On Thu, 5 Dec 1996, Simon Favre wrote:
> Kevin O'Connor is right to gripe about the coverage:
>
> >many commercials. It sucked so bad I could not watch the last
> >half-hour.
>
> I couldn't agree more, but remember, they are condensing a 3-day event
> into one hour!
Yowza!
>
> Unfortunately, the key word here is audience. Unless they have a big
> audience, they will not be able to attract the big, BIG sponsors, and
> that's what they need to make a better program. Better coverage takes
SO! Is Merrill Lynch a small fry? Do you remember their advt. the
featured that retired guy and his C Jag? They sponsored the CHR a
couple of years back, how about a major van line or two?
> more cameras, more camera crews, more footage, more editing, yadda,
> yadda, yadda. They would have to have some pretty deep pockets opening
> up to give us a 3-hour vintage fest on TV with full coverage of each
> race session.
There are ways to economise... like drop some coverage of the less
interesting groups' coverage (e.g. open wheel cars). I know there
are those who love them but 35 formula Fords with a couple of Formula
Jrs. and 3s and the rest of the field fleshed out in F Vees, may be
great racing but, c'mon...
>
> If you cut each race group's coverage to 5 minutes, you would have about
> 70 minutes of Monterey Historics action. Throw in another 20 minutes of
> blabbing, paddock shots, and demo laps and you would have 90 minutes.
> Add 30 minutes of unabashed capitalism and you have a 2 hour program.
> With 5 minutes for each race group, you MIGHT have time for the start,
> the finish, and one lap in a camera-equipped car or selected action
> shots.
All this is good, but for an audience of non aficionados it would
get old fast. Do in depth on "significant" (e.g. Pre War,
production-based and sports racer groups, [the current USRRC revival
woud be great one cos of the variety" the "ground pounders", etc).
> I, for one, would not care to see only the lead car in each
> group. There are so many interesting cars in these events, that you
> need coverage from the whole length of the pack, IMO.
Good point. That old Nuvolari Targa Florio Farthingale running
with the Sprites would be an Eye grabber
>
> I just wish I was in charge of such a production. ;=)
Yeah, I'd "crew for ya!"
Greg Petrolati
gpetrola@prairienet.org 1962 TR4 (CT4852L)
"That's not a leak... My car is just marking its territory!"
Greg Petrolati, Champaign, Illinois
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