Miguel Angel Moreno
Madrid, Feb 5 (EFE) .- Deprived by the pandemic of the presence and color that fans contribute, the audiovisual production of sport is enriched and seeks new horizons, such as those that bring it closer to the cinema with the use of “hyper-realistic cameras “, or with the incorporation of narrators from the world of video games.
The latest milestone in this trend has been led by LaLiga with the incorporation of a cinematographic camera into the broadcasting of meetings, until now used to record details of fans or shots for reports and which stands out for its shallow depth of field, which generates a Very realistic effect that blurs the background and gives greater definition to the players.
The possibilities of this camera were very clear during the last Barcelona-Athletic, in which the celebration of the Barcelona winning goal scored by the Frenchman Antoine Griezmann fell right in the corner where that camera was located, leaving some great images realism of the celebration that surprised the fans and generated a great impact on social networks.
“This super-real effect is due to the shallow depth of field it has. It is a camera that we already used, but to make reports or shots of fans in stadiums,” the director of the audiovisual area explains to EFE for LaLiga, Melcior Soler.
FROM THE NFL TO LALIGA IN SEARCH OF A “CINEMATOGRAPHIC” EFFECT
The organizer of the Spanish championship decided to put this 35-millimeter sensor camera on the grass as a result of observing how the American football NFL used it to make shots of celebrations during the qualifying rounds prior to the ‘Super Bowl’ this weekend .
“We saw that the NFL used it in moments of hugs, celebrations of players, and we found it interesting to use it for something that until now we did with telephoto. It is a camera that works very well when it is very close. It gives a cinematic effect, widely used for make films, and we are the first football competition to use it, “says Soler.
Due to the movement made by the camera during the Barcelona celebration, some fans were also able to compare it with the shots that football video games offer in the celebrations, an element that the LaLiga executive denies, since he assures that the potential of this camera is to offer a “super realistic” image, far superior to that of a video game simulator.
However, other competitions are actively approaching the border territory between broadcasting and video games. The Italian Super Cup, sponsored this season by the new Sony console, PlayStation 5, used for some repetitions a dynamic camera on a rail that was reminiscent of the framing of the game made by simulators, called “PS5 Supercup Cam”.
Outside of the image, the Spanish championship has explicitly approached videogames through the audio of the matches, including in the sound channels available in the broadcasts of some matches an option in which you can listen to narrators of video games recognized in Spain such as Ibai Llanos, Ander Cortés or Ulises Prieto, called ‘LaLiga Casters’.
IN SEARCH OF NEW PUBLIC
Can these initiatives be seen as an approach from football to the video game? For Juan Pablo Ordoñez, professor of the Degree in Videogame Design and Development at the ESNE university school, both audiovisual experimentation, in frames or incorporating layers of augmented reality – such as the lines that draw the formation of the teams – on the field of play they are “elements that videogames have been using for years and work very well.”
“This is also linked to the ‘casters’, including an Ibai will make many people who follow him access the game. It is not the same because in the video game you control the team, it is something different, but it is an approach to the videogames and especially their public, “the teacher explained to EFE, who considers this approach” quite intelligent “and predicts” more synergies in the future. “
For the professor of Sports Marketing at the European University Álvaro Fernández Luna, this type of initiative has to do with the fact that football has taken the step to be “an audiovisual entertainment product”, so it is “logical” that it invests “in the latest technological innovations “and evolve in your language.
At the same time, the specialist points out that the arrival of the ‘casters’ is an approach to the public that usually follows video game broadcasts, which is usually a younger viewer, since there are in Europe in the age range of 16 to 24 40% of people “not interested in football”, according to a survey by the European club association ECA.
“This is mainly due to the way of consuming content from these new generations, in which television has been relegated to the background. Therefore, it has all the logic in the world that audiovisual products such as LaLiga or Serie A try to attract these audiences that are losing, “he explains to EFE.
However, the marketing specialist warns, the attraction cannot be based exclusively on approaching the video game narrators, but rather “must focus on making the core product attractive”, and in that strategy “it is very important to continue promoting audiovisual content” with hyper-realistic cameras like this latest addition to LaLiga, which brings football closer to cinema. EFE
