Were replays used effectively (examples)?
I found the use of previous seasons competitions between the two clubs in the pre
match commentary particularly compelling. Juventus’ recent acquisition of Cristiano
Ronaldo became a key feature of the entire show. Showing clips of Ronaldo’s beginnings
at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson nineteen years ago. Seeing the evolution
of both clubs under different management, players now retired, and players no longer
at those clubs accompanied with uplifting dramatic music accompanied a bombardment
of some spectacular moments between the two clubs
The use of replays was most effective while watching the fouls or more commonly
the diving. Many tackles were replayed from at least three angles in order for the viewer
to determine whether or not to agree with the referee’s decision or to see an injury of a
player closer up. setplays, saves, and ultimately the goal. Offsides were replayed to
answer the question of onside/offside, or as I would say determine if the referee is blind
or not. The goal by young Argentian, Dyballa, was replayed a grand total of eight times
after the goal occurred, three after the goal was scored (from various angles) and five
times following the immediate goal. Although the goal was never questioned, personally
it benefitted me as a viewer and player to see where the play started and why Dyballa
was wide open in front of the net with the time to finish the rebound.
So having said that, United did come extremely close to equalizing in the 75 minute
when Pogba turns and cracks a shot right outside the 20 yards. Outstretched Szczesny is
beat but the ball ricochets off the bottom of left-hand post. It bounces back onto the
keeper, smacking him in the head, and rolls out. This I found heart breaking since ninety
percent of the time that ball would have rebounded into the goal.
Is there anything that could have been done better?
BT Sport chose not to use graphics to show how the events of the play unfolded. I
felt that would have been a great benefit to the show positional-ly what could have
been changed and how both teams were utilizing the space on the field.
DIRECTOR EVALUATION:
How was the camera coverage of the game?
The camera angles for the pregame were your standard city and stadium blimp shots
followed by your sports analysts, players arrivals, pre recorded match interviews with
the players and then live interviews from the field with coaches or players. I felt that
some of the shots were underexposed and others were overexposed. I wasn’t
impressed but I wasn’t offended either. I thoroughly disagree with their choice to shoot
from a high tilted angle closer, it was weird, it was awkward, and it took me out of the
match because the angle was too similar to the high angle but not as intimate as the
ground camera coverage.
The camera angles for the walk out were skewed to focus on Ronaldo walking out. I
would have preferred to keep equal camera exposure on Ronaldo and Pogba. Both are
big name soccer players and both have played for Juventus and Manchester United.
They deserve the same amount and quality of shots as each other for the most part.
Staying centered in the shot during the walk through from over the top angle, or just
having a camera on either side so you get shots of both teams walking out.
I’m a fan of seeing the whole field. I like seeing how the players shift, where the ball
is switched to and how the players can so easily ping passes up the field. However,
How did the coverage of the game add to the drama and enhance the viewing
experience?
The coverage of this game in my opinion could have been done better. They
could have cut to fans in the stands. I wanted to see the Juventus fans celebrating when
Dyballa scored and I also wanted to see the distraught Manchester United fans. The fans
in the Champions League are one of the most under appreciated aspect of the matches
and the show. The match would not be nearly as emotionally wearing without the
thousands of fans that flock to the stadiums. To me, one of the most striking images is a
shot of the fans behind the players after they score a goal. It is the most raw passion
and emotion that you can see on in a game collectively, and afterwards you can feel the
adrenaline fueling the entire dynamic on and off the field.
Did anything stand out from an audio perspective?
There was a few times during the match that I could hear the fans in the stadium
overpowering the voices of the commentators (not necessarily a bad thing) but it
caused the microphones to fritz out a bit. I personally wish I had been able to hear more
of the players’ action on the field because I like listening to how they communicate and
hearing the physical action on the field that makes me feel like I’m standing on the
sidelines with them. I wish that the BT Sport crew had been able mic the field so viewers
would have been able to hear the clanking of the ball when it hit the post, or so we
could hear what the ref was saying to the players, or hear the slide tackles, or the ball
being cleared out of the pressure.
ANNOUNCER EVALUATION:
Commentators: Darren Fletcher & Martin Keown
What did the announcers add to the storyline (emotional game, calls, effective
analysis…)?
I felt that the commentators were mediocre considering they weren’t able to get me
emotionally hyped and connected to the match. If I were not such a soccer fan I would
have sat there totally lost by what they were saying because of two reasons. One, they
were covering a lot of stats on a lot of players in a very short amount of time, and two,
they didn’t talk about any of the tactical choices that should have been made rather
than those being made. Actually, most of the time I just wanted them to shut up
because they were focusing on aspects of the game that weren’t relevant to either
teams success or failures.
They It was not only the replays that promoted Ronaldo, but the incessant
reminders from the commentators of his ties to the club. I personally found this a bit
tired and overdone after a while, considering that there were other stories that could
have been discussed. Ronaldo is without a doubt the biggest name on that field, but
Juventus is more than just Ronaldo, just like Barcelona is more than just Messi. Juventus
has other big names like, Dyballa, Pjanić, Chiellini, Bonucci, Matuidi that these
commentators would be discussing more if it wasn’t for Ronaldo. Manchester has many
names that are worth discussing too. In my opinion Ronaldo did not have his best game,
I don’t accept these commentators making allowances for him when he’s been playing
professionally for almost two decades. At his level, and with his experience, you have no
excuses about being “nervous” or “jittery”, truth is he wasn’t playing well. He chose to
sit back and not make Manchester United look like the joke it has become in the
Champions League out of respect. You know when Cristiano is playing hard. He’s
drenched in sweat, his face is stoney and taut with tension; it’s the look right before he
takes that free kick that you know will hit net. That wasn’t what I saw on that field from
him. I saw him having fun and felt that Young and Smalling did a fantastic job of isolating
and preventing Ronaldo from being as much of a threat as he normally would be
(despite him not trying his hardest). I was disappointed that both commentators failed
to call out Young and Smalling for their recklessness and their panicked forcing of the
ball out of bounds from the defense. I found it irritating that the announcers were not
giving De Gea enough credit. The man kept Manchester United in the game, a game that
could have easily been three or four nothing without his direction and abilities. Also,
they fail to call Lukaku out on his inability to be offensively effective for a single moment
throughout the game or the defenses lack of intensity to play out of the back and step
up with their midfield. They chose instead to focus on how Dyballa is “shockingly”
playing so well, like its not painfully obvious that the twenty four year old hasn’t already
earned his spot on the roster at Juventus well before Ronaldo swooped in and decided
to transfer to the club. It was Dyballa, not Ronaldo that put that ball in the net in the
game. Ronaldo had multiple opportunities that he couldn’t put away and yet this bias
from the commentators still make him out as this untouchable golden boy of
Manchester United.
GRAPHICS:
Were there quality animations during the show?
The graphics throughout the entire show were consistently the same theme and for
a majority of the show I felt that they were extremely informative. While I think their
use of the jersey icons with the players number and name is quite medieval considering
the technology we have available to us I understand it is easier to use then the player
headshots that both clubs have readily available on their websites. I can say I enjoyed
the use of the UEFA Champions League blue star as a transitional element for replays
and transitions.
Were statistics provided in an informative way?
I feel that the stats were very effective and they all tied together thematically in
color, shape, and opacity. I personally felt that the bright cobalt blue they chose should
have been a tad bit more muted in order to not detract from the shots behind it.
Was technology used?
Some technology was used but I feel that this show could have benefited from
having more use of it throughout the live match and during replays.
Were there any technical glitches?
Some minor technical glitches during the pre match show where the host kept
cutting off Rio Ferdinand in the middle of an important sentence. The other incident was
when the commentator’s microphones kept fluctuating because of the Manchester
United fans cheers and harassment.
THOUGHTS ON PRODUCTION:
Overall, I felt like this match had a lot of potential and BT Sports didn’t capture
the feelings that I know I can get from watching a beautiful game for numerous reasons.
I know that this game could have and should have been done better than how it was
aired. For your pre match show you have Manchester United icons at your disposal that
understand this game and I didn’t feel like they were asked the right questions. I
thought the filming could have been done from other angles and better shots should
have been chosen. I felt that the narrators should have focused on the game and tactics
instead of the past accomplishments of players from clubs and tournaments past.
Ultimately, I’ve seen shows worse than this, but I was wishing that it had been done
better.