The Beautiful Game – Even More Beautiful
A few years ago, during a moderately drunken debate, a friend said to me “Football in 3D, on the telly? No way, it’ll never happen”. At the time, I have to admit, I did share his pessimism. Oh, how wrong I was.
Yes folks, that’s right, in this ever changing world of entertainment technology, the next chapter has already begun. Just as the craze of 3D movies at the cinema has taken its hold on the world (think Up, Avatar) the big boys of entertainment TV have swooped in and given us our first taste of live 3D sport. Well some of us anyway.
A short while ago, TV giants, Sky, announced their plans to show the first ever live 3D broadcast of the beautiful game (that’s football, for those scratching their heads). Last weekend, in a selection of not so secret locations across the UK, the Barclays Premier League game between Arsenal and Man Utd was selected as the showpiece event by Sky to show off this new and, I must admit, awesome visual experience.
Nine pubs in various locations in the UK were kindly fitted out with a brand new 47″ LG 3DTV, courtesy of BSkyB and electronics manufacturer, LG, to be ready for the big preview last Sunday. The locations were deliberately kept secret to avoid mass hysteria and over-crowding of the venues. To be fair, a pub full of pissed up football fans shouting at a TV screen is normally quite an experience for your average on-looker, so I’m sure the organisers were quite happy to avoid having at least double or triple the normal size of crowd clamouring for their free pair of 3D glasses prior to kick-off – with customary pint in hand, of course.
OK, so what’s it like? Well, for close up action, such as namby pamby players rolling about on the pitch “injured” and getting seen to with the magic sponge it is very different to what you’re used to, with the whole scene seemingly having more depth and clarity. However, when watching the zoomed out view of the actual match coverage, the effect is far more subtle and appears to make the players look as though they are slanted, or “popped out” from the pitch. The 3D effect certainly doesn’t detract you from keeping up with the action on the pitch, nor does it spoil the enjoyment of seeing the best team in the world (that’s Man Utd, for those scratching their heads again) strutting their stuff to another victory on the road to the Premier League title. Sorry for that one, Arsenal fans.
The use of the 3D graphics overlay on the pitch certainly works well – with the team line ups and what not appearing to be floating in the middle of the pub in front of you. This is where I can see marketing directors rubbing their hands together in anticipation as they think of what they’ll be able to add to their half-time TV advertisements in future.
The only downside of the technology at the moment is, that to enjoy this feast of 3D, we’re all going to have to be wearing a dodgy looking pair of 3D glasses which look similar to the kind of sunglasses your Dad used to wear in the 80’s. Maybe he still does? Those that have been to see films like Avatar in 3D will already know about this – but wearing the shades in the dark of the cinema is a different prospect to wearing them on a Sunday afternoon down your local. To be fair, after a while you actually forget your wearing them and you kind of accept that everybody else looks like a twat too – so what the heck!
Sky and ESPN are set to launch their 3D channels soon, so it won’t be long before you can get your first taste of it – if you haven’t already.
Sky proclaimed before the big preview last weekend that this may represent the “start in the next revolution of how sport is filmed” – they might just be right, you know.
source: http://www.futuredimensions.net/2010/03/the-beautiful-game-even-more-beautiful/
