10 Ways To Make Paintball Watchable
*Updated April 2015*
Paintball is hard to watch. I don't think I need to explain it in detail since being here you've probably thought about it, but most folks will say it's because there's no focal point.
And that's probably true. It's freaking hard to watch a sport when you don't know where to look (like football). It's even harder to watch a sport when learning all about the sport doesn't even make it that much easier (unlike football). Paintball is screwed, they say. Let's give up on making it watchable and just enjoy playing. It aint broke so don't fix it.
Bah.
Yeah, so people have tried. The NSL. Redzone tried too, probably more successfully. Moneyball... let's not even go there. But do we really need a whole new format? Nah. Just a few tweaks to what we've got. Here's a few potential ways.
1. Make that pull worth something
Sexy, sexy flagpull.
If you make a pull matter, teams will be more likely to grab the flag early - meaning the flag is in play more often and the guy with the flag is worth watching closely.
2. TOUCHDOWN
You mean it's not just team deathmatch!?
Ok so you've got the flag. What do you do with it? Wait until all the bad guys are shot and then walk it in is what you do with it 99.9% of the time, because you're a killer like that. A boring killer. But what if a hang just meant running past the opposition 20 yard line with the flag? You'd probably make a go at it wouldn't you?
This one is easy to tune. If the game devolves into storming the tape, change the endzone shape so it's like a smaller basketball 3 point curved line. If it's crazy and chaotic, move the lines back. If nobody bothers and it's the same old deathmatch, make the zones bigger. Tune it. It can't fail, just needs testing.
3. Get rid of the flag
Flags suck and are more work for lazy arse refs.
You don't want to run the flag in under fire? Fine. Just get your lazy self over the to score. No flag, but more focal point because you'll surely try this during a point and we'll know to watch because we'll see you moving up. And why not. While you're at it we'll be screaming at you to keep on being awesome, because that's what you'll be.
4. Start with the flag
Offense and Defense. Just try not to drop the ball.
Ok so now we're getting crazy (or are we?). Getting the flag is hard, so why not just start with it? Basketball knows best. The team that lost the last point start the next point with flag in hand. Now you know who's on offense and you know who to watch for the score. Throw in that touchdown line and you're balling. Why not use a nerf ball for the flag so people can pass?
5. Time is money
Oh crap. Run.
What if you got more points for stomping the other guys in less than a minute? 30 seconds? Think you'd try playing a little differently if you're down a few and running low on game time? Thought so. Try something. Make a run. Do something stupid and risky. It might just pay off, and we might just pay to see it.
6. Microphones are for spitting
If I can't hear you speak, I don't care what you're doing.
So you've got a focal point. Great. But folks at home don't care about the result if they don't care about the players, and they don't care about the players unless they can hear and see them. Get microphones on the field and let us hear the players and refs yelling at each other on the webcast. Commentary is great and all but don't mean squat when you can't hear the game. Paintball is all about yelling after all.
7. Faces are for humans
If I can't see your face, I don't care who you are.
That's what sells sport. It's not the game itself, it's the faces and the words and the story they tell. Who's the underdog? Who's the bad guy? Who's the hero? You get to know these players by watching them at work, not by interviews. Facial expressions sell the story, along with being able to hear the players.
Here's the deal: sports that don't show the faces of the players aren't as popular. That's because we react to and empathise with people, not masks. Example: NFL quarterbacks aren't allowed visors. The reason they don't allow them is because they know it's easier to be indifferent to someone you can't see, just the same as how it's easier to kill someone by pushing a button from miles away than up close in their face with a knife.
So guess what: we need clear masks for pros. Not those rubbish "clear" ones from back whenever that you couldn't actually see through - the lower needs to be made from the same stuff as the lens. With vents and antifog of course. It'll lose the bounce factor but everyone will be in the same boat. Sooner or later this has to happen if paintball is to become a spectator sport.
8. Uniforms are for teams
Busy designs don't work on camera or from bleachers.
This one. This one annoys me, not least because I'm an artist by trade. Why in the name of all that is paintball is it near *impossible* to tell most pro teams apart from more than five metres away? I mean I know everyone likes red and black (especially black), but if you're gonna design something for a webcast at least make it read from some kind of distance. Of the pro gear right now maybe three teams would cut it in any other sport before the authorities told them to get a real uniform. You know, like one that isn't the same colour as all the other teams. One with a design that looks good somewhere other than in a brochure, like on the field. Your awesome logopatterntattoodetailmesh might make you feel good, but from the other side of the field you're just another brownish blob. Get an actual uniform so I can tell what team you're on in something other than a closeup. I thought this was a pro league.
9. Refs are meant to look like refs
Oh look, extra players!!!
People watching shouldn't be all "who's that guy" - they should be "it's a ref!!" because they'll be able to actually read the word "REF" on the jersey when the camera isn't doing a full on closeup. People, your designs are nice, but busy designs don't work on camera. Either make the refs obvious, or make them wear camo so they dissapear. It's hard enough to tell who's who already.
10. Delayed coverage is the awesome
You only need three seconds.
Webcasts. If you're too stuck in the "aint broke so don't fix it" mindset to consider genuinely good ideas for the format, at least try this: the webcast is already a few seconds delayed by the time you see it. What's a few more? Those few more seconds can be a delay on the camera feeds and audio so that when the edit guy sees a sweet move he can cut to the camera that saw it and then you get to see the sweet move. You don't miss it while hearing the commentators yelling about the awesome on the other side of the field. One day, when it's cheap enough, this should be a priority for the webcast crew. Let's hope it already is.
Paintball is hard to watch. I don't think I need to explain it in detail since being here you've probably thought about it, but most folks will say it's because there's no focal point.
And that's probably true. It's freaking hard to watch a sport when you don't know where to look (like football). It's even harder to watch a sport when learning all about the sport doesn't even make it that much easier (unlike football). Paintball is screwed, they say. Let's give up on making it watchable and just enjoy playing. It aint broke so don't fix it.
Bah.
Yeah, so people have tried. The NSL. Redzone tried too, probably more successfully. Moneyball... let's not even go there. But do we really need a whole new format? Nah. Just a few tweaks to what we've got. Here's a few potential ways.
1. Make that pull worth something
Sexy, sexy flagpull.
If you make a pull matter, teams will be more likely to grab the flag early - meaning the flag is in play more often and the guy with the flag is worth watching closely.
2. TOUCHDOWN
You mean it's not just team deathmatch!?
Ok so you've got the flag. What do you do with it? Wait until all the bad guys are shot and then walk it in is what you do with it 99.9% of the time, because you're a killer like that. A boring killer. But what if a hang just meant running past the opposition 20 yard line with the flag? You'd probably make a go at it wouldn't you?
This one is easy to tune. If the game devolves into storming the tape, change the endzone shape so it's like a smaller basketball 3 point curved line. If it's crazy and chaotic, move the lines back. If nobody bothers and it's the same old deathmatch, make the zones bigger. Tune it. It can't fail, just needs testing.
3. Get rid of the flag
Flags suck and are more work for lazy arse refs.
You don't want to run the flag in under fire? Fine. Just get your lazy self over the to score. No flag, but more focal point because you'll surely try this during a point and we'll know to watch because we'll see you moving up. And why not. While you're at it we'll be screaming at you to keep on being awesome, because that's what you'll be.
4. Start with the flag
Offense and Defense. Just try not to drop the ball.
Ok so now we're getting crazy (or are we?). Getting the flag is hard, so why not just start with it? Basketball knows best. The team that lost the last point start the next point with flag in hand. Now you know who's on offense and you know who to watch for the score. Throw in that touchdown line and you're balling. Why not use a nerf ball for the flag so people can pass?
5. Time is money
Oh crap. Run.
What if you got more points for stomping the other guys in less than a minute? 30 seconds? Think you'd try playing a little differently if you're down a few and running low on game time? Thought so. Try something. Make a run. Do something stupid and risky. It might just pay off, and we might just pay to see it.
6. Microphones are for spitting
If I can't hear you speak, I don't care what you're doing.
So you've got a focal point. Great. But folks at home don't care about the result if they don't care about the players, and they don't care about the players unless they can hear and see them. Get microphones on the field and let us hear the players and refs yelling at each other on the webcast. Commentary is great and all but don't mean squat when you can't hear the game. Paintball is all about yelling after all.
7. Faces are for humans
If I can't see your face, I don't care who you are.
That's what sells sport. It's not the game itself, it's the faces and the words and the story they tell. Who's the underdog? Who's the bad guy? Who's the hero? You get to know these players by watching them at work, not by interviews. Facial expressions sell the story, along with being able to hear the players.
Here's the deal: sports that don't show the faces of the players aren't as popular. That's because we react to and empathise with people, not masks. Example: NFL quarterbacks aren't allowed visors. The reason they don't allow them is because they know it's easier to be indifferent to someone you can't see, just the same as how it's easier to kill someone by pushing a button from miles away than up close in their face with a knife.
So guess what: we need clear masks for pros. Not those rubbish "clear" ones from back whenever that you couldn't actually see through - the lower needs to be made from the same stuff as the lens. With vents and antifog of course. It'll lose the bounce factor but everyone will be in the same boat. Sooner or later this has to happen if paintball is to become a spectator sport.
8. Uniforms are for teams
Busy designs don't work on camera or from bleachers.
This one. This one annoys me, not least because I'm an artist by trade. Why in the name of all that is paintball is it near *impossible* to tell most pro teams apart from more than five metres away? I mean I know everyone likes red and black (especially black), but if you're gonna design something for a webcast at least make it read from some kind of distance. Of the pro gear right now maybe three teams would cut it in any other sport before the authorities told them to get a real uniform. You know, like one that isn't the same colour as all the other teams. One with a design that looks good somewhere other than in a brochure, like on the field. Your awesome logopatterntattoodetailmesh might make you feel good, but from the other side of the field you're just another brownish blob. Get an actual uniform so I can tell what team you're on in something other than a closeup. I thought this was a pro league.
9. Refs are meant to look like refs
Oh look, extra players!!!
People watching shouldn't be all "who's that guy" - they should be "it's a ref!!" because they'll be able to actually read the word "REF" on the jersey when the camera isn't doing a full on closeup. People, your designs are nice, but busy designs don't work on camera. Either make the refs obvious, or make them wear camo so they dissapear. It's hard enough to tell who's who already.
10. Delayed coverage is the awesome
You only need three seconds.
Webcasts. If you're too stuck in the "aint broke so don't fix it" mindset to consider genuinely good ideas for the format, at least try this: the webcast is already a few seconds delayed by the time you see it. What's a few more? Those few more seconds can be a delay on the camera feeds and audio so that when the edit guy sees a sweet move he can cut to the camera that saw it and then you get to see the sweet move. You don't miss it while hearing the commentators yelling about the awesome on the other side of the field. One day, when it's cheap enough, this should be a priority for the webcast crew. Let's hope it already is.
I agree with your camera ideas but it needs to be taken further than that. 1) Keep the cameras zoomed out so we can see more of the field. 2) cameras should be facing the backs of players, not the front. All we see is some guy shooting a gun but who knows where or what at. 3) PBA scoreboard needs to be smaller. 4) There is a d-side, right? FILM IT! Snake is cool but d-side is just as cool!
ReplyDeleteBut then you can't see the faces ;)
DeleteReally it's about mixing it up. Yes we need more over the shoulder shots and yes it would be nice to see where all the players are more often. Side on shooting shots are indeed boring and uninformative. But we definitely shouldn't zoom ALL the cameras out or ALWAYS only look at the players backs. Sometimes you want that reaction closeup, and if we had proper masks you'd be able to see what they're thinking.
As for the D-side - it's very hard to film it because the teams swap sides of the screen when the camera swaps sides of the field and that confuses the heck out of people. It's hard to get around.
With quad copters and good lite cameras maybe some "drone" shots moving from snake to behind then d side.. That continuity would help.. Just a thought
DeleteLOVE all these ideas. I'm a paintball diehard, and want to enjoy watching pro leagues. But the way they telecast it is just... atrocious. Especially with the uniforms. Dynasty, Ironmen, and possibly XSV are the only teams I can actually tell apart from the opposition more than a few meters out.
ReplyDeleteAs another thought, when playing some of these attack and defend games (which would be great, and the format works in practically every other big sport), you could put gun/mask cams on the players. With the delay built in, whoever's editing could easily cut to the most awesome first person shots. This would also allow them to replay eliminations (like when the flag bearer gets shot out). Jim, I like the idea of quadcopters and drone shots. Having a few of those traversing the field would make for some neat overhead footage.
I had read this post months ago and was disappointed when I accidentally lost its address. I'm happy to say your pbn sig brought me back. I'd keep that sig prominent as I feel there are a lot of good ideas presented here that should be shared. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteI like the mic'ed up idea. That would be pretty cool to hear them communicating to each other.
ReplyDelete