We work in a business which relies on our skills to swifly describe what we see to those who aren’t in attendence, so it might feel counter-intuitive to read something to our audience. So I have to ask, is it okay to read a script to your audience? I say, at times, yes. I began…
In the past decade or so, the idea of instant replay and this notion of constantly checking and double checking plays has had a negative impact on broadcasters. Some of the most significant plays are those that aren’t immediately apparent. Stay in the moment, and call the play as you see it and as it’s…
A little while ago, Alex talked about the differences between broadcasting a game solo versus having a go with a partner. Sometimes, the most difficult thing in being a broadcaster is communicating with a teammate who is only six-inches off your shoulder. With a hot mic in your face, our words are curated to the…
“… with 12:25 left in the second period, the Fuel lead Kalamazoo 2-1. You’re listening to Indy Fuel hockey.” For years, the outcue is a signal to the station producer to fire up the next station break. But what if there is no station and no producer, because you – the play-by-play announcer – have that…
Anyone who’s known me long enough knows that since high school, some 13 years ago, I’ve always had a small notebook tucked in my back pocket. It’s something I have on me every day and it wasn’t until very recently that I realized how important that pocket notebook is to my career. Since it became…
The single most important thing a broadcaster can do is prepare. You’ll see it all the time in spotting charts and research on teams and histories. Important match-ups or niche stats gleaned from hours of online digging. But it also rings true to the tech side of your broadcast, in particular having broadcast backups for…
One of the most challenging aspects of sportscasting has to be dealing with coaches. If there is a bigger ‘chalk and cheese’ in sports media, I’m not aware of it. Sportscasters want the inside information whereas coaches want to ensure a bubble around their team and players and while on many occasions these two sides…
Regular readers on Sportscaster Life may have noticed a bit of a lull through the latter stages of January and into the start of February. There has been good reason for that on two fronts, one I which I’m addressing here today. It’s been an extremely hectic time over the last few weeks, culminating in…
Building a demo reel can be an extremely tedious task. You not only need to follow a lot of the rules associated with producing a great audio or video demo reel, but you also need to FIND that material to start with. Having compiled more than a few demo reels in my time for both…
There is a huge difference between calling games on your own and having a colour analyst in the booth with you. Chances are throughout a season you’ll have to do both in order to cover your full schedule of games, and both setups require a bit of a different approach from a prep and execution…