Broadcast Reminder - IAME US Grand National

His parents thought it was great, they actually paid my friend $100 because he got the shot of Carson from outside turn 1.

My question was more from a race organization standpoint, do you think they should/will ban standing the the kart as a celebration? I don’t think they should, because it’s not something a driver is going to do at every race, probably just the major events like the Grand National Championship. I do, however, think it will get banned because of insurance concerns.

I thought the same thing of Norberg sliding across the start finish line though after Josh Green did it a couple years ago and slammed the barriers under the flagstand at GoPro. They let that stay around, so who knows for sure.

1 Like

Can we get a link? I watched the tuner stuff but there’s hours of footage to go thru.

1 Like

Here’s a link timestamped to the celebration in question:

Here’s a better shot of the celebration that wasn’t on the broadcast

Ah yes the ol standing up trick that is so awesome. Yes, I agree. The answer is to secretly like this but be mortified when giving feedback to the teen in question. Bad idea, but cool.

To be fair, this is probably one of the least stupid and dangerous things a teenager will do in his life. :joy:

Lord knows I’m lucky to be alive post-teenage years.

2 Likes

Hey at least he’s wearing a helmet for this one!

2 Likes

Late to thread as per usual nowadays but just wanted to say big thanks to all who tuned in!

A huge thanks mentioned above to @KartingIsLife – this doesn’t happen without my chats and late night zoom calls with James.

I’d love to hear thoughts on what people want to see more of – both in the broadcast and the clips coming out of it over the next few weeks. More interviews? Fan / fenceline shots? I have to also give a major kudos to @Alan_Dove for him pointing out months ago the benefits in low camera angles versus high up ones that WSK does now.

I specifically put our turn 4 camera as low as the operator could go with it to simulate high speeds at the viewpoint. And am hoping to do 1 to 2 more in the future.

3 Likes

Xander,

I think we all want to Thank You! That was some of the best State Side Live coverage we have seen in some time. I really liked the addition of your guest announcer. He did very well, gave good banter and allowed for cut coverage from the grid. Nice touch! The interviews and cameo guests were great. They helped fill the down times and kept us entertained. Keep this up and you may find a segment on one of the Networks. :champagne: :boom: :dizzy:

3 Likes

I’d bet he used Eurosport coverage as an example too haha. We lived for that stuff in the 90’s.

I’ve had good results with low mounted static cameras to convey speed at key points. All it takes is a gopro camera at kart driver shoulder level. Position it close as you safely can to the racing line facing the entry of a fast turn at the end of a long straight and you get a great sense of speed. It seems like having the karts enter the shot close to the camera (vs starting it a distance away) makes it more dramatic.

Another trick is to find spots where the track is raised above the area you’re shooting from, even if that means zooming across from a distance away.

I think having some B rolls ready for the longer breaks would help with retention, vs the ads being on a loop. They could be from any race really, just something to keep people watching during the downtime. Just make it clear that it’s a replay of some sort and up next is xxxx

Things like a drone shot or onboard cameras would be “cool” but I think adding one or two static “speed cameras” would be a good balance between adding spice, without a lot of extra cost or complexity.

Firstly - yes low cameras for the win. Secondly, congrats on what you’re doing!

The only major thing I’d like to see that I think might not come through natural evolution as you improve and learn, would be thinking about ‘at-home type documentaries’. I always wanted to do this myself but never got the chance. Now I know investment wise this is particularly difficult, especially somewhere as vast as the USA, but having interviews and features outside of the ‘karting paddock’ and seeing the drivers units back home and how they go about their racing and life helps add that vital bit of personality and character that helps draw me in as a viewer. I know so much about the various SX riders, what they do and what they have to go through. It’d be cool to have something similar in karting.

One regret I have had really is not doing this kinda stuff in the UK when I had the chance. I’ve been in so many racer’s places and seen their garages and how karting has embedded itself int heir existence. All the challenges and stories. It’s the kinda gold broadcasters would absolutely pounce on in any other sport.

I think, simply put, it’s celebration of karting culture. Connect the today with yesterday. That way the viewership potential grows. Culture is what binds us, makes us feel part of something. That kind of stuff helps build long term viewers and stuff like that.

If I were you the first thing I’d do actually is go tot he Rose Bowl, where it all begin for karting. Do a little feature about that. Maybe track down those who actually raced there with Art Ingles. That would be an awesome 10 minute feature man. This kind stuff during race breaks or pre and post race would just take the coverage to a level unheard of in karting. The sport has relied far too much on “look at the drivers who did karting and now are in F1 or whatever” as if that’s our collective culture, our collective history, it isn’t really. It means nothing to me or most people. 99.99% have more in common with Art Ingles and those who raced at the Bowl than the 20 drivers who left karting at 16 and now race not-karts.

I did it with the World Cup video in 2019 (then the world stopped) - https://fb.watch/7cCpKMcn6w/

I wish I could have done more. But all the locals who watched the race live were posting it on their groups and stuff so it really engaged a demographic of people I’d never have gotten to before.

This is dream world scenario ideas and depends on how you view karting, but thought i’d put it out there anyway. I think the potential is huge. Good luck with it Xander, you’re putting your own stamp on it and its working. I am just some old bloke now so don’t listen to me lol

image

1 Like

I literally was saying to Ben Edwards a couple weeks ago on Zoom “DUDE,… the commentary… the low angles… make sure everyone who was about then knew how awesome that was for karting”. I am not sure he knew what hit him. No one has ever mentioned the Eurosport karting stuff to him before lol

1 Like

@XanderClements One of the things that stands out to me about the nice SKUSA vids for Nats is the “scenic” bit at the beginning when introducing the broadcast. It’s well done always and I think helps communicate the feel of the venue/event. I dunno if that interests you but the scenery stuff is good too.

Really great work, btw. Your vids are very well done.

Dug a clip up and made a YouTube short just like the cool kids with one of the static shots I have.

Looking at it again, I think I’d almost shoot from a height and zoom in to close up the FOV and make it more intense. The sensation of speed is lost as they head into the turn (obv)

This is GREAT! Well done! Really enjoying the Grand National! What a professional job. More of this, please! :+1:

I notice that some of the drivers lean to the OUTSIDE on some turns. Is that in order to get the inside rear to lift more, so as to get the kart to rotate? They seem to be doing it rather late in the turn if that’s so. But I’m new, and trying to learn…

1 Like

Not entirely sure but sometimes leaning to the outside can be useful on longer turns to add grip. You are trying to out additional weight on the outside tires, planting them down more firmly.

I was messing about with this at OVRP double apex just before the chicane. It works but feels wierd.

It’s to generate more load transfer to the outside on the rear and “free” up the kart.

I found that you can feel what the kart is doing better and once you start leaning out, it can be hard to stop… Which sucks if you take a ten year hiatus from karting and gain 100lbs in that time.

Plus it looks kinda cool.

Xander, how the heck do you learn to talk so FAST!? :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: You definately have a future in sports broadcasting! :+1:

@RacerRob59 – Hah just plenty of years of practice! I’m a HUGE fan of the MRN / PRN commentators on the radio for NASCAR and the Indycar radio guys as well. Gonna have to continue to tailor things a little bit different now as we transition to be able to do more video shows and not just radio. Truthfully, my announcing goes back more than 10 years to my esports leagues with NR2003, iRacing, and Kart Racing Pro when I was 12. I also did it at my club races for free until I got my first paid gig at 15 and things spiraled from there.

@GregF – Caleb did awesome for his first big weekend! I’m hoping to have 1 additional announcer // dedicated pit reporter moving forward also.

@KartingIsLife hm. Good point on the b roll between commercial breaks. We’ve got a healthy two months before the next major US Karting event in the USPKS finale, so that may give us time to film and edit more in between segments. And the fixed cams will be a big help also I’m sure.

@Alan_Dove gave a lot of thought to your comments here. I too am a huge fan of Red Bull’s Moto Spy series. I think moving into 2022 that may be the direction we go with the traditional Kart Chaser episodes, with the current ones splitting into two segments – individually uploaded Race Remixes and “Pit Pass” videos that feature the banter and shenanigans in the paddock. Then we could take our time with each episode and instead of doing one per major event, do one per month or something, and use some extra time to film outside the track also to build storylines.

@Bimodal_Rocket glad you mentioned the scenic // cinematic shots. NASCAR Radioactive I think also does a great job of finding those each weekend. I’ve been trying to coach my guys into those more. Big ups.

2 Likes

I think it could be stuff you’ve already done, even from previous events at other locations. Since you’re going to be trying to get in front of more and more new eyeballs, I think it’s OK to showcase the other badass stuff KC has created. Just make it clear via captions etc that its that it’s a replay. I recon start with the backlog you already have… then as time goes on you could look into incorporating clips from the same event to complement those.

Watching an FD stream, here’s one way to do it. The live shot on the bottom right. I guess this could be from a camera on the grid since there’s always something moving there.

The pit pass is a good idea, there’s a good vibe in the pits with the KC group when they come to town, definitely valuable.

ORLY? We should talk about KP 2.0. (Jokingly called KP Evo)