Sports Media

Over the break, a father asked me to videotape his son's football game and edit the good plays he makes into a high-light real. He gave me a hand held camera and told me the different angles to shoot at for where his son would be on the field, whether it was defense or offense. This was by far the hardest event I ever shoot at. Football is such a quick game and i was constantly losing concept of where the ball and Jon were. Jon played the running back position so he was pretty much on every play. Jon's father wanted me too be zoomed in as much as possible and to always have his son on camera.

Towards the second quarter, my hand was already starting to get tired, and there was nothing i could really do about it. A tripod would have rally been handy. After halftime, Jon rushed for a 47 yard touchdown, breaking three tackles and diving into the end zone. The best part was that he was running towards me the entire time, so the shoot does like pretty cool as i zoom out and refocus during the play.

In post, I added some music and labeled what each short bit was before playing it. Mr Struss, Jon's father, was very please with what I accomplished and said that if Jon's team makes it to the championship, he would ask me to do the same thing again. Then it hit me. There are so many parents that spend a tremendous amount of money to have highlight tapes shoot for their son or daughter. So currently, I am making a website that will be linked on my old school's website for parents interested in a highlight tape for their child's college resume. I already have gotten few phone calls, and have 3 jobs for when I go back home after christmas. I think I might really have something here. Once the site is finished, I'll post again and have a link to the main page.

Pulling off a sports movie

As an avid sports sports fan, every time a sports movie comes out I have to go see it. Whether the movie be about golf, baseball, hockey, basketball, etc., I must see it. I finally got to see the most recent blockbuster sports film to come out, Moneyball, on Friday night. While the performances were awesome (Brad Pitt kills it as Billy Beane), I couldn't help but come out of the movie disappointed. The main problem with the film is that while it is based on the book, it is also based on the 2002 Oakland Athletics 2002 season. While it may have appeared to make sense to a regular movie goer, there were so many holes in the story. Several key players were left out of the movie and many of the motives and and key plot points that drive the story line simply didn't happen.

This is what poses the main issue for sports films that are based on true stories, the outcome is already decided. Whenever I go into a sports movie, if it's based on a true story, I always know the end. It makes the film less exciting for me because I want it to look and feel just like the real thing did. An example of this is the film Miracle. The movie is about the 1980 USA mens hockey team that beat the USSR in the Lake Placid olympics. While the movie was good, I didn't get the excitement I was looking for because I already knew the final result.

One of my other favorite sports films is Eight Men Out, the story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, better known as the Black Sox. Eight members of the team famously took bribes from Chicago gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series and were promptly banned from baseball the following year. Another main problem with sports films is finding actors who are athletic enough to play professional athletes. This is an example of a film that does a marvelous job at simulating game action.

Maybe I take sports films a little to seriously because of my fandom and attention to detail when it comes to the quality of what I am seeing related to sports films, but thats probably why my favorite sports movie doesn't take itself to seriously.

My favorite sports movie of all time is the Sandlot. It's the classic story of the new kid on the block that finds friends through the game of baseball and the magical sandlot where they play. Yes it's corny and silly but the movie is heartwarming and a true classic for any baseball fan .