sathishgobi
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In the present day of sports broadcasting, where most cricket and football matches are telecast in High Definition and with TV anchors, commentators, spider cams and microphones capturing the event as it unfolds, the viewer is very much part of the show. But chess had failed to do the same until the recently concluded World Chess Championship.
With not many willing to take the risk to produce the event that grabbed a lot of global audience, All India Chess Federation produced the event and thanks to the state broadcaster Doordarshan, it took the game to millions of households in India and as well as abroad. To get the act right, the AICF turned up to Vijay Kumar, the former chief producer of news and sports, Doordarshan, for his inputs. Kumar is one of the most experienced sports producers in India, with the 1987 cricket World Cup being his first major global event.
This was only the second instance of chess being broadcast live in India and Kumar says the experience has been different. “We decided to have a pattern and work on it because there is not much of an action in chess compared to other sports. The focus here is on just two individuals, which would be a fixed thing throughout the event.”
With the action being restricted to the board, the commentators’ task became crucial. “We have the engines (computer) to support the commentators. With the help of the engines, the commentators get an idea of what’s happening on the board. So when a player makes a mistake, the engine shows how much it can cost the player and they also use the engines for statistics. Some moves could have been similar to what Gary Kasporav or Bobby Fischer played and the commentators make a point to pass on the information to the audience,” Kumar said, adding that the other most important thing was to use simple and basic words.
Though the action is limited, the production team had as many as 10 cameras with three manning the cube where the action unfolded. “Those three cameras inside the playing room were remote control ones. So if we needed a different shot, we used it accordingly. The board as well as the pawns and pieces had microchips installed in them. So when a move was made, we received signals and the board which is shown to the viewers got updated automatically,” Kumar said.
Though there are some technical problems in India because of the High Definition cameras that were used, Kumar said the coverage world over was top notch. “The whole event was shot in HD camera so the televisions which only had Standard Definition had a few technical problems, but that was sorted out. Once we decided on the master picture (the one which comes on TV) is decided, it was put out through DSNG which uplinks the HD version to the satellite and it’s downloaded to the DD studio in Delhi through optical fiber and from there it’s telecast live,” said Kumar, whose team was preparing for Monday’s presentation ceremony.
Source & Courtesy : Gadget boost for broadcasters -The New Indian Express
With not many willing to take the risk to produce the event that grabbed a lot of global audience, All India Chess Federation produced the event and thanks to the state broadcaster Doordarshan, it took the game to millions of households in India and as well as abroad. To get the act right, the AICF turned up to Vijay Kumar, the former chief producer of news and sports, Doordarshan, for his inputs. Kumar is one of the most experienced sports producers in India, with the 1987 cricket World Cup being his first major global event.
This was only the second instance of chess being broadcast live in India and Kumar says the experience has been different. “We decided to have a pattern and work on it because there is not much of an action in chess compared to other sports. The focus here is on just two individuals, which would be a fixed thing throughout the event.”
With the action being restricted to the board, the commentators’ task became crucial. “We have the engines (computer) to support the commentators. With the help of the engines, the commentators get an idea of what’s happening on the board. So when a player makes a mistake, the engine shows how much it can cost the player and they also use the engines for statistics. Some moves could have been similar to what Gary Kasporav or Bobby Fischer played and the commentators make a point to pass on the information to the audience,” Kumar said, adding that the other most important thing was to use simple and basic words.
Though the action is limited, the production team had as many as 10 cameras with three manning the cube where the action unfolded. “Those three cameras inside the playing room were remote control ones. So if we needed a different shot, we used it accordingly. The board as well as the pawns and pieces had microchips installed in them. So when a move was made, we received signals and the board which is shown to the viewers got updated automatically,” Kumar said.
Though there are some technical problems in India because of the High Definition cameras that were used, Kumar said the coverage world over was top notch. “The whole event was shot in HD camera so the televisions which only had Standard Definition had a few technical problems, but that was sorted out. Once we decided on the master picture (the one which comes on TV) is decided, it was put out through DSNG which uplinks the HD version to the satellite and it’s downloaded to the DD studio in Delhi through optical fiber and from there it’s telecast live,” said Kumar, whose team was preparing for Monday’s presentation ceremony.
Source & Courtesy : Gadget boost for broadcasters -The New Indian Express
