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The Godby Game (9/13/2024)
This is not a post about the football game in a traditional sense. It is not about any plays, players, or the coaches. It is also not about either of the teams ON the field, but rather a team that travels parallel to the team, the River Country Sports broadcasting team.
On any given Friday night, this team packs up a plethora of gear and trapes up a set of stadium stairs hours before the game starts. Cameras, cables, audio and video equipment galore gets hauled up to the press box and set up for before the commentators arrive. This night we were in Tallahassee at Chiles High School for the Godby vs Suwannee football game.
Each week we had experienced one technical glitch or another. We struggled to find the answer to the problem. Finally, we thought we had it figured out, then something else would go wrong. This week was a big test for our team. Could we pull off a complete game in one single live stream? Every away game brings questions. Will we be welcome in the press box? Will there be power for us? What about internet access? These questions landed on top of our self doubts and insecurities. Were we going to finally pull a rabbit out of the hat? Oh, and just for good measure, it rained the entire first half of the game. No biggie, right?
When we arrived, we found a fully utilized press box. The Godby team had set up their equipment and the room was clearly utilized weekly. Where were we going to sit. That led to the second dilemma. There weren't nearly enough chairs. The Godby team made as much room for us as they could. They even found an additional chair for one of our broadcasters. The rest of the team sat on our equipment box or stood outside.
The tent fit perfectly over the camera area. I'm so glad we had it. Our camera operator, Dusty Morgan, was very thankful as well. It rained almost the entire first half. Not once did he complain. His camera work has gotten so much better. He is finding he has a knack for it. There's so much more to it than just pointing a camera.
He definitely took advantage of the half time show to sit for a bit. Standing for so long is a very tiring experience. Often times, I have to tell him to sit when he can. He doesn't want to leave the camera.
Inside the booth, things were going well. Rivers Martinez (Right) and Sawyer Brooks (Left) shared the seat at the controls. Rivers had been the primary stream manager to this point in the season. This is not an easy roll. Cutting to commercials, and signaling the commentators on when to return to air is very stressful. Sawyer took over after half time. Rivers stepped back and helped take the pressure off of me, as technical advisor. Both of them handled the transition smoothly.
Let's not forget the on-air talent! Wayne Litrell and Andy Day are a well oiled machine when it comes to calling Suwannee Bulldog Football games. They have a calm even manner in the booth, even though their excitement levels for the game are legendary! Tonight they didn't always have a clear view of the field, but they made it work. I couldn't imagine working with anyone else. They make being in the booth enjoyable.
Back at home, Clifford Gwinn, our show producer was watching the game and sending me texts so I would know what our audience was seeing. This is an invaluable piece of the puzzle when it comes to live streaming. You have to know what your audience sees and hears. I am so thankful for his role at this game.
As you can see, there are no pictures of me, Tammy Neil. That's okay. I am the technical advisor and broadcast team leader. My job is in the background behind the background. I scout our set up location, direct set up, trouble shoot issues, and generally oversee the production. Tonight I also ran the scoreboard. (Yes, I know I missed one of the timeouts.) I can't tell you how proud of this entire team I am. They have all worked so hard. We have all learned so much. When the stream ended, I let out a whoop that startled them all. We had finally completed the entire game in a single stream. We didn't lose signal, the camera and sound equipment worked as it should. The computer wasn't overloaded. Everything just worked. It was a huge sigh of relief and a major victory for the River Country Sports team.
Next week we travel to Appling County High School in Georgia. It's going to be a long trip both directions. I hope you can join us. Remember, we travel so you don't have to. See you on the stream!