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Nicole Abuid

Eleanor Boudreau

ENC 2135

28 November 2017

Project 2: FULL DRAFT

FADE IN:

INT. SPORTS BAR- NIGHT

In downtown Miami, after the Indiana Pacers vs Miami Heat game.

JERRY, the technical director of the Miami Heat live production team, walks away from his

conversation with the producer, one of the cameramen, and playback operator. He walks forward

and sits next to BETH, the director, who was talking to the audio operator, JOHN, before he just

left.

JERRY

Hey, Beth, its nice to see you! Can you believe the Heat won again? We truly do work for the

best team right?

BETH
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Hey Jerry! Yes, this show went much more smoothly than I couldve ever imagined. Im so glad

we invested in new machines, they truly make all the difference. Speaking of the technology we

use, I found this article the other day regarding the technological development of our field that I

thought you would find interesting.

JERRY

Oh really? Tell me all about it! In fact, theres this photograph I wanted to show you that my

English buddy in the business sent me recently.

BETH

The article begins by the author listing the faults of previous research in the field of televised

sports production and proceeds to explain how she will not repeat those faults in her own

research.

JERRY

(nods in response)

BETH

She discusses the implementation line which artificially separates organizational activities

around development and use of new technologies (Liang, 472). Essentially this means that

the development of new technologies and the use of new technologies have been studied

separately, but not together. She states how studies of technology and the organization of it has

been hindered by this line. She then goes into detail as to why this has been an occurrence in
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these studies, and in the next paragraph goes on to state the purpose of her paper and of her

intention to cross the artificial implementation line. This purpose, in particular, is to analyze the

technological and organizing practices surrounding the development and implementation of

new TV technology within a particular context (Liang, 473), the context being the televised

production of the Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

JERRY

Thats very intriguing, why do you suppose the author began the paper that way?

BETH

I suppose that she discusses the flaws of previous studies in order to create a sense of urgency in

her research. I believe Lang wants to emphasize the necessity and originality of what she is

offering to her audiences for the future of the televised sports production field. She is offering a

new perspective on the relation between the development and use of new technologies.

JERRY

I see, adding a sense of urgency in your paper is an important factor for the audience to care

about what the author is saying. Actually Beth, who exactly is your authors audience?

BETH

Her audience are people who have an interest and/or those who are affected by the previously

mentioned new technologies and their development. People who are affected by this are,
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essentially, us. Those who work in the field and have to keep up with these technologies, which

is what makes it so urgent for us.

JERRY

Thank you, it always helps when analyzing media and understanding its purpose when you know

the intended audience. In the case of my photograph, the photographers audience is, essentially,

the general public. More specifically, those who hold interest in the televised production of

sports games. Anyways, back to what you were saying.

BETH

Yes of course. The author, Limin Liang, then explains in detail about what her paper will focus

on, and what questions it will address. Next, she provides a history of previous literature and

theoretical framework in the context of televised sports production, which goes into further

detail of the issues within the field. Actually, the author provides another example of exigence

within the previous literature and theoretical framework section.

JERRY

Oh really? That must mean that she really wants to emphasize on the urgency of his work.

BETH

Yes, she speaks on how new technology negotiates and is impacted by different tiers of goals

embedded in the technological frames (Liang, 475). She adds on that in the process of

technologys development, these goals take on various degrees of urgency (Liang, 476). She
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mentions this to show the importance of the groups which interact with one another in the field.

She wants to emphasize the urgency of improving and maintaining how these groups function in

their quest for success. These groups include media agents, and the technological and creative

departments of broadcast agencies.

JERRY

Thats very interesting Beth. My photograph is a control room, similar to the one we have in

fact! I have a copy on my phone actually,

(JERRY takes out his phone and shows BETH his photograph)

The photographer places dozens of pieces of technology in the frame and contrasts the darkness

of the room with the light emitting from the technology. This is done to give the viewers a sense

of the intense, fast-paced environment of a televised sports production control room. These
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factors contribute to creating a sense of urgency within the photo, emphasizing how quickly the

crew members must work.

BETH

How fascinating, its very intriguing to see how visual and text mediums differ in how they use

structural and rhetorical tools to portray their purpose and ideas. Back to the topic of the

structure of the article I read, after the previous literature and theoretical framework section, the

author sets the stage and gives a history of the technological innovation in Chinese Olympic

coverage, and then divides the rest of her ideas under a series of subheadings until the conclusion

where he summarizes all of her ideas. She organizes his paper this way in order to compose her

ideas more efficiently and make this complex topic more friendly and comprehensible to her

audience.

JERRY

Would you consider the fact that your article is focusing solely on Chinese Olympic coverage

and not, say, all Olympic coverage to be a constraint?

BETH

I would consider it a constraint. However, in this case, I do not consider it to have a negative

connotation. I believe that the author focuses on Chinese Olympic coverage in order to dedicate

all of her efforts and research on this one topic, and not minimal amounts of effort on multiple

topics, or in her case, countries. She did this in order to be as detailed and informed as possible in

her research. Focusing her efforts on the coverage of the Chinese Olympics, and not on the
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coverage of multiple other countries, is both a better use of her time and contribution to the

televised sports community.

JERRY

I see, now in the case of my photograph, the constraint is the frame itself. Its what the author

decided to show in the photograph. I believe he chose this framing in order to be specific yet

broad at the same time. He wanted to show the control room atmosphere, but only the most

important section of the atmosphere in order for the excitement of the photograph to have a

stronger impact.

BETH

I agree, authors do have to pick and choose the most important parts of their work in order for

their piece to reach its true potential.

(Beth signals the bartender for the check)

What do you believe is the tone of your image?

JERRY

Let me first explain the purpose of the image, which is to capture the excitement and intensity

within the NBC Sports Network live production crew as they utilize the technology in their

control room to capture the English Football Premier League. The tone of the photograph is very

animated. The author, or photographer in my case, combines the contrast of light and darkness,

the placement of technology and the people using it, and the vibrant images on the televisions to

create this tone. One crew member in the middle of the photograph is seen with his hands in the
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air, presumably cheering. The excitement emanating from him is intended to spread throughout

the photograph, and therefore, through the viewers of the photograph.

BETH

(BARTENDER arrives, she gives him her credit card)

Thats a very well-thought out analysis Jerry. The tone of my article is analytical and

informational. This is apparent from the complex syntax used in the first sentence of the abstract,

Using a social constructionist and structurational approach to technologies (Liang, 472), as

well as when Liang begins to explain what her paper focuses on, on page 473. The use of this

tone adds to the author's credibility, and the papers formalness.

JERRY

Yes, I could tell that your article is rather formal. While I believe that my photograph is more

formal than a common picture taken on a phone, it does not reach the level of formality that your

article does. Let me give some context. The author of this image is Tim Clayton, an award-

winning professional photographer who has been hired to photograph NBC Sports Network

studios covering the English Football Premier League. It was taken in a professional context by a

professional photographer.

BETH

I completely understand. My article was published in a scholarly journal, while yours was

published on a website, so naturally they are going to have different levels of formality!

However, they do both meet the conventions of their individual genres. Your photograph
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communicates immediately what it is trying to say, while it takes a while longer to get through

my seventeen page article to understand its entire meaning.

JERRY

That is very insightful Beth. Actually speaking of the photographer of my image, what is the

credibility of the author of your article, if I remember correctly, Limin Liang?

BETH

(BARTENDER returns and hands BETH her credit card)

Yes, Limin Liang. Since you ask, she is a professor at the City University of Hong Kong and has

a BA and MA from Beijing Foreign Studies University, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern

University. She has published seven pieces, including the one I have been discussing, on topics

surrounding media production. I believe she is incredibly qualified in the research she is

presenting in this article.

JERRY

From what youve told me, I agree that his qualifications are impressive. I have no doubt that the

stronger the credibility of the author, the stronger the credibility of the work itself.

BETH

I second that statement!

(Grabs her purse and stands up)

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Well, Im afraid its time for me to leave, but I really enjoyed this conversation with you Jerry. I

hope that you have a great rest of the night!

JERRY

Its been great talking to you too! Have a nice night Beth.

BETH

Good night!

(exits the bar)

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Reflection Question: How (and why) did you choose a specific topic within your field to write

about for Project 2?

The topic that I chose to write about for Project 2 is that of technology/technological

innovations within the field of televised sports production and its impact on broadcasting events.

Without technology, and improvements of said technology, the field of televised sports

production would be nonexistent. I believe that it is important for the technology within the

control room to be up to date in order for the crew members to keep their skills up to date, and

for the atmosphere of the control room to be as productive as possible (and as exciting and

intense). I have seen first-hand just how essential technology is within this field through my

experiences using professional broadcasting technology in high school. I have also seen how

newer and better technology in replacement of older technology can positively impact the

success of the live event. In my high schools television production program our teacher replaced

our then-current live sports event technology with newer models (courtesy of donations from the

Miami Dolphins). Although it took our student crew a couple days to understand the differences

between our old systems and the new systems, after practicing with the new technology it made

our live events much smoother to carry out.

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WORKS CITED:

Clayton, Tim. NBC Sports Network Studios Covering the English Premier League. Getty

images, 21 Sept. 2013, www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/production-control-room-3-at-

the-nbc-sports-network-studios-news-photo/527405342#production-control-room-3-at-the-nbc-

sports-network-studios-in-picture-id527405342.

Liang, Limin. Television, Technology and Creativity in the Production of a Sports Mega

Event. MEDIA CULTURE & SOCIETY, May 2013, pp. 472488.