ABSTRACT
Real’s (1975) analysis of the “one-sided and boring” (p. 32) Super Bowl VIII appears to be the earliest published academic study to incorporate consideration of production techniques as part of the overall study design. Real’s approach, myth analysis, focused on the finished product (the telecast), but his discussion provides some insight into the production techniques being used at the time to “package” football for drama and entertainment (p. 41). According to Real,
The 1974 telecast opened with a pregame half-hour show featuring Bart Starr’s analysis of filmed strengths, weaknesses, and strategies of each team, and it concluded with a panel of 15 CBS sportcasters interviewing heroes of the day’s game. In between, there were the striking multicolor visuals with rapid, dramatic score opening each section of the telecast, the grandiose adjectives and historical allusions by announcers, the endless reciting or superimposing on screen of statistics and records, the pre-game pageantry, the half time extravaganzas and “Playbook,” and, of course, the 52 advertisements, (p. 41)
One of the few published studies to concentrate solely on the production techniques used in televised sporting events is Williams’ (1977) content analysis to determine the
structural components and degree of mediation in football telecasts.1 For example, Williams characterized the “live play-action…coverage throughout the telecasts” as “a kaleidoscopic, dynamic mode of presentation” (p. 136). Williams then provided support for this characterization through his careful and specific descriptions of production techniques including shot construction and selection, camera positioning, and the use of graphics and sound sources. Despite being extremely dated in terms of production capabilities and stylistic norms, Williams’ study provides a useful framework and foundation for evaluating more modern live sports telecasts, especially college and professional American-style football productions. Williams’ work also provides a basis for identifying specific changes in production style that may or may not be attributed to newer technology.
