Contact

Map

Turning a Backyard Football Game Into The Super Bowl
by Anthony Elias

    My friends called me up one day with a small idea. They play a traditional backyard football game every year, and were wondering if I would be interested in simply filming it for memory's sake. Immediately the possibilities began swirling in my head, and perhaps without thinking, promised them a full fledged filming of their game ala ESPN that would run on my high school television station during a prime time slot.

     At first the idea sounds simple, but incredulous at the same time...what's the big deal about a couple of kids playing a backyard football game and having a camera or two there to film them? The truth is, it was so much more than that...it took about a month and a half to plan this game, because it became an event. We had just about everything one could imagine at a normal sporting event...

·         A pregame press conference

·         The National Anthem being performed before the game

·         A live color commentary crew

·         A ceremonial coin toss that our former head principal who is a legend conducted

·         Two referees, real penalty flags, etc.

·         Teams had specialized uniforms,

·         The game was sponsored by two local businesses

·         The host home was more than accommodating with a huge tailgate party that over 65 people at one time were in attendance.

     My savvy technical director even created a scoreboard application that looked exactly like a real scoreboard, complete with a clock, music when the teams scored, and all the natural refinements. There was medical staff, security, sideline reporters, members of our school newspaper, yearbook, and television station on hand. There was a post game award ceremony. It was easily the most extravagant and important thing that I personally have been a part of. 

The only problem? The amount of organization involved with such a feat can be daunting, especially when you do not have access to the unlimited resources or budget that a media giant like ESPN has the luxury of tapping into. After a month of planning, and a successful filming and editing of the game, I have some tips for those who plan to do something similar with any event with limited resources.

1.   Take inventory of your resources.- The who, what, when, and where mean nothing without the "how". No matter how small or large the task, taking inventory will give you an idea of the potential and limitations of your project. For example, the more cameras you have available, the more angles and footage you can get. It also means you have to be able to power these cameras, and will most likely need extension cords. If you have external microphones, how far do they stretch to allow flexibility? If you don't have them, how do you plan to get decent audio?  Do you have access to powerful lights? If not, you will need to factor the weather and time of day into your event to take advantage of natural light. Knowing what you have available beforehand can save a lot of unnecessary distress as the date draws near.

2.   Evaluate your location.- When you are outside, most likely there was no architect or construction manager who laid out the backyard with a straightedge and balance. Every yard and piece of land varies in elevations, vegetation, angles. You may realize that the perfect place to put your camera turns out to be uneven ground and your footage is tilted. It's possible that the tree is blocking your camera's view. Perhaps when you are on the porch, you tend to get a lot more wind and background noise. Figure out the positives (to capitalize on) and the negatives (to avoid) of your location.

3.   Evaluate your angles.- If you have the resources (mainly cameras), one of the best luxuries you can pay your project is a variety of angles that enhance it. Multiple camera angles from multiple cameras give you flexibility, and the ability to pick and choose from many angles during the editing stages. For example a side view of a receiver running a route is fine. But a head on shot with the desired effect of the player literally coming at you into the camera is a whole other ballgame.  Make sure that your angles are not obstructed, or have gaping glares.

4.   Know your lighting.-My friends explained to me that their game is normally played at dusk with a couple of spotlights. And of course, strictly for their purposes, spotlights provided enough lights for the human eye to see with some difficulty. However, a video camera has a lens aperture that will expand to try and fit as much light in as possible in the dark just like the human eye. When it is dim, the aperture's expansion will distort the video, depending on how dark it is.  Therefore, I proposed using construction lights to illuminate the playing field which was about 20 yards long and 10 yards wide. This way, the cameras would have more light, and the tradition of the time slot for the game would be unaffected. Upon further review, and heeding a suggestion from one of my teachers, it became evident that the amount of light a camera needed in the dark could not be provided by a couple of construction lights. The best and most crisp picture could only be obtained using natural sunlight. We moved the starting time of the game until the afternoon, and when we thought that would solve that problem, we had another small problem. Natural light especially produces glare on certain angles, and our cameramen had to be constantly aware of the sun's position in the sky, and how it would affect us with glare or not. A minor issue, but one that could hurt the footage; and so despite having to make a concession for the game, the daylight infinitely enhanced the overall clarity of the footage, and was an extremely positive move. Anyone will support a move that will improve the footage, even at the expense of a couple of hours.

5.   Make proper concessions for audio.- Maybe you won't be using external microphones, or maybe you won't want audio at all. But in our case, we had a play by play crew who was doing the color commentary and they needed to be "mic'd" up. Because we didn't have the kind of microphones that clip on and are hooked up to a different source, we had to use external microphones that were hooked up to one of our cameras with an microphone port. One of the issues we had was the fact that the audio on one tape had to be relevant to all tapes by all three cameras we had filming. And if we ran out of tape on one camera, we had to substitute the tape and run a microphone extension to another camera to temporarily continue the audio. Plus, when there were three commentators, it was a bit of a hassle for them to continue to pass the microphone back and forth. There was some poor planning involved, and for future projects make sure you have a source dedicated strictly to audio that can be uninterrupted.

6.   Organize personnel.- Our game required a work force of about twenty five people, ranging from color commentary, cameramen, and even an officiating crew! There are plenty of ways to keep people organized and in the loop, but it requires some time. I utilized social networking such as Facebook, where I created a special private group for members of the crew where they could put their ideas and receive messages about key developments, dates, and times. Sometimes when you had a meeting, people didn't show up, or couldn't make it. This is normal, since many people have prior obligations. But for the most part its important to get as many people in the loop as possible. Everyone showed up the day of the event, and everything went according to plan, but only because everyone knew their jobs, and executed them properly.

7.   Pay attention to detail.- In our case, many would say we went overboard...but we just wanted to do the best we can. Because if you are not taking every endeavor with the purpose of giving 110% into it, don't bother. Don't sell yourself short. Make all the necessary adjustments, sacrifices, and improvements. If the security guards have a roster of who's supposed to be there, they can do their jobs with much more efficiency. If the sideline reporters actually dress in a suit it does add to the overall aura and effect. And who doesn't love a ref in stripes? In the end, you'll realize for the price of some cheap rope from Home Depot, you have a great and clear sideline...much better than a line drawn into the snow. 

8.   Stay within your budget.- The most important thing you can do is stay within your means. The reason you are on this website and reading this article in the first place is the fact that you don't have a blank check with which to work with, and every cent has to be well spent and decadence must come cheaply. We spent approximately $10 out of pocket on the whole event, and our sponsors were not even monetary sponsors, rather they donated simple things such as shirts, extension cords, etc. To be able to put an event of this magnitude using some resources readily available at your local hardware store, school, or even household for about 10 dollars? Definitely a huge plus, and I wish you luck with your special event!!!

Submitted 3/10/10

Comment on this article to Comments@informativesports.com

Contact the Mailbag if you have any Sports Questions 
Mailbag@
informativesports.com