[spisla]

So, I've seen a few too many threads talking about paintball on TV/Olympics/X-games etc. And one of the things that always comes up (That I've noticed) is that paintball is really hard to follow and show on TV or a webcast. So, I thought it would make for a good discussion. What do you guys think should happen to make paintball an easier sport to follow? Now, it could be a completely new format, adding/removing certain things or anything you want really!

Just to be clear, this is ONLY referring to paintball being easier to watch and follow for a random person on the street. Not on how to bring more people into the sport or whatever (No ramping, lower ROF that stuff.) I just want to know what you guys think would help the sport be easier to watch. If you don't think it can, say why!


I'll start off I guess. I think it would be great if we could use cameras on the players to "live-stream" footage. We could have the screen split or have a little section pop up (sort of like a "Picture in picture" thing) if a player gets into an intense gun fight that would be pleasing to watch. Or why not the two players that are involved in it? The live-streaming would also be nice for replays, say a player makes a big move, we could see it from his perspective almost seconds after. IMO, the R7 is a step in the right direction for this.

Of course, there ARE problems to this. It would be difficult to get an HD camera to stream HD footage instantly onto a player. It would be really low quality, and probably not even be worth showing if we used something like a go pro, contour or the R7. Then you have the problem of syncing the cameras up with the players that are on the field at that time. One substitution and it might take a while to link it up. A new format could help though (longer games/points) and then, you have to have someone watching 10 cameras at once, and figure out who is who. Unless the players have their name and number in a corner or something, I don't know.

Well, I tried, Now I want to hear what you guys have to say.

[andrewthewookie]

I just posted this in the Olympics thread, but fits in here as well:

If we're going to have people watch paintball, it has to be in full HD. No exceptions. The commentators also have to be good; a good commentator can make it or break it for me. The camera operators need to know when to follow someone, and when to focus on someone running the field, or someone grabbing the flag; or at least put someone in the producer's booth who knows when to switch cameras.

[spisla]

andrewthewookie, on 30 July 2012 - 02:01 PM, said:

I just posted this in the Olympics thread, but fits in here as well:

If we're going to have people watch paintball, it has to be in full HD. No exceptions. The commentators also have to be good; a good commentator can make it or break it for me. The camera operators need to know when to follow someone, and when to focus on someone running the field, or someone grabbing the flag; or at least put someone in the producer's booth who knows when to switch cameras.

I agree with the HD, and yes, commentators can make or break it. I don't know his name, but whoever does all the PSP webcasts (I think his name is Mat or Matty or something idk) Is really good IMO. Oh, and 1,000,000 yes on the camera operators needing to know WHAT to focus on.

And something that's always bothered me, why aren't there any cameras on the dorito side of the field? A lot of stuff happens over there that you don't get to see very well..

[PsychOfMSE]

I think some kind kind of graphic that shows a top down view of the field and the position of each player in real time would help a LOT with understanding the movement tactics of a team.

[spisla]

PsychOfMSE, on 30 July 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

I think some kind kind of graphic that shows a top down view of the field and the position of each player in real time would help a LOT with understanding the movement tactics of a team.

Do you mean a bird's eye view?

[Beastpaintball413]

The psp commentator name is Matt marshel he used to play on I believe xsv

This post has been edited by Beastpaintball413: 30 July 2012 - 02:26 PM

[spisla]

Beastpaintball413, on 30 July 2012 - 02:24 PM, said:

The psp commentator name is Matt marshel he used to play.

There we go, I knew it was Matt something.

[HU Soldier]

what makes it hard for me to watch is how it stagnates which is hard to overcome without going into the techanical side of things, but anyways, yes i believe personal cameras for 1st point of view would be cool and change up the camera angles every once in a while please!

[paintballguy2255]

Yeah,someone who plays or used to play will commentate much better than someone who doesn't.

[Panda's Revenge]

If we're gonna have an announcer, it better be Matty Marshal.
Otherwise I ain't watching shit.

[spisla]

Panda, on 30 July 2012 - 02:32 PM, said:

If we're gonna have an announcer, it better be Matty Marshal.
Otherwise I ain't watching shit.

I'm sure there are other announcers that are just as good as Matty. But, if paintball ever does get back on TV, Matty should definitely be the first choice to commentate.

[crPaliza]

Add or add more hidden cameras on the bunkers and encourage players to use POV cameras for better footage/perspective of a match. Ideally, I think they should customize the masks professionals use by having the camera in the goggle like on cellphone camera's such as the 4S.

[Irish725]

I think having an overhead camera would be good too, kind of like an eye in the sky. It would over look everything so you could see players on both sides at the same time no matter where they were hiding in their bunkers.

[Beastpaintball413]

Does anyone remember how bad the commentators were on the espn paintball.

[spisla]

Yeah, I never understood why they don't have a camera right in the center. Maybe it isn't as good as it sounds.

[Panda's Revenge]

spisla, on 30 July 2012 - 02:37 PM, said:

Panda, on 30 July 2012 - 02:32 PM, said:

If we're gonna have an announcer, it better be Matty Marshal.
Otherwise I ain't watching shit.

I'm sure there are other announcers that are just as good as Matty. But, if paintball ever does get back on TV, Matty should definitely be the first choice to commentate.

Well I'm just saying as a choice, doesn't have to be him, like you said there are also good ones but he's one that's known by many Paintballers.

[PsychOfMSE]

spisla, on 30 July 2012 - 02:20 PM, said:

PsychOfMSE, on 30 July 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

I think some kind kind of graphic that shows a top down view of the field and the position of each player in real time would help a LOT with understanding the movement tactics of a team.

Do you mean a bird's eye view?

Kind of. More like a small graphic sitting in the corner of the screen with a mini top down animated graphic of the field with circles behind each bunker with a players number inside. Display this throughout the whole match and update it real time as moves are being made. Have colored player numbers depending on which team they are on.

[spisla]

PsychOfMSE, on 30 July 2012 - 02:57 PM, said:

spisla, on 30 July 2012 - 02:20 PM, said:

PsychOfMSE, on 30 July 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

I think some kind kind of graphic that shows a top down view of the field and the position of each player in real time would help a LOT with understanding the movement tactics of a team.

Do you mean a bird's eye view?

Kind of. More like a small graphic sitting in the corner of the screen with a mini top down animated graphic of the field with circles behind each bunker with a players number inside. Display this throughout the whole match and update it real time as moves are being made. Have colored player numbers depending on which team they are on.

Oh, I get what you're saying. That's a really interesting idea...

[ShadowZero]

Also, for the average person, it's not easy to understand penalties/how the game works. So like, a little debriefing before the match starts would help them understand.

And then, when a penalty is called, someone HAS to explain what happened. Be it playing on, wiping, spinning on someone, etc. Whichever!

I do like the bird's eye view idea.

[TK-421]

Definitely need to have every player using an R7 on their feedneck or a similar camera, so that we can see things from a player's perspective. Helmets on the camera generally get blocked by the bunker or hopper and make it boring to watch. A camera attached to the feedneck and sitting above the barrel is almost never blocked. Also need the system to be setup so that the viewer can watch multiple different angles simultaneously on one screen, allowing them to watch their team's side of the field, a player cam or two, along with the whole field, so that they can see what's going on.