56 replies to this topic

[Ali_G]

I've held off to this race. Can someone tell me, do we have a different race director at each GP or the same one.

So far this season, whoever it has been has been dreadful.

- They keep showing replays of the start just as DRS is activated on lap 3 and you expect buckets of passing down the front straight
- They keep going away from the action for pointless pit stops of mid fielders
- They constantly go away from on track action for no reason. Today Webber has just overtaken Alonso and then we got a shot of the main straight for no reason. Missed Alonso taking back the position.

Surely there needs to be a review of this. Another idea would be split screen to show pitstops.

Edited by Ali_G, 22 May 2011 - 13:33.

[Les]

The race direction has been shocking today I agree, can't answer the first question though. Sick of seeing endless replays of the start whilst missing out on the race. Missing the Alonso/ Webber battle was clueless.

[chrisblades85]

The race direction has been shocking today I agree, can't answer the first question though. Sick of seeing endless replays of the start whilst missing out on the race. Missing the Alonso/ Webber battle was clueless.

What he said.

[krapmeister]

Must be the same guy surely - it's been shocking again today.

[primer]

The TV director should first-and-foremost be a racing fan. Only then can s/he understand how races 'evolve', and what fans want to see.

The current director is a cretin who has no idea what is going on half the time, so they just shuffle through different cameras randomly. WTF.

[e63]

Someone has to get fired for todays production surely

[Longtimefan]

It was beyond belief today..

Following the Alonso-Webber battle for so many laps then cutting to the pits when they got side to side. good grief

[dutchie]

Agreed, it was truly awful today with of course the Alonso v Webber battle being the main talking point. I was screaming at the TV when they showed random driver coming onto the main straight whilst hearing Brundle say Alonso got back at Webber and passed him.

Edited by dutchie, 22 May 2011 - 14:45.

[BenettonB192]

I was cursing today in front of the TV. Haven't seen such a bad direction since the old days when national TV stations only showed their local hero for most of the time.

They need to do something about that. The guy in charge is incompetent.

Edited by BenettonB192, 22 May 2011 - 14:28.

[Apollonius]

Awful directing! You had an epic battle going on for the lead and they were cutting for what seemed an age to Heidfeld squabbling with midfielders....yes it was good action BUT that comes second when you have an all out battle for the lead going in to the last laps of the race....

And what's with the pointless slow motion replays they keep showing?? Yes they look good but that's all they are showing, a good looking car in slow motion and you're left wondering are the replays going to show something significant or one of these pointless clips? Poor poor directing.

[Professor Arturo]

At least 50% of the posters here would have done a better job and the other 50 % would have done a much better job.

[Wingcommander]

Quit complaining and try to understand how difficult it is to direct a live event like this with huge amount of action. But i guess that's too much to ask from you guys....

[Professor Arturo]

Quit complaining and try to understand how difficult it is to direct a live event like this with huge amount of action. But i guess that's too much to ask from you guys....

That is why they have a professional doing that. At least they should. Today was a complete failure and that is unacceptable at such a level.

[BenettonB192]

Quit complaining and try to understand how difficult it is to direct a live event like this with huge amount of action. But i guess that's too much to ask from you guys....

Hence you need to put someone competent on the directors seat and not someone who has no idea of what's going on.

[Clatter]

Quit complaining and try to understand how difficult it is to direct a live event like this with huge amount of action. But i guess that's too much to ask from you guys....

I think it's perfectly reasonable to complain when it is so consistently bad and the mistakes so obvious.

[asmodeo]

Only today?

[RenArto]

My favourite part was when Vettel and Hamilton lapped the HRT and he stuck showing the HRT for the next few corners

[Ali_G]

Only today?

Not just today.

The race directing has been terrible all season.

[olliek88]

BREAKING NEWS: The TV director is being investigated by the FIA for failing to do his job with any competency what so ever. Rumours of him being demoted to coffee boy for monaco are rife.

[sw6569]

What is the point of showing replays on the 3rd lap. Why not lap 10? or Even lap 2 if they can? we've missed the beginning of the DRS zones for almost every race now.

[Claudius]

Today was bad.
I really cannot understand why some midfield driver pitting is more interesting than a battle on track.
And this isn't the first time it's happened. I guess the director thinks pit stops are more exciting than action on track for some reason.

Edited by Claudius, 22 May 2011 - 15:50.

[Lights]

I'm quite sure that most of Jenson's overtakes this year have been missed live. Today on Buemi, Massa and Alonso. All because a Force India is pitting or by simply showing nothing interesting at all and plain missing it.

[Bunchies]

Quit complaining and try to understand how difficult it is to direct a live event like this with huge amount of action. But i guess that's too much to ask from you guys....

They get PAID for this. That is, it brings in money so the director and his family can LIVE. He damn well better be good if he is considered good enough to make a living from it.

[robefc]

Quit complaining and try to understand how difficult it is to direct a live event like this with huge amount of action. But i guess that's too much to ask from you guys....

I'm sure it's very difficult, but some parts of it are easy.

For example, let us see whether lewis has managed to jump vettel, alonso or webber rather than showing some midfielders having their wheels changed...

Actually lets just broaden this one out, always show bloody on track action rather than people having their wheels changed unless it's an absolutely crucial stop in the context of the race.

Also, don't cut away from a battle when someone is about to make an attempt at a pass.

Lastly, however much you want to pander to the locals and show alonso it's probably best not to focus on his car when it's being bloody lapped rather than the two cars that have just lapped him and are fighting for the lead of the grand prix.

Athough it does occur to me maybe the director had no choice on the last one because the cameraman was in love with alonso so there was no-one on the front 2!

Edited by robefc, 22 May 2011 - 16:06.

[dank]

I fail to understand why they can't just have the picture-in-picture facility.

[hulmerist]

Quit complaining and try to understand how difficult it is to direct a live event like this with huge amount of action. But i guess that's too much to ask from you guys....

you're going to defend cutting away from a key passing move to show nothing? really?

[Reverend]

This is the 3rd race in a row we have had horrid coverage! It just gets worse!

[slideways]

As of a couple of years ago they use the same team at all the races except I believe Japan.

[hulmerist]

i'm sure the pitstops is to show the cars going slowly to give better coverage for sponsors

Edited by hulmerist, 22 May 2011 - 16:17.

[Hairpin]

This is the 3rd race in a row we have had horrid coverage! It just gets worse!

Nah, it does not get worse. It just looks like it is getting worse since everybody else is getting better. F1 coverage have not evolved and it becomes obvious that they really have to invest a few dollars there.

Edited by Hairpin, 22 May 2011 - 18:27.

[ZooL]

I noticed the coverage was poor also today. Wanted to watch Hamilton and Vettel battle and for a very long time he kept showing the midfield cars.....was soooo frustrating.

[Muz Bee]

They get PAID for this. That is, it brings in money so the director and his family can LIVE. He damn well better be good if he is considered good enough to make a living from it.

Stop complaining, you're overreacting! The cut away to the pits from Webber's passing attempt was probably a vision switcher error. There were some bad calls and it has been slightly worse in the last 2 or maybe 3 GPs - I think there must be a new director and he's still coming up to speed.

You have to realise we are in a new era of (a) DRS/KERS over taking all over the place (OK today we were at Catalunya!) and (b) rapidly degrading tyres with 4 stop races. There is more on-course action so if you are (for example), a di Resta fan, you will be frustrated. There was a Alonso v Vettel v Hamilton scrap, there was stuff going off everywhere and overall they painted a reasonable - not perfect - picture of the race.

The split times they persist with after about lap 15 is awful but at least we are continually getting timing updates unlike 2 years ago. That has got better, but can improve. The super slo-mo is boring in a race full of action, the shots of another Hamilton or whoever it was staring vacantly at a screen in the pits makes me shout abuse. I liked the buildup before the warmup lap showing the corporate club hospitality, the fans on the bank etc, that's the time to set the mood, not during the race.

Overall - can improve, cut the arty stuff unless it's a boring procession like we used to see at Magny Cors. Use picture in picture for all pitstop shots when there's lots of action. We've got a cracker of a season if Hamilton can just get on top of those RedBulls!

[Bunchies]

Stop complaining, you're overreacting! The cut away to the pits from Webber's passing attempt was probably a vision switcher error. There were some bad calls and it has been slightly worse in the last 2 or maybe 3 GPs - I think there must be a new director and he's still coming up to speed.

It is appropriate to complain about a product that I am paying for. It is not up to my standards and I wish they would improve it.

[jonnoj]

There are several other races at a GP, which I assume FOM's TV crew cover. If they're training a new director, he should have learned his trade with the other races. Judging from his efforts so far this year, he needs to transfer to a less active sport or better still a soap.
At least he will have satisfied a few viewers, those who moan the midfield teams are never covered.

[TecnoRacing]

Something I really really hate which we have been seeing more or lately is the constant fiddling with the playback speed during replays...either show it in real time, or slow mo. Stop playing with the toggle knob (rpm going up and down) for no reason during a pass or whatnot.

Edited by fer312t, 23 May 2011 - 01:25.

[ivanalesi]

Yeah, I agree it wasn't the best today, compared to the previous ones. But I think they should use more onboards, especially when everybody is thinking if Vettel has KERS or not.
Also the cameras, I've never seen such bad HD. May be they should bring the cameras much closer or use fence or kerb cameras, the shots are OK for SD TV, but quite boring on HD and they should be preparing for 3D sometime soon! Also whatever happened with inhelmet camera? This development is stuck for a decade...

[windtravels]

Ah, its been terrible all season. Really bad. Laughable at points. Hope it gets sorted out.

[Gommes]

well firstly I thought it was because of too many overtakes so he couldnt be at every place at once but in barcelona i didnt almost see even 1 overtake made by Heidfeld and he ended at 8th also same Vettel already crossed a line he was 0.4 behind Rosberg and we were looking somewhere totally else (like Team Lotus or smt). Also fight between Vettel and Hamilton and we look on totally other crap. I just dont have words for that shitty work

[Hairpin]

I love the constant cuts to pitwall. Zooming in on hands, feets. Hands and feets that might or might not move. Then they stay there for hours, creating tension. Excitement. In these images, basically still images, we realize the soul of F1. The eating of a banana.

[finignig]

Personally, Seeing all the track action this year I decided to introduce some of my friends to F1 during the Spanish GP.

Keep in mind those two NEVER watched an F1 race before, spent half the race trying to explain stuff.. the second half and final stint they spent screaming at the director!

He is certainly below bar and should be replaced ASAP, the whole show CANNOT BE COMPROMISED because of ONE INDIVIDUAL.

[KnucklesAgain]

the whole show CANNOT BE COMPROMISED because of ONE INDIVIDUAL.

Oblig.: The needs of the many ...

Edited by KnucklesAgain, 24 May 2011 - 20:20.

[scheivlak]

The whole broadcast is simply way too formulaic.

The director still thinks it's 2009 or 2010 or whatever.

So there are at least 3 repeats of the start halfway lap 3.
Slomo replays of passes.
Every pitstop of a frontrunner must be shown fully.
Five or six laps before the end the director shows who's in the points so we get the overall picture, with some extra airtime for e.g #6, 5 and 4 in the race because they might have had less airtime before while they are in nice point-scoring positions.

That's all fine and dandy in a pre-2011 GP (and especially the Spanish one) but it's a bit ridiculous A.D. 2011!

At the end of lap 3 the DRS games begin, while they are still in full re-re-replay mode of the start. We want to know what's happening!
While they're automatically showing pitstops and slomo replays of passes, all kind of other actions including even more important passing manoeuvres might already be happening.
And the positions aren't fixed yet ten laps before the end like it used to be often before but there might be struggles all over the track, including one for the lead.

[Afterburner]

You know, I'll be honest with you, this whole "bash the TV director" thing seems to have taken on a bandwagon feel. Okay, the directing at the Turkish GP was sub-par, many of us thought so, but was the coverage of the Spanish GP and practice for Monaco really that bad? I'm not noticing any significant difference to the way it was pre-2011, and that's fine with me. They haven't seemed to have missed any of the major-action moments since then (e.g. Massa's multi-slide lap in practice).

[Bunchies]

Practice is fine. You can afford to not show some things, and you can spend much more time onboard, which is simply the best camera angle.

During a GP however, the race director is dire. Spain was the worst that I have seen, for the aforementioned reasons in this thread.

[Amphicar]

It will be a different director for Monaco, which is now the only race where the TV feed is provided by a local TV company (Télé Monte Carlo) rather than FOM. Last year both Monaco and Japan had locally provided TV feed. Doesn't mean it will be any better though - pre-FOM the coverage of every race was provided by a local TV company and most of them were clueless! The director would either spend the bulk of the race just tracking the leader, oblivious to any other on-track action, or concentrate on a local driver trundling round at the back of the pack.

What we now get from FOM is far from perfect - it could and should be better - but it is a huge improvement on the bad old days of yore.

[phil1993]

Direction for the GP2 race so far has been awful.

[King Six]

Direction for the GP2 race so far has been awful.

Much better than F1 practice though, that was the worst I've ever seen. There seems to be much less pit stop faffing about in GP2 in general. In F1, especially Monaco, they constantly cut away to images of people...watching the TV. So they end up seeing themselves looking up at a screen, I can't stand it when they do that.

[Jamiednm]

Some of the decisions are just baffling. I know it isn't qualy or race, but in FP2 yesterday, they had a live onboard of Hamilton on a hot lap (I think he had purpled S1) and then it just cuts away to follow Vettel who was just cruising back in to the pits for the entire final sector. I mean, what kind of decision was that?! Just what thought process dictated that they should do that?!

[RichardF1fan]

Some of the decisions are just baffling. I know it isn't qualy or race, but in FP2 yesterday, they had a live onboard of Hamilton on a hot lap (I think he had purpled S1) and then it just cuts away to follow Vettel who was just cruising back in to the pits for the entire final sector. I mean, what kind of decision was that?! Just what thought process dictated that they should do that?!

I agree - FP was the worst directing I've ever seen - as you mentioned above plus cutting away from hot laps to watch someone walk down the pit lane?

The whole of FP was dreadful to watch - Fastest times kept appearing on the graphics and we hadn't seen them - just totally irrelevant shots of people on slow laps or the inside of a garage instead. Whilst the garage shots etc are interesting he should have kept them for when it was quiet on track.

I think the normal director was doing pretty well considering how busy and confusing the races have been - but this guy - give me strength.

[Andrew Hope]

So do we have any ideas why they cut away from hot laps just to show irrelevant ****? Living in Canada I can only watch qualifying and the GP itself (with no pre-race of post-race, the broadcast starts two or three minutes before the warm up lap starts), but during the race I haven't really found it to be noticeably worse than last year. Do we actually have any theories as to why the tv director/directors do this? Is it just to appease the casual fan?