Stupid TV camera angles are stupid and ruin my viewing experience

[Standaa]

I was watching some of Fed’s practice sessions on youtube from a wonderful, great, court-level angle and I caught myself thinking "Am I enjoying this more than some of his matches?".

The answer would be yes, especially in the case of some of his Paris matches for example, solely because of the horrible camera angle. Seriously, I can appreciate his tennis and get engaged in it much more than when I have to watch it "from an outer space".

Anyone who understands tennis will get a much better sense of the pace, height and spin of the ball. Not only that, I feel like you can appreciate the skills of the players more, because it looks more difficult and feels "more real" from the typical practice court-level angle.

I don’t expect the tennis TV broadcasts to do something about it, because I get the reasons behind why it is this way, I just wanted to vent my frustration and express my disappointment when I think about what could’ve been if we had better angles. So many classic matches "wasted" by stupid camera angles.

 

[The Green Mile]

Don't worry, the viewing gets better next week at the Nitto ATP Finals..... Oh, wait.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

Buy a ticket.

 

[Standaa]

Buy a ticket.

There’s so much wrong in this short sentence than I don’t even know where to begin.

 

[Deleted member 763024]

There’s so much wrong in this short sentence than I don’t even know where to begin.

How about Beggars can't be Choosers?

 

[Standaa]

How about Beggars can't be Choosers?

Yeah, that idiom is all wrong.

 

[Sysyphus]

Agreed. Lower angles give a much more realistic impression of the tennis being played, and it can be very enjoyable. I love watching practice vids and court level footage for that reason.

A TV image is two-dimensional, and therefore the bird's eye view causes a foreshortening which gives the illusion that the play is slower than it actually is, and you can't really get a great feel for their spins and trajectories and so on. Of course, I do get the appeal of having greater oversight, but at the very least they should mix it up more or find some appropriate compromise.

 

[jm1980]

I was watching some of Fed’s practice sessions on youtube from a wonderful, great, court-level angle and I caught myself thinking "Am I enjoying this more than some of his matches?".

The answer would be yes, especially in the case of some of his Paris matches for example, solely because of the horrible camera angle. Seriously, I can appreciate his tennis and get engaged in it much more than when I have to watch it "from an outer space".

Anyone who understands tennis will get a much better sense of the pace, height and spin of the ball. Not only that, I feel like you can appreciate the skills of the players more, because it looks more difficult and feels "more real" from the typical practice court-level angle.

I don’t expect the tennis TV broadcasts to do something about it, because I get the reasons behind why it is this way, I just wanted to vent my frustration and express my disappointment when I think about what could’ve been if we had better angles. So many classic matches "wasted" by stupid camera angles.

Thanks, but no thanks

I'd like to see what the heck is going on, and a court level camera angle is terrible for that. Some tournaments switch to that camera every now and again, and it's a bad viewing experience.

You just can't tell where the ball lands on the other side, and you can barely see the opponent obscured by the net. Yuck!

 

[Standaa]

Thanks, but no thanks

I'd like to see what the heck is going on, and a court level camera angle is terrible for that. Some tournaments switch to that camera every now and again, and it's just torture.
You just can't tell where the ball lands on the other side, and you can barely see the opponent obscured by the net. Yuck!

Every camera angle has its pros and cons. But I would say that this description "you just can’t see what the heck is going" fits the classic TV angle much more. Cause I would take having the prefect view of the spin and the trajectory of the ball over seeing where exactly it lands on the opponent’s side. Plus you can see the opponent perfecly from the court-level angle, this is a good example.

Record this footage from a birds eye view and I probably wouldn’t even finish watching the practice video.

 

[jm1980]

Every camera angle has its pros and cons. But I would say that this description "you just can’t see what the heck is going" fits much the classic TV angle more. Cause I would take having the prefect view of the spin and the trajectory of the ball over seeing where exactly it lands on the opponent’s side. Plus you can see the opponent perfecly from the court-level angle, this is a good example.

Record this footage from a birds eye view and I’d probably wouldn’t even finish watching the practice video.

Now imagine if Fed is on the other side half of the time. Would you still like this camera angle? This angle is good for seeing the player on the near side, and that's about it

Any ball that lands deep on the other side is hard to see. Not to mention the player on the near side obscuring the ball and opponent fairly often

And also this is pretty close and tight. If the player moves to the left or right in a rally you either lose him, or the camera operator would have to follow him - something that's much more visually jarring when it's this close.

 

[Standaa]

Now imagine if Fed is on the other side half of the time. Would you still like this camera angle? This angle is good for seeing the player on the near side, and that's about it

Any ball that lands deep on the other side is hard to see. Not to mention the player on the near side obscuring the ball and opponent fairly often

And also this is pretty close and tight. If the player moves to the left or right in a rally you either lose him, or the camera operator would have to follow him - something that's much more visually jarring when it's this close.

Okay, but we can still reach a compromise, can’t we?

Look how beautiful Cincinnati’s camera angle used to be. Not only was it the only tournament to have it, even they had to get rid off it.

Now compare it with this monstrosity

If every tournament had the old Cincy camera angle, this thread probably wouldn’t exist. But that angle is non-existent and a lot of tournaments are close to the Paris camera angle. It’s high, the court looks wide and short. it’s all around bad.

And the bad TV angles peaked at this year’s USO

That being said, I still think it wouldn’t hurt if even the old Cincy camera angle was a little bit lower.

 

[Standaa]

This angle would be perfect, and it doesn’t have any of the flaws that @jm1980 talks about.

 

[jm1980]

Okay, but we can still reach a compromise, can’t we?

Look how beautiful Cincinnati’s camera angle used to be. Not only was it the only tournament to have it, even they had to get rid off it.

Now compare it with this monstrosity

If every tournament had the old Cincy camera angle, this thread probably wouldn’t exist. But that angle is non-existent and a lot of tournaments are close to the Paris camera angle. It’s high, the court looks wide and short. it’s all around bad.

And the bad TV angles peaked at this year’s USO

That being said, I still think it wouldn’t hurt if even the old Cincy camera angle was a little bit lower.

That's of course a matter of preference. I personally like Wimbledon's camera angle:

The USO only had an issue with Louis Armstrong in the first couple of days. The angle for Ashe was okay:

But this is too much:

 

[Standaa]

That's of course a matter of preference. I personally like Wimbledon's camera angle:

The USO only had an issue with Louis Armstrong in the first couple of days. The angle for Ashe was okay:

But this is too much:

Both better than the Cincy camera angle, or the angle in the Thiem - Dimitrov video?

 

[jm1980]

Both better than the Cincy camera angle, or the angle in the Thiem - Dimitrov video?

Yup. I am not a fan of court level angles. I wouldn't be able to watch a full match with that angle

 

[Standaa]

Yup. I am not a fan of court level angles

Even though your criticism of them in your earlier post can’t be applied to these angles I have listed?

 

[Robert F]

I prefer the more court level angle. But agree to some value for the overhead view.
I think we have the technology and resources to do both. Let the director switch angles from point to point.
Then when they replay it they can pick the best angle to show.

Too many times with the overhead view, I am amazed at how many balls players don't lunge for, but when you have the court perspective you can really tell how hard the ball was hammered and that there was no chance to get it.
Heck, some matches you watch overhead you think, I can hit faster than that (yes it is all perspective and I can't hit half as hard), but for the general public if they watch a match and feel the ball is just as fast as the regular club pro, that is a problem.

Court level views really make you appreciate how fast and how much spin is there. Mix that in once in a while.

 

[OhYes]

What I really hate to see is Fed playing someone 15 years ago in a video of such low quality that Paris angle looks captive & mesmerising.

 

[jm1980]

Even though your criticism of them in your earlier post can’t be applied to these angles I have listed?

Yes, because even though it mitigates some of my concerns, I still prefer a bird's eye view

Again, this is just personal preference. The angles are what they are probably because most people share that preference

 

[Standaa]

What I really hate to see is Fed playing someone 15 years ago in a video of such low quality

What do you mean?

 

[Robert F]

I still can't belief I used to watch it on an analog TV.
I must have imagined where the ball landed.
Life without HD would be hard.

 

[Freddy Cat]

Okay, but we can still reach a compromise, can’t we?

Look how beautiful Cincinnati’s camera angle used to be. Not only was it the only tournament to have it, even they had to get rid off it.

Now compare it with this monstrosity

If every tournament had the old Cincy camera angle, this thread probably wouldn’t exist. But that angle is non-existent and a lot of tournaments are close to the Paris camera angle. It’s high, the court looks wide and short. it’s all around bad.

And the bad TV angles peaked at this year’s USO

That being said, I still think it wouldn’t hurt if even the old Cincy camera angle was a little bit lower.

Really liked that Cincinnati camera angle, but the rallies made me feel so anxious -- you can truly appreciate just how fast some of the shots are coming in at, and not used to seeing how well players can actually deal with it.

 

[Federev]

This angle would be perfect, and it doesn’t have any of the flaws that @jm1980 talks about.

That is awesome.

And I totally agree w you about Bercy this year. It was an awful angle!

 

[MasterZeb]

I wouldn’t be a fan. It’s nice to see when I’m watching practice vids, buts it’s a real pain even when they rarely use it during the US hardcourt swing. It’s just frustrating to watch a match with it. I think Wimbledon and Australia have perfect camera angles

 

[Standaa]

That is awesome.

And I totally agree w you about Bercy this year. It was an awful angle!

Seriously, I’d even go as far as saying I prefer watching these two in the video over Fed-Djoko in Paris solely becuse of the angle. That’s how much a good angle matters.

 

[Red Rick]

I dislike the court level camera angle cause you can't see **** from the other side of the court

Cinci is okay Slams are all okay, although USO is a bit on the high side

 

[Standaa]

I dislike the court level camera angle cause you can't see **** from the other side of the court

Cinci is okay Slams are all okay, although USO is a bit on the high side

Cincy is def not okay. Used to be, but it’s not.

 

[OhYes]

What do you mean?

I mean, it seems ombelelable that we have so low quality videos of matches between 2000-2010, so low quality that you can't see the ball at all. Lumiere brothers could make better shots.

 

[upchuck]

Paris Masters is the absolute worst when it comes to camera angle. Ugh.

It's so dissatisfying how little the networks experiment with camera angle and how they spend +90% of matches with the same tired angle. Lazy people.