MEMBER PROFILE
Inside pitch with SNY's Curt Gowdy, Jr.
By
Feb 22, 2007 - 4:43:05 PM

Major league baseball spring training is underway for 2007 and regional sports networks are gearing up for their own version of spring training. SportsNet New York, which broadcasts the New York Mets, will get into regular-season form with NEP Supershooter 8, outfitted Sony BVP-900 hard cameras and Sony BVP-950 handheld cameras complete with Canon 70X1 studio lenses as well as 20x1 handheld lenses. Curt Gowdy, Jr., SportsNet New York vice president and executive producer spoke with SVG Editorial Assistant Andrew Lippe about the ramp up to the regular season.

Q: When does SNY start producing for spring training?

A: Our first telecast is February 28 against Detroit in Port St Lucie at 1pm on SNY. But we began work almost immediately after last year’s season concluded for the Mets. We were already working on the next season scheduling the talent and production for the 16 home games in Port St Lucie and for the remainder of the regular season schedule.
Meanwhile our operations side goes through a two- or three-month period where they have to crew every single game that they do in the regular season and in spring training. It is a little bit easier [this spring] because we are just doing the 16 home games. So hand in hand, production, talent, technical side all plan together to get to the point where we are ready to go in spring training.

Q: How big is your crew during spring training?

A: We’ll have up to eight people from the production side and probably close to 40-45 people working on a spring training game.

Q: How many cameras do you usually use during a spring training game?

A: Not as many as we do in the regular season. We basically use the same complement of cameras that we would use on regular season away games. We use seven cameras for all of our games in spring training.  

Q: Are any of the games in HD?

A: No. Only the regular season is in HD.  

Q: Other than no HD how does spring training differ from the regular season?

A: We have unlimited audio enhancements through each and every game. We talk to players in the dugout, we talk to coaches on headsets. We are allowed to do as many audio enhancements as possible and we take full advantage of that during spring training. [Field reporter] Kevin Burkhardt is always ready by the dugout.



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