European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 24, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Merlin Olson above teams with Dlott Enberg on the Abc Lelee att. Abc s cameras Don t plan to blink by United press International television s Rule of thumb Lor sports coverage is Basic bigger is belter. But the super bowl has proven thai technology s effectiveness is limited by human capabii1y. This year Abc will take s11 million Worth at electronic gear 1o new Orleans including �1 cameras. 14 replay tape machines. To machines Lor on air graphics one video Chalk Board machine and seven Miles of camera and audio Cable. Dick Enberg will handle play by play and Merlin Olsen analysis. Bob Griese also will be in the Booth 10 work he Telo Saratof diagramming plays and explaining Why things work or lop on the Field. The number o cameras used or nil games varies. During the regular season s sunday games seven or eight cameras Are regularly used the monday night game usually has 12 cameras. Are the first super bowl which both Csc and lbs televised coverage alternated Between die Jwo networks until Abc did last year s game during this year s playoffs lbs used 11 cameras Lor the wild card game 13 the following weekend and 14 for the pfc championship in Chicago. The director sitting in a truck has a Wall of monitors in front of him said lbs spokesman Doug Richardson. A uses a corps of seven or eight for 90 percent of the shots because you eyes cannot scan 20 cameras and make an accurate prediction of where the action will be. Last year Abc did the super bowl and they missed a touchdown we re still wailing to see it. They started Ullh a Tow camera at the 50-Yard line and tried to follow the player. The crowd blood up he director did t Cut away and it was never seen. St was the director s fault. With All that hardware ii you Don t use it properly All it will do is confuse somebody. By adding More and More cameras what you re doing is shooting from More and More Odd angles. In our last super bowl we had one camera a reverse Angle which we never  Tom wer it a spokesman for Abc sports said we might have had one or two More cameras ins last time we did the super bowl in 1963. What you come to is a workable equation to what producers and directors Are capable of  an average of six camera cuts Are used on each play from the team breaking from the huddle Trie snap following he Ball until it is downed reaction shows of coaches on he sidelines Irmert close ups of the players before the next huddle. Abc will have a separate replay unit in another truck. It will Monitor Alt the cameras and notify the director if there is a revealing shot on a specific play such As the rams touchdown pass negated by an out of Bounds Call in the pfc championship Ted Alhanion Abc � coordinating producer said the super bowl has become a huge Media event. It s bigger than any sports event we have in this country because it s one game Only. Whereas the world series is anywhere Tram four to seven games this is a single confrontation. And the two weeks of nonstop publicity can make things difficult for the announcers the pregame hype makes for great expectations and then if the game is Boring or lopsided there s a big letdown he said. It s very hard to make a Dull Gams  Merrill said that since Green Bay and Kansas City played in the 1967 super Bow the game has acquired the status of an undeclared  Abc will put on a iwo Nour pregame show that will include a minute Whan the screen will go Blank to give the viewers a break. During that time a representation of a clock will appear in the lower righthand Corner and music will be broadcast Hough what kind is not yet known. By the 5 15 est Kickoff. The networks believe viewers already know All they want to about the game. We re nol going 1o regurgitate yet again How the linebackers match up said Merritt the viewers have had enough of  Richardson agreed people have been hyped to death. The game plays Itsell and television is just there to document the game. We like to say that the Best seat in the House is in Root of your  Page Viii Supel bowl 86 Friday january 24, 1986