Amar Prem - A tale of two cameramen

Being born and brought up in India, the game of cricket has often been an integral component in shaping not only our childhood, but also our teenage years as well as our entry into adulthood.

Having been born a good 40 years after our country’s independence, I assume we have taken many things and technologies for granted, which our parents or previous generations did not even have access to.

One realizes and perhaps appreciates the drastic steps that technology has taken when we imagine the times we saw Kapil’s Devils lifting the World Cup trophy in 1983 on our black and white TV screens vis-à-vis in 2011 when a Sea of Blue canvassed the Wankhade as Dhoni’s boys lifted the coveted trophy in 2011.

Little could we have imagined that technologies like ball tracking, hawk eye, slow-motion cameras and Hot Spots, which have become necessities in TV broadcasting in today’s era, were considered as technological breakthrough’s not so long back.

As TV audiences and custodians of the game, while we never fail to applaud and appreciate the players and cricketers who perform on the big stage, very seldom have we given food for thought to those who actually bring us the game into the television sets - the cameraman, technicians and the broadcasters.

These are the people who quietly work behind the scenes, like the support and coaching staff of a well-oiled cricket team to bring us clear images with better optical resolution to our screens.

As a child I often used to wonder how it was that technologies and graphics like wagon wheels and hawk-eye used for matches broadcast in Australia during a 1996-97 series would be used a good three to four years later for matches played in India.

Over a period of time as I grew up and read more about the advent of One-Day International cricket thanks to Kerry Packer's world series did I begin to appreciate the media baron’s foresight with respect to using various technologies in the game of cricket.

Coming to the present day and 2015, the major trigger behind doing this interview came in 2013, when I went to watch the finals of the Champion’s League T20 between Mumbai Indians & Rajasthan Royals.

Having never spent more than INR 750 to watch a game of cricket live in the stadium, I stretched my limits and budgets to INR 2500 to watch this game as it was to be Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid’s last outing in coloured clothing.

On entering the ground I immediately reaped the returns on my investment as I saw Ian Bishop stepping out of one of the rooms getting ready to appear in front of the cameras. Scarcely believing my luck, like a 10-year-old child I requested a  gentleman quietly observing my child-like behavior to click a photograph of me and Bishop.

After taking the photo - which remains one of my most prized cricket possessions - this  gentleman took me to the studio inside the stadium. To me, those images were nothing less than the magical world shown in the chronicles of Narnia as for the first time I saw a plethora of gadgets and TV screens which focused on the stadium and the ground.

This was the first time that it started clicking for me as to what goes in terms of time, efforts and logistics to bring us this simple sport of bat and ball to audiences worldwide.

Two years later I happened to meet another gentleman, who is also a cameraman. We shall refer to him as Amar (not his real name). He gave me a sneak peak into the world of cricket broadcasting and was kind enough to give up his time for this free-wheeling chat on the life and perspective of the technicians who actually go about covering these matches.

A thank you would be a very small token of appreciation to Prem (again, not his real name), a friend, colleague and a younger brother to Amar who he has known over the last seven to eight years as a friend, philosopher and guide. Prem was one of the slow motion technicians to be covering the Cricket World Cup broadcasts that was held this year in Australia and New Zealand.

Thanks for this free-wheeling discussion! How long have you both been in this line for covering cricket and other sports in the country?

AMAR: It’s been now almost 30 years in this line. During this tenure I have had the privilege of working with Channel 9 Australia during their partnership with Doordarshan from 2000 to the mid 2000s. Cricket coverage in these years especially in India has undergone a complete renaissance over this period of time

PREM: I have been working in this line for the last six to seven years, but I still feel like a fresher. I have been fortunate enough to cover mass scale cricket tournaments like the Cricket World Cup 2015, IPL games over the last two years and also the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Most technicians like me work on a freelancing basis, as TV channels and broadcasters prefer to engage us on a contractual basis rather than on a permanent payroll mechanism.

You have been talking about the evolution of TV coverage with regard to cricket and other sports in the country. Can you give some examples?

AMAR: The best zoom lens available for most of the 70s/80s was 30X compared to 70X, 110X lenses which are now available. Until 1976 cricket remained a three-camera coverage. A seven-cam/two-VTR cricket coverage which was so radical in 1977 has changed its face by using 33 cameras in which includes 18 manned prime cameras. These cameras include two or four super slo Mo cameras, two or four ultra-motion cameras, umpire cam, spider cam, heli cam etc. And the specifications are changing every day for every event .

ISO/VTR’s/LSM linked to every camera, run out camera, stump camera, speed guns, Snickometer, Hawk Eye, computer score and Com.Cam in the commentary box are  common features in today’s cricket coverage.

A typical 20 camera plan for covering cricket matches during late nineties/early 2000s was like this:

• Cam 1 & 3: Wicket to Wicket Cameras
• Cam 2 & 4: Ball Follow Cameras
• Cam 5: Mid-Wicket Camera
• Cam 6 & 7: Slip Cameras
• Cam 8 & 9: Reverse Slip Cameras
• Cam 10: High 45 Camera
• Cam 11 & 12: Spin Vision Camera
• Cam 13 & 14: Mat Cameras
• Cam 15, 16, 17 & 18: Run out cameras
• Cam 19 & 20: Stump Cameras

Cam 1 to Cam 12 Cameras were manned cameras and Cam 13 to Cam 20 Cameras were fixed Cameras

PREM: Even in terms of action replays technology has gone through radical shifts. Earlier a VTR jog dial had to be operated manually for showing the replays. Telecasting a highlight package was difficult and for showing packages from previous matches, post production was the only way.

However with technology having turned digital, now all the recorded data is stored on hard disks. Cameras with high shutter speeds and high frame rates have entered the broadcasting industry.

The increase in the no. of frames per second produces very sharp replays of split second incidents, which enables umpires to take calls on 50-50 and tough decisions.

In your opinion, amongst Test Matches, ODIs and T20s, covering which format is the most taxing for technicians like you?

AMAR:  Covering one-day and Test matches, especially in a bilateral series is relatively less stressful as there is more of a time gap during Test matches , where you don’t have to travel every third day .

One has to more or less work with the same crew and hence one has more time in hand to set up the cameras and relatively less stringent deadline with respect to logistics when equipment’s have to be moved from one venue to another.

But in my opinion there is nothing more taxing than high pressure tournaments like the IPL, World Cup and other international series where a number of teams take part, where like a gypsy caravan the crew has to move every day with the equipment. Travelling over 10-12 venues covering 50-60 games in a space of four to six weeks demands a lot out of you.

PREM: I would beg to differ on this point. I feel the stress levels are relatively less in a tournament like the IPL as the cameras and equipment is already fixed and are not removed from respective major stadiums over the course of the six weeks when the tournament is played.

On the other hand in an ODI or bilateral tournament, as the same equipment is hired or used for covering all the games, transportation of this equipment from one venue to another venue becomes a cumbersome task.

More than ODIs, covering Test matches serves as a major challenge as it means waking up at 5:30 in the morning so that you can get ready and finish your breakfast by around 7am to board the crew bus to the stadium.

If you are lucky to have a very lenient director, the maximum leeway you can get with respect to reporting time is 7.30am.

Image © REUTERS / Action Images

Could you delve a little bit deeper into the process of setting up the cameras and the logistics involved while transporting your equipment from one venue to another?

AMAR: The camera assembly comprises wheels, legs, head, cradle, lens, camera, view finder, headset , the zoom and focus controls . Each component is placed in a separate numbered box. These numbered boxes are brought into the stadium and placed in the respective positions where the cameras have to be installed.

The camera crew comprises approximately 12 members who are divided into teams of 5+5+2. (In a 26-camera set up, the number of cameramen may be 18/19) The two members separate various boxes which comprises the camera assembly.

They sort these boxes and send them to the various positions of the stadium as stated in the diagram. The remaining two sets of cameramen lay out the cables to the camera positions at various ends of the stadium and connect them to the control rooms. This entire process, known as rigging, takes approximately 2-3 hours.

Rigging of other equipment in the control room is also done by their operators. This is generally done two days before the match day, thus technicians get enough time  to check and recheck this equipment.

In the case of day-night games, the matches are over at 11.00pm. The cameras are derigged (each component is placed again in the respective numbered boxes). Similarly, other equipment is also placed in the respective boxes by their operators.

All of this equipment is handed over to the engineering department of the TV crew who in turn get in touch with the movers and packers who transport it from the stadium to the airport.

By the time the crew is done with the derigging process, it is already between 1.30am and 2.00am when we are back to the hotel.

We pack our luggage and keep it out in the lobby. We have our bath and get done with things like shaving so that we can be in bed by 3am as we need to wake up at 5.30 in the morning to catch the flight to the next venue.

By the time we reach the next destination it’s around 10/11 in the morning. We need to report at the stadium by 2 o’clock, where the movers and packers have already placed the equipment at the venue control room.

By the time the cameras and cables have been rigged (assembled) like the earlier venue, each camera man responsible for his respective position adjusts the camera to his convenience depending on the height and posture (standing, crouching, sitting etc.) he is most comfortable with, while capturing the game.

How do the logistics dynamics with respect to camera transportation differ in a bilateral ODI/Test series compared with the IPL?

AMAR: During a tournament, if certain games are being held in venues located in Eastern India – Kolkata, Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar & Guwahati, decisions would have to be made as to whether road-based logistics or air-based logistics are to be used for transportation, e.g. suppose if a game is being played in Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar on the same day and the venues for the next day is Guwahati and Ranchi, it might make more sense to shift the camera equipment from Bhubaneshwar to Guwahati by air, as it would be cheaper to transport the equipment by road from Kolkata to Ranchi.

This is planned entirely by the transportation people and the engineering department in coordination with the production team.

Earlier the crew and equipment used to be carried in large cargo flights from one venue to other. The cargo flight has very few seats and those too on the sides. The equipment is placed in the vacant place, sometimes a layer of cushions used to be placed on the top of the boxes and crew members used to lie on them.

PREM: Also in a mass scale tournament like the IPL, at major venues like Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai the equipment is placed in the stadium for the entire duration.

Hence a lot of time is saved in the rigging/derigging process. On the other hand, in bilateral tournaments stress levels are greater because like a caravan the equipment needs to be transported from one venue to another venue.

The back-to-back matches in the big tournaments/leagues don't allow minimum required time to rig and derig the equipment for every match, and it probably makes more sense for the production company/ TV channel to place these equipment in the major venues, as the cost of shipping through air cargo equals the rental cost of using those equipment for 40-45 days.

However for smaller venues like Visakhapatnam/Raipu/Dharamshala etc., the camera assembly is transported from the major centres located in each zone (e.g. equipment used in Kolkata would be used in Bhubaneshwar and Ranchi in the East, while for venues like Dharamshala, the equipment would be transported from Delhi or Mohali)

How is it interacting with technicians from other countries during match coverages?

AMAR: When I had the privilege to be a part of the Doordarshan TV production crew as a cameraman, I had the opportunity to interact with other colleagues from different streams working with Channel Nine of Australia and WSG-Nimbus.

The crew consisted of Indian (DD) Staff and foreign crew from Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand who worked in different departments.

PREM: Currently there are only 300-400 technicians like us in the world who cover the game of cricket, be it domestic leagues or the international game. More often than not, most of us end up working with each other on different assignments which over a period of time has helped us to build comfort levels in the workplace.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that approximately one third of these technicians are Indians now. Currently Indians are doing very well in this field. But a lot of technicians from South Africa also come to India as there is more work here than back home for them.

Even in the World Cup, almost 50-60 per cent of the technicians were Indians. The camera crew covering leagues like the Bangladesh Premier League, the Indian Premier League, the Caribbean Premier League is the same.  A lot of Indian crew are involved with the coverage of the Caribbean Premier League also since its inception from 2014.

Don’t you ever consider getting permanently associated with a particular broadcaster on a permanent basis rather than working as a freelancer?

PREM: Most broadcasters prefer to hire us on a contractual basis rather than having technicians like us on permanent payrolls as it would not make financial sense for them.

It has to be noted that some cricket boards or host broadcasters give only telecasting rights and not the production rights to a particular channel. Hence it does not make economic sense for the channel to purchase the high end sophisticated cameras and expensive equipment which we operate.

At the end of the day it is the concerned cricket board or host broadcaster that hires these cameras from suppliers and it is these cameras and other equipment that we operate.

Hence we are neither on payrolls of any particular channel nor cricket boards. Only one Indian channel has some directors on their payroll as far my knowledge is concerned.

Doesn’t the assurance of a permanent employment dynamics lead to insecurities amongst peers in your industry?

PREM: Ours is a purely networking based industry. We have to be good salesman too, as at times not only what you know is important, but perhaps whom you know is even more important.

At times we do feel the heat, as there are many peers who are skilled enough for this particular job only. In many cases, if this is the only source of income for the technicians, insecurity levels are bound to go up.

Hence at times, this also bears reminiscences of a mafia set up, where other would not want you to enter this industry. However, for very few technicians who have other skillsets or side businesses as well, there is less insecurity.

Image © REUTERS / Action Images

What are the precautions that you need to take while undertaking these assignments. At times don’t you feel what you are doing is a thankless job?

AMAR: There cannot be a more thankless job than umpiring as far as cricket is concerned. The constant scrutiny one is under in, it is the only job where you are expected to have a 0% error ratio!

For us it is often imperative that we are at the peak of our health and stamina levels while we are covering games. Unlike a cricket match where you have a squad of 16 to replace one of the payers in the 11 if they get injured, there is no such scope in our field.

Since our job is a specialist job there is no one to replace us or act as back up. In fact while we work we only sip water to keep our lips wet as too much water consumption would mean leaving the camera for a toilet break!

And in our field every camera position is a specialist job! Throughout the day we are on light snacks like muffins for breakfast. Foreign crew members try to avoid lunch or have minimal snacks to ensure that their stomachs are in order while we are covering the games.

PREM: Hence we have to be very careful of the water especially, as the last thing you want to have is a stomach upset while on tour. The sleep patterns obviously get disturbed especially during day/night games and Test matches (which requires one to wake up early in the morning).

No spicy food and no late night outs during Test matches. At times it is almost considered unprofessional if we fall sick (especially in the initial days) as the next time, the channel may think twice before engaging us again.

Don’t you feel your job is a bit hazardous especially when you have to take aerial shots from the floodlight towers?

AMAR: That was many years back! Now spycams do that job (smiles). Due to security concerns, aerial shots from flood light towers have reduced drastically. In fact in some stadiums, some issues were raised that such shots might give ideas of distances and directions to fractious elements who are likely to create trouble as those shots gave a view of famous landmarks near the stadium like government buildings/

Now cameras on the tower are not allowed. The High 45 Camera (Refer to camera 10 in diagram) is placed at the highest available point in the stadium.

Any funny incidents that you would like to narrate you might have had with players over the years?

AMAR: This incident dates back to 2002 during an India-Zimbabwe Test Series during the first Test match held in Nagpur. As Sanjay Bangar was nearing his first century, the Director wanted to know approximately when India would declare as the cameras would focus on the dressing room accordingly.

I was operating the roving RF camera in that match. My Director gave me the arduous task of trying to talk to someone in the dressing room. As I was wondering, how to complete the task assigned by my boss, I bumped into the captain, Saurav Ganguly.

Explaining him my predicament, he gave me an indication of the number of overs within which Bangar had been asked to get to his hundred and I conveyed it to my Director over talkback. Robin Jackman (commentator) also heard this in his talkback.

When Ganguly declared at the given over Jackman looked very impressed with my cricketing acumen not knowing that it was Dada who had helped me to save face in front of the Director.

“Man you are awesome!!! You said so many overs and exactly the same thing happened,” he said. Needless to say my day was saved as generally cameramen are not encouraged to interact too much with players nowadays.

Cricketers like Anil Kumble are known for their fascination with photography and were often seen with the camera crew trying to capture the scene with their equipment. Why have such interactions reduced?

AMAR: As I mentioned before, the TV crew are no longer encouraged much to speak to players especially in the aftermath of match-fixing episodes.

At times when cricketers come to take cinematic shots, those are to create cinematic moments and create some change in momentum during the cricket coverage if the match is a little boring.

As the crew director requests a cricketer to handle the camera, the other cameramen are given instructions that cricketer X or Y may come to operate the camera, so be ready to take the shot! However now all this has been reduced.

Any other offbeat locations that you have covered during your professional journey?

PREM: Not for cricket, but for football, I visited Kabul two consecutive years to cover the Afghanistan Premier League. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world with very warm people and warm hearts.

Contrary to popular perceptions they are particularly warm to Indians. I remember going to this market place to buy some Afghan bread which cost INR 60. On knowing I was an Indian the shopkeeper treated me to a juice worth INR 80.

And in another incident I was intercepted by a Kabul policeman for taking a photograph of some protected place, on showing my Indian passport he asked “How is Kareena Kapoor ?”

Finishing off, don’t you feel a little more acknowledgement to your work by audiences and broadcasters will give you that added zest, especially on a dull and tedious day?

AMAR: The audience watching the game with earnest interest is reward enough for us. In fact, recently one of the broadcasters has added a new innovation in the Hawk Eye technology, that in a subtle manner recognizes our contribution to the day’s game as well.

***

I realise after a while that as a cricket lover and amateur journalist there will be no end to my questions to these two gentlemen.

Yet I wonder, the next time I watch a game of cricket on the TV screen, how much will I even think of the people who are bringing to viewers like us these wonderful shots. Maybe the only times we understand and respect their contribution to the game is perhaps when they are not on their call of duty.

Being an Indian cricket fanatic it does hurt, that while we cherish the images of 1983 and 2011 World Cup finals, we regret the fact that we have no visual evidence of Kapil Dev’s legendary 175 at Tunbridge Wells against Zimbabwe, as the broadcasters were on strike on that historical day.

That is perhaps when we really start appreciating the power wielded by the cameraman.

Images provided by Amar and Prem unless otherwise stated

© Cricket World 2015