Camera complaint.....

Charles Curtis · Posted 18 Feb 2007 4:55 am

I was watching GOO, last night, and Ray Price was singing, "Crazy Arms". I think that most folks on the planet are familiar with this great song and the way this legend does it; anyway, Mike Cass is doing his great instrumental and I am enjoying the heck out of this, then about midway through Mike's run they move the camera away while he is still playing. What is the problem there? Talk about frustration; I'm wanting to watch Mike do the whole thing, come on folks.

Doug Rolfe · From: Indianapolis, IN

GOO IMHO has always been less than ideal toward steel players in the way they handle their camera work.
I also think their TV sound mix (vocals vs. instrumentals) is only fair at best(I'm being kind). Last night I heard feed back when Ray was singing on at least two occasions.

George Rout · From: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

Charles, that's the real world we are living in. We are constantly being forced to believe that "this is what we should be listening to", "this is what we should see" etc.

I don't go along with this crap. I won't buy any videos of today's stuff, unless of course, it's instructional, but entertainment videos of 2 micro-second views of this, then on to something else, they're 100 per cent crap.

The people that produce them have not knowledge of what the video is all about. Of course, the artists are to blame to allow such crap.

If you look at the old videos of shows, where for example, Ray Price is singing, he's in the pic, then whoever takes the break is in the picture. If the break is split between to instruments, the camera goes from one to the other. They don't to outside themes, flying through the sky etc.

I'm stepping down off my soapbox!!! Geo

John Coffman · From: Wharton,Texas USA

I agree guys. To be fair it is more the production managers job to give a overall product to the masses. If you want to see steel work you got to go see it live. If you want camera time for a steel player give that camera to Mrs. Tommy White and she will do it right. I love her work. Just ask Gaylon she got a great shot of him on an awards show not to long ago. Most professional camera persons give complete shots of a performance it's just the control room cutting it short almost all the time.
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Walter Stettner · From: Vienna, Austria

Charles,

Be glad that you saw at least parts of mike's ride. Usually the starting of a steel ride means for the director to get camrea time for the audience, the piano player, mountain scenery etc... Rolling Eyes

Kind Regards, Walter
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Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

quite frankly, the GOP is not there to provide views of the Steel Player, even though they should always show the Instrumentalist who is playing, as that IS part of the show.

It's not really up to the Camera person anyway, it's up to the producer as to what camera's are live and which are not...

As good as Theresa is , it's not her call..she looks thru the Camera and gives a great shot back to the control room where someone else decides what gets seen ON AIR...

as Walter said, be grateful that they even recognize the Steel at all...

many times we have seen entire steel solo's so perhaps this time the producer saw something that looked interesting from another Camera and decided to go with it...

What did they turn to when they left the Steel ?

t

Charles Curtis · Posted 18 Feb 2007 10:20 am

I don't remember where the camera moved to next as Mike was still playing, at that point I didn't care. IMO there are many people out here that are fans of the psg and it's contributions to selling a record; the right licks at the right time like any other featured instrument that enhances the song. Remember how Buck Owens featured all the band, and he didn't do too shabby, right? I hope that someone in the "business" would bring this to management's attention there that these guys practice "hours on end" to get that "sound" that turns the world on and it ain't easy. To me, when Ray Price and his band do their thing, it's quite a "happening" and I don't like to see anyone overlooked. IMO Mike Cass is one of the best; thankfully he is also on YouTube.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Yeah, for what that show is (the "60 minutes" of Nashville), the production values should be top-notch. Often, they aren't, but I do notice they never screw up running the commercials? Wink

If you want good production and sound, I guess you just have to watch Austin City Limits. That seems to be the only music show that continually gets it all right.

Their old excuse on the 'Opry "Well, it's a live show, and unexpected things are bound to happen!" is frankly...wearing very thin.

Cue the cameras to get in position, and then switch or fade to the right camera at the right time. It doesn't exactly sound like "rocket science" to me. Rolling Eyes

Jody Sanders · From: Magnolia,Texas, R.I.P.

All camera shots on any show is the call of the director. Jody.

Marlin Smoot · From: Kansas

I agree. All too often on GAC & CMT's live artist performances, when the steel gets a ride, the camera gets focused on someone else.

You also see this happening in a lot of videos (live performance video) that the steel players don't get much "face time"
Perhaps because the steel is closely assoicated with country music and todays country music is closely assoicated with pop/rock.

Austin City Limits still has good taste in camera work for the most part.

Jim Sliff · From: Lawndale California, USA

Live TV broadcasts (and often flm as well) of musicians/bands is always problematic for other musicians to watch - iit's not meant for us, it's meant for the genral public, and normally they want to see the star, even if a solo is being played by someone else. Every once in a while a director (it's the director's job to cue the camera switching performed by a technical director or his subordinates), by the way - not the producer, who is an overall operations manager and sometimes simply the "money person) IS a musician and "gets it" - if you see a player during the entire length of a solo, you can almost bet the director is a player.
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Henry Matthews · From: Texarkana, Ark USA

You are right, not enough camera on the steeler but my main complaint was the mix. I had to really strain to even hear the steel and fiddle. And when Joe Diffie sang and that other girl, couldn't hear the steel at all. Do some of you have the same problem or is my new big screen tv just not picking up steel guitar? By the way, Ray was great.
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Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

steel solo = camera shows Roy Acuff's yoyo instead.

One exception i can recommend is the Waylon Jennings dvd, Mooney is shown prominently thru-out and they stay on him when he solos , which he does in just about every single song.
great concert

Jerry Fessenden · From: Vermont, USA

The camera work that Theresa White has done on the GOO always got the steel guitar just fine.. I'm not sure that she always is assigned to that spot, but, she surely does it well when the producer doesn't take away the opportunity.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

I watched the rerun of the show in question and yes the Camera was on Mike thru most of the ride but then turned back to Craig Morgan who appeared like he was getting ready to sing again..It wasn't like they went off and showed a Fiddle player or something, they went to the performer on stage .

the biggest goof I thought was Craig Morgan singing along with Ray price, or TRYING to . Either Craig can't sing HARMONY or he didn't know the words to the chorus of Crazy Arms. We picked up on that in less than a NY minute. He used the old singers trick..back way away from the mic and make believe you are singing..make it look like the soundman messed up...

Well Craig, you didn't fool me....

by the way. Mike Cass if you are reading, very cool playing with Ray....

Alan Coldiron · From: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

If you want to make sure you don't get on camera - Play bass.

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

IF THE CAMERA IS AIMED ON THE STEEL IT IS THERE,

THEN THE DIRECTOR HAS HIS ROW OF CAMERA BUTTONS
and decides which shot to pick.

It seems most video directors are not musicians,
even at the GOO. Which is a crying shame.
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Paul King · From: Gainesville, Texas, USA

Just one more reason I do not watch the Grand Ole Opry anymore.

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