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Talking Cutups
Breaking Down Game Tape

Part II - Continued from May \'04 Issue: The Mental Game
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Before the 2002 season, Purdue University Defensive Coordinator Brock Spack and his staff created a dozen tutorial tapes on various aspects of the defense. “We don’t cover everything,” says Spack, “just the most basic things, like fronts and covers, and the most complicated things, like blitz packages.” Players check out the tapes and watch them in the football offices. “These babies don’t leave the office. No take-home copies.” If and when players watch the tutorial tapes, which tapes they watch, and how long they watch for is up to the players. It is non-contact time, yet still has more instructional depth and value then players just watching game tapes or cutups.

Video Coordinator Jason Barker helps Spack and the other defensive coaches make the “talking cutups,” as the Purdue staff calls tutorial tapes. “The coaches give me a list of plays. I make a cutup of those. I also make all of the titles into a separate cutup. Then we go into the defensive staff room. I put a microphone in front of the coach and we start working through it.” Barker routes video output from the computer-based game analysis system through a Video Pickle and then through an AG-1980 VCR and on to the video projector. The microphone is on a desk stand and has a cable running to the microphone input of the AG-1980. Barker records the opening title then pauses the VCR. He then loads the appropriate plays cutup onto the computer. He tells the coach he’s ready and holds up his hand as a “stop” sign. He un-pauses the VCR, waits a couple of seconds, and cues the coach by pointing to him. The coach manipulates the video plays while commenting, exactly as he would in a meeting. The coach sees the video on the screen exactly as it is recording, except that a laser pointer can’t be recorded onto the video.

If the coach wants to telestrate at a particular point he pauses the video and holds up his hand. Barker pauses the tape in the recording VCR. The coach then uses the ‘Pickle’ to diagram over the video freeze frame. “The Pickle sat in the video closet for years because coaches couldn’t work it fast enough to use in a live meeting,” says Barker, “but it is fine when the coach can take his time with drawing.” The coach indicates when he is ready to proceed. Barker holds up his hand, un-pauses the recording VCR, waits a couple of seconds, and points to the coach. The coach continues his comments with the freeze frame and diagramming now on the screen. The fully diagrammed freeze frame and coach’s comments will appear to pop in smoothly and instantly when the finished “talking cutup” tape is viewed.

When the coach indicates that a segment of the tape is done Barker pauses the recording tape and loads the titles cutup on the computer. He then reminds anybody in the room to be quiet and records about ten seconds of title onto the tape. You want to record enough of each title slide that someone viewing the tape can find a segment in FF/Review mode.

He then reloads the cutup of plays and cues the coach to begin the next segment. In that way they work their way through the material planned for that particular tutorial tape.

At any point in the process the recording tape can be rewound to check playback if the coach is unsure of what was just recorded. However, then the tape needs to be re-cued and put back into record/pause before continuing. “That takes time and increases the chances of messing something up,” says Barker. “The key to the talking cut-ups is for the coach to be prepared and have a concentrated hour or so with no interruptions. And don’t be a perfectionist. Yes, the idea is to get it right. But don’t stop and re-record just for a mispronunciation. Treat it like a live meeting. If there is wrong content by all means stop and redo it. It’s fairly easy to re-record the most recent segment, but almost impossible to fix the middle of the tape.”

If you don’t have a computer-based video system, you can still make tutorial tapes. You need two VCRs, or a VCR and a camcorder. One VCR is for source tapes – with plays on one tape and titles and diagrams on a second tape – and the other is for the recording tape. If you make PowerPoint slides, play diagrams, or titles on the computer there are two ways of getting those onto the recorded tape. If the computer has video output (composite or S-VHS) then run it directly to the recording VCR. If your recording VCR has multiple video inputs, like Panasonic AG-1980s, then you can have the output of the source VCR going to one input and the output of the computer going to Video 2.

If the computer doesn’t have video output you have two choices. One option is to print the slides and diagrams on paper (creating them in landscape mode if possible) and videotape them with a camcorder. Videotape a generous amount of each graphic, at least 30 seconds. The second option is to run the RGB output of the computer to the data input of a video projector. You can record the video projection of the computer graphics with a camcorder and use the tape in the source VCR if you are using a two VCR setup. If you are using a camcorder as your record VCR then you can switch from video to data input on the projector when you want to go from the source VCR with plays to the computer with graphics.

This camcorder approach is the most simple because it lets the coach function almost as he would in a meeting, including recording his laser-pointer. The camcorder, not the coach, should be squarely in front of the projection screen. It should be on a tripod with the coach as close as possible to the camcorder so that his voice can be picked up by the camera mic without extraneous room sound. It is better to use a remote to pause and un-pause the recording tape in the camcorder to avoid potentially loud noises from handling the camcorder. The biggest drawback to using a camcorder as the recording VCR is that it is more difficult to check playback on the tape and re-cue it for recording.

Explaining the different combinations of VCRs, computers, camcorders and projectors makes the process sound more difficult than it is. The point is that tutorial tapes can be made with different combinations of equipment. The keys are to organize your video and graphic materials and to develop a sense of when to re-record a segment and when to let it go. The other key is to enlist an assistant so that you can concentrate on delivering your instructional content. Be sure to record a test tape first so that you can check that audio and video elements are recording properly and so you can get a sense of what the finished tutorial tape will look like. You will be amazed by how seamlessly your tutorial tapes play back and how valuable the instruction can be.
About the author
Dr. Peter Fadde


Dr. Fadde worked as the Video Coordinator for Purdue football for 13 seasons while working on his Ph.D. in Instructional Research and Design. He is now an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where he teaches graduate classes in Learning Theory, Interactive Multimedia Instruction, Web-Based Learning, Instructional Gaming and Simulations, and Video Production. His research interests include using interactive video to train high-speed decision-making in areas such as sports, vehicle operation, use-of-force, and emergency response.






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