The days of simply incorporating a landscape feed into a vertical video may be coming to an end
With the Euro and Copa America soccer tournaments underway, Fox Sports has an opportunity to lean heavily into vertical production as it looks to tap into the TikTok generation. By broadcasting live studio content on the platform, Fox Sports’ TikTok feed can give TikTok users more exposure, driving them to the main broadcast or converting them into followers. But the question is how to produce one studio show in two different aspect ratios: widescreen 16:9 and vertical 9:16. For Fox Sports, the answer is not automated technology but a second control, old-fashioned communication between the two production teams, and a new approach to blocking talent and show elements.
Having two control rooms allows Fox Sports to bring this experience to viewers on TikTok: (Below) is the same video shown in landscape orientation.
“We know that people are enjoying vertical content now. [aspect rations] “A landscape presentation just doesn’t serve that fanbase.” Michael Bucklin, SVP of Digital, Fox Sports“So we thought, what if we created it as an original product for the vertical consumer?”
The solution was to set up a small control room to lead a four-person production team. Director: Kevin ParisParis wears a headset and sits in a vertical control room, communicating with the 16:9 production teams that create the core feeds for Fox Sports, FS1 and FS2 programming.
“He hears the countdown in the other control rooms, the producers discussing what’s next, and the director positioning the camera,” says Bucklin. “Kevin’s goal is to look ahead, which is fun because he’s developing new processes. The graphics package has also been reworked so that ScoreBug now supports vertical presentations.”
Having two sets of graphics ensures that aspect of the production is tailored for each format.
“Our graphics team uses Tagboard, so it’s the same in both control rooms,” Bucklin says. “The biggest difference is, frankly, there are fewer graphics in the vertical control room.”
A large part of the learning came from the two teams working together to develop camera framing for a single camera group that could serve the needs of both formats.
“Sometimes we have to allow a little more space so one person can’t be on one show while the other is on,” Bucklin says, “and the cameraman is the only one listening to the broadcast director’s instructions so they’re not hearing two instructions.”
The trick, according to Bucklin, is to make sure vertical directors don’t get trapped in shots that don’t fit into the vertical space. While there are production tools that can automate things like vertical cutouts, Bucklin says the manual process allows the whole team to learn and ultimately make for a better on-air product.
“We learn something every day,” he says, “and once we know what we want, we can leverage technology to get us there a little faster and more efficiently.”
Early learning includes things like how to show things like talent reactions to what others are saying, and understanding how to display group brackets designed for horizontal display in a vertical space.
“You can’t be reactive, you have to plan your shots more effectively,” he says. “Cameramen now are learning how to put mental safety bars on either side. [of the vertical frame]We are all driven by our senses, and I think that will continue to be the case until this format becomes the norm and most technology adapts to it.”
Luckily, it works well in the TikTok world, where quick cuts are embraced, such as switching from one talent to the next to show a team’s performance evaluation, or showing all the evaluations at once in a wide shot.
“The vertical world favors faster cuts, so as long as the talent is holding the card up, we can cut and…boom, boom, boom…hit it all,” he says.
In the future, Bucklin envisions using a high-resolution camera that will allow him to punch in to either format natively, or flip the camera sideways so he can shoot in 9:16 and 16:9.
Bucklin said the ultimate goal is to turn TikTok users into TV viewers, who will be shown a listing after five minutes telling them to continue watching on Fox, FS1 or the Fox Sports app.
“The great thing about going live on TikTok is that it allows you to move your content to the forefront and stand out from the millions of brands, influencers and users out there,” he adds. “So we can reach people who follow Fox soccer, ask them if they want to join the live experience, and surprise and delight them by offering it to them in a native vertical format. In the first 24 hours, we gained 20,000 new followers who will tune in to our next live show. After that, it just snowballs because the more people who engage, the longer they watch, and the more people we reach. It’s been a really great project for both innovation and fan discovery.”
