A home for those who love almost everything about The Ticket (1310 AM, 96.7 FM, Dallas-Fort Worth), and who would like to discuss -- respectfully and fondly -- their thoughts on how (and whether) to eliminate the "almost."
Monday, January 31, 2011
Am I Missing a Pun Here?
Gigantic headline on The Ticket's Super Bowl page:
Super Bowl XLV is in Our Town
and Our Guys are Hitten it . . .
Come on, guys. I know it's a guy station and guys don't always spel gud, but really.
It seems like the promo dept. has a history of writing grammatically incorrect copy, either for on-air liners (of which Dan always point out) or via email, so I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt.
Also, given where the broadcast table is set up (at the very front, as if on display) and the fact that the hosts won’t be running amuck together in a hotel, I forecast that this Super Bowl week is going to be much tamer than we're used to, as evident by this morning's 8:40 segment (granted it's Monday morning, but still).
I do not have an answer, but figure this is a good place to ask a question: I heard the boys make a passing references to signing an agreement not to confront Nasty Nestor when he comes here for the Big Game. No details were given, though. Got any?
I believe in the tame 8;40 segment I listed above, The Musers spotted him. Gordon was walking to a location and had to turn abruptly around, saying "Oh, I just saw He Who Must Not Be Named." So it sounds like there's some sort of Greggo-style legal agreement signed, but I think it's signed just with the Musers, or maybe it was just enacted this week. Because last week or the week before last, The Hardline encouraged listeners to "welcome" Nasty to town, and described him to a tee, as well as using adjectives like "douchy."
Unless this will be the universal post for all things Ticket and Super Bowl Week, can there be a post about the webcam and its continual work in progress even though this is their umpteenth time to use the webcam? I feel they are regressing. I assume, however, Mr. Plainsman is not watching the webcam due to his already limited exposure to the station during a normal workday...
I imagine it is more of a hand shake agreement between NFL netowork, The Ticket, and Nasty... It would be awesome if the P1's found a way to place an attack on NASTY.
Christy, I do try to check out the webcam. I actually did so today. (That's where I found "Hitten.") Your point is part of a larger point -- The Ticket has been doing remotes since its beginnings, and they're always having technical problems. I'm sure that remotes are tough on equipment and circumstances vary from locale to locale, but one would think they'd have this stuff down.
It's not like they have tv crews shooting the show. It's a web cam. Web cams have crappy quality. There really isn't any improvement possible with web cams is there?
Anyone know how closely the Ticket is to The Fan? I was wondering this today as I switched between stations. I don't think there's any way for Ticket guys to completely avoid Greggo on Radio Row.
I guess we're starting the discussion here then. Yah!
My problem isn't with the quality of the picture. I'm talking about the way they set up the cameras themselves, for example. They have 3 cameras, but none of them have a great clear shot of the hosts. To me, the best part about watching the web cam is watching the hosts' expressions. Watching Corby get mad at Grubes (not because I don't like Corby but because the situation itself was neat to watch unfold on camera live). Watching the hosts' mouths not move while a drop is played. Watching Bob and Dan fight. I saw Bob's expressions and I saw Dan's...back.
This seems pretty basic. I don't understand why you'd put 2 of the cameras aimed at the back of the hosts' heads. But even the third one that's pointed up at the hosts sitting on the near side of the table - they tried to go to that camera when Roger Staubach was on with BaD Radio, but so much equipment was in the way they had to cut out of it.
I understand that they won't be able to have a nice widescreen of all 3 of the hosts (3 of the 4 shows have 3 major voices) with the limited range of the camera. But let's position the cameras so we can get a nice, clear 2 shot on each side of the table and move the up high camera (the one they don't use often) on the other side of the table so it's aimed down at the hosts' faces and not the back of their heads. Or, let's put that same up high camera on the other side of the table, mirroring the main camera view. Now we have 2 over the shoulder shots and it seems more even.
Is it possible to do a split-screen and have 2 cameras on at one time? Probably not. I enjoyed hearing The Hardline cut it up (they were awesome today, btw) but I wanted to see Mike and Danny laughing it up and not just see Corby by his lonesome. Can they get an intern(s) dedicated to switching the cameras immediately? Then the intern(s) can say he/they technically directed/directed video cameras (or something more impressive - I forget the lingo now).
What was the point of having the ticker guys on-site if we only see the back of their heads? Don't you think I wanted to see how Ty was looking better these days (I can't get that drop out of my head!) and not just hear that while he's still fat, he's looking good (Corby's words)?
Poor, poor Norm. That made for riveting radio watching! I don't know if anyone called in during The Musers so I can't say whether that was a fluke or wonder why they didn't test having a phone caller on earlier. Boy, did I feel bad for him that his very important person - whom he'd been promoting heavily - couldn't make it on the air. What an epic E-brake!
I do like Evan Grant's video interviews. I wish someone would tell him not to put the microphone so close to his mouth because I have to change the volume before and after each break. I wish we'd get back in time to hear the ticket tickers though. I wish we didn't just get silence when they go into a break and they haven't figured out how to put Evan's interviews on the webcam. It's eerie, and I have no sense of time when it's silent.
Like I said - this is basic stuff so I'm sure they've already tried everything I said and it just didn't work. They probably don't have the floor room to place the cameras wherever they'd like to get the good angles. I wish they'd call in a favor to Channel 8 - aren't they brethren? - and ask the floor director or the studio supervisor or whomever (who probably is also a P1) to take a look and place the cameras for them.
I don't think the camera set-up will ever change though (I hope someone out there understood what I was proposing). The whole webcam bit is a luxury they pull out a few times a year. Nearly 3000 people were watching today so it's a non-issue. And the overall quality of the webcam and the Evan Grant interviews and the phones will probably get better as the week goes on.
I don't even know why I bother with these comments - of course, The Ticket will figure out the webcam stuff on their own. I can see all 3 of the hosts' faces! I can see Rich Phillips's face!
That's not Evan Grant. I don't know who the guy in the background of The Musers is.
The way I view the webcam (pun intended but regretted) is that it's just a bonus. They're not in the TV business or even in the webcam show business. If there's a webcam, it'll be low quality, intermittently available and placed out of the way of the hosts' normal work area. With my expectations set that low, I'm rarely disappointed.
It seems like the promo dept. has a history of writing grammatically incorrect copy, either for on-air liners (of which Dan always point out) or via email, so I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt.
ReplyDeleteAlso, given where the broadcast table is set up (at the very front, as if on display) and the fact that the hosts won’t be running amuck together in a hotel, I forecast that this Super Bowl week is going to be much tamer than we're used to, as evident by this morning's 8:40 segment (granted it's Monday morning, but still).
I do not have an answer, but figure this is a good place to ask a question: I heard the boys make a passing references to signing an agreement not to confront Nasty Nestor when he comes here for the Big Game. No details were given, though. Got any?
ReplyDeleteI believe in the tame 8;40 segment I listed above, The Musers spotted him. Gordon was walking to a location and had to turn abruptly around, saying "Oh, I just saw He Who Must Not Be Named." So it sounds like there's some sort of Greggo-style legal agreement signed, but I think it's signed just with the Musers, or maybe it was just enacted this week. Because last week or the week before last, The Hardline encouraged listeners to "welcome" Nasty to town, and described him to a tee, as well as using adjectives like "douchy."
ReplyDeleteUnless this will be the universal post for all things Ticket and Super Bowl Week, can there be a post about the webcam and its continual work in progress even though this is their umpteenth time to use the webcam? I feel they are regressing. I assume, however, Mr. Plainsman is not watching the webcam due to his already limited exposure to the station during a normal workday...
ReplyDeleteI imagine it is more of a hand shake agreement between NFL netowork, The Ticket, and Nasty... It would be awesome if the P1's found a way to place an attack on NASTY.
ReplyDeleteChristy, I do try to check out the webcam. I actually did so today. (That's where I found "Hitten.") Your point is part of a larger point -- The Ticket has been doing remotes since its beginnings, and they're always having technical problems. I'm sure that remotes are tough on equipment and circumstances vary from locale to locale, but one would think they'd have this stuff down.
ReplyDeleteChristy,
ReplyDeleteIt's not like they have tv crews shooting the show. It's a web cam. Web cams have crappy quality. There really isn't any improvement possible with web cams is there?
Anyone know how closely the Ticket is to The Fan? I was wondering this today as I switched between stations. I don't think there's any way for Ticket guys to completely avoid Greggo on Radio Row.
ReplyDelete-Anon B
I guess we're starting the discussion here then. Yah!
ReplyDeleteMy problem isn't with the quality of the picture. I'm talking about the way they set up the cameras themselves, for example. They have 3 cameras, but none of them have a great clear shot of the hosts. To me, the best part about watching the web cam is watching the hosts' expressions. Watching Corby get mad at Grubes (not because I don't like Corby but because the situation itself was neat to watch unfold on camera live). Watching the hosts' mouths not move while a drop is played. Watching Bob and Dan fight. I saw Bob's expressions and I saw Dan's...back.
This seems pretty basic. I don't understand why you'd put 2 of the cameras aimed at the back of the hosts' heads. But even the third one that's pointed up at the hosts sitting on the near side of the table - they tried to go to that camera when Roger Staubach was on with BaD Radio, but so much equipment was in the way they had to cut out of it.
I understand that they won't be able to have a nice widescreen of all 3 of the hosts (3 of the 4 shows have 3 major voices) with the limited range of the camera. But let's position the cameras so we can get a nice, clear 2 shot on each side of the table and move the up high camera (the one they don't use often) on the other side of the table so it's aimed down at the hosts' faces and not the back of their heads. Or, let's put that same up high camera on the other side of the table, mirroring the main camera view. Now we have 2 over the shoulder shots and it seems more even.
Is it possible to do a split-screen and have 2 cameras on at one time? Probably not. I enjoyed hearing The Hardline cut it up (they were awesome today, btw) but I wanted to see Mike and Danny laughing it up and not just see Corby by his lonesome. Can they get an intern(s) dedicated to switching the cameras immediately? Then the intern(s) can say he/they technically directed/directed video cameras (or something more impressive - I forget the lingo now).
What was the point of having the ticker guys on-site if we only see the back of their heads? Don't you think I wanted to see how Ty was looking better these days (I can't get that drop out of my head!) and not just hear that while he's still fat, he's looking good (Corby's words)?
Poor, poor Norm. That made for riveting radio watching! I don't know if anyone called in during The Musers so I can't say whether that was a fluke or wonder why they didn't test having a phone caller on earlier. Boy, did I feel bad for him that his very important person - whom he'd been promoting heavily - couldn't make it on the air. What an epic E-brake!
I do like Evan Grant's video interviews. I wish someone would tell him not to put the microphone so close to his mouth because I have to change the volume before and after each break. I wish we'd get back in time to hear the ticket tickers though. I wish we didn't just get silence when they go into a break and they haven't figured out how to put Evan's interviews on the webcam. It's eerie, and I have no sense of time when it's silent.
Like I said - this is basic stuff so I'm sure they've already tried everything I said and it just didn't work. They probably don't have the floor room to place the cameras wherever they'd like to get the good angles. I wish they'd call in a favor to Channel 8 - aren't they brethren? - and ask the floor director or the studio supervisor or whomever (who probably is also a P1) to take a look and place the cameras for them.
I don't think the camera set-up will ever change though (I hope someone out there understood what I was proposing). The whole webcam bit is a luxury they pull out a few times a year. Nearly 3000 people were watching today so it's a non-issue. And the overall quality of the webcam and the Evan Grant interviews and the phones will probably get better as the week goes on.
Webcam question:
ReplyDeleteThe last couple of mornings there's been a bald guy with glasses hovering in the background of the Musers' area. Anyone know who he is?
Wait, is that Evan Grant? I don't know what E.G. looks like. I really ought to pick up a paper now and then.
ReplyDeleteBald with glasses sounds like Fernando.
ReplyDeleteI don't even know why I bother with these comments - of course, The Ticket will figure out the webcam stuff on their own. I can see all 3 of the hosts' faces! I can see Rich Phillips's face!
ReplyDeleteThat's not Evan Grant. I don't know who the guy in the background of The Musers is.
The way I view the webcam (pun intended but regretted) is that it's just a bonus. They're not in the TV business or even in the webcam show business. If there's a webcam, it'll be low quality, intermittently available and placed out of the way of the hosts' normal work area. With my expectations set that low, I'm rarely disappointed.
ReplyDelete