'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#4 No hard cam
Creatively, this one is difficult, but it’s a must. One thing that, in my view, hasn’t quite hit the mark during the RAW and SmackDown episodes filmed at the Performance Center, is the continued and persistent use of the hard camera in the ‘arena.’
The hard cam is situated on the side of the arena that you rarely see on television, and films directly ahead – usually to show the atmosphere and audience in attendance, and to give a central, focal point for programming. Kind of a compass, if you like – a way of positioning everything and moving around from there. It’s one of the basics of being a sports entertainer. Look at the hard cam, play to the hard cam and talk into the hard cam. With no fans in attendance, though, and talent speaking effectively in an empty room, you have to ask; is this working?
It may be that WWE has to find a new and innovative way to deliver the eye-contact content that has been such a staple of its programming. Again, this one is a horrifically difficult problem to solve – hard cams have been used since the televisual dawn of time, so how do you move away from it? In my view, WWE need to try and find a way.
