Einstein Spectator Experience

[Nemo]

I didn't get to see Einstein last year, but compared to 2013 I thought it was very well produced and a great experience overall. Being able to watch that live felt like a pretty nice reward for making it there.

No speeches between matches! Thank you! This really improved the energy and intensity and tension of the show.

Replays and analysis between matches were nice. The bits of entertainment between matches were mostly fun, especially Bad Lip Reading. I could have done without YMCA / Macarena / etc, but nevertheless I thought the filler between matches was very nicely produced. It's hilarious that they got Bad Lip Reading for FRC!

Alternating between the two fields was good, and I was very pleased that they didn't consolidate down to a single field at the end, which would have hosed one side of the seating.

Having eight division champions to watch was awesome.

I thought the round robin format was GREAT since it allowed us to watch a bunch of interesting alliance combinations of the division winners. I'd love to see the round robin format based on average scores in a regular game with more interaction between the alliances.

[cgmv123]

My biggest complaint is that the people on the upper level had to look through the lighting trusses or at the opposite end of the stadium to see the video walls. They need ones that are higher for Einstein (and the finale if it's separate in the future.)

[sanddrag]

On Einstein, FIRST had a prime opportunity to present their most prestigious award while they still had everyone's attendance and attention, and they missed it completely because they valued an electronic music concert and dance party more. Disappointing. We need less chicken dance and macarena, and more awards, like it used to be.

[JB987]

+1

[Mackenzie W]

I'd like to apologize to the World Champions, Finalists, and others that didn't have an audience there to congratulate them on their win. Our team assumed the awards would be given on the other stage, and only realized that they weren't when we looked to the other side. If they keep this setup in future years, I think these awards should be given on the main stage where everyone transitions to immediately after Einstein, or give an incentive to stay at the field.

[KosmicKhaos]

Well, the stream could've been better if we actually saw what was going on. I swear we saw more of human players and drivers than robots

[Monochron]

Originally Posted by KosmicKhaos

Well, the stream could've been better if we actually saw what was going on. I swear we saw more of human players and drivers than robots

Well we did get a pretty sweet close up of Mike Corsetto's face for like a quarter of one of the final matches. So that was nice :/

[Louis_]

Originally Posted by KosmicKhaos

Well, the stream could've been better if we actually saw what was going on. I swear we saw more of human players and drivers than robots

Can confirm, and look at all that grain!

[AlexD744]

The spectator experience was much more lively than in past years without the lengthy speeches interjected. Thank you for that!

However, it was frustrating that Einstein started over an hour past schedule...

Myself and many others were very confused about the chairman's award not being presented at Einstein. We always thought that one of the perks of the CCA was being able to get the best seats for Einstein and be seen by all the teams. Many teams don't attend the finale because of long bus rides back home or for other reasons, and it seemed unfair to the winner to not have everyone there to see their win.

Also, the between match reporter was so awesome!

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by AlexD744

Also, the between match reporter was so awesome!

I know what you mean.

[orangelight]

I was sitting in the upper level and every time there was a match I had to lean on the edge of my seat to see the fields. If they moved the fields back like 10ft it would have been fine.

[Pretzel]

Originally Posted by AlexD744

Also, the between match reporter was so awesome!

My only thoughts on the reporter were, "That's great!"

It's a cool idea but the implementation of it could have been a bit better. Most of the questions were along the lines of, "How excited are you right now?", "What is your match strategy?" and "How did that last match go?". The first question will always have an answer of "Very!", the second will never get an honest answer other than "Score lots of points", and the third one would have been more interesting if the reporter didn't say, "That's great!" when 359 told them it all went horribly wrong and had instead listened and asked a little about how they tried to recover from their autonomous troubles.

I think the presentation similar to a sports cast, with the two "color commentators" between matches is something that needs to be done for a major TV network like ESPN to pick up the championship, but it could use some refinement. Maybe pick the emcee's to be the color commentators so that you're hearing the same voices each time, instead of bouncing around to 2 emcee's, 2 people giving the play by play, and 2 people at the sports desk.t

[AlexD744]

Originally Posted by Pretzel

My only thoughts on the reporter were, "That's great!"

It's a cool idea but the implementation of it could have been a bit better. Most of the questions were along the lines of, "How excited are you right now?", "What is your match strategy?" and "How did that last match go?". The first question will always have an answer of "Very!", the second will never get an honest answer other than "Score lots of points", and the third one would have been more interesting if the reporter didn't say, "That's great!" when 359 told them it all went horribly wrong and had instead listened and asked a little about how they tried to recover from their autonomous troubles.

I think the presentation similar to a sports cast, with the two "color commentators" between matches is something that needs to be done for a major TV network like ESPN to pick up the championship, but it could use some refinement. Maybe pick the emcee's to be the color commentators so that you're hearing the same voices each time, instead of bouncing around to 2 emcee's, 2 people giving the play by play, and 2 people at the sports desk.t

I know and agree... I was making fun of her over use of the word awesome. Roboshow in orlando has pretty good field side interviews. I don't know if the champs interviewer is affiliated with FIRST or not, but it helps if the interviewer knows the game and teams really well. Would've also been good to talk to the 4th alliance memebers and get their perspective, e.g. talking to 900 about the harpoons.

[James1902]

Originally Posted by AlexD744

I don't know if the champs interviewer is affiliated with FIRST or not, but it helps if the interviewer knows the game and teams really well. Would've also been good to talk to the 4th alliance memebers and get their perspective, e.g. talking to 900 about the harpoons.

I could be wrong, but I believe she was one of the two commentators from Georgia's GameTime so I think she's a FIRSTer.

To be fair, that sort of interviewing is a tough gig. Usually, if it's the interviewer's first or second time doing it, they'll end up having a catch all filler word that they keep going back to, hers seemed to be "awesome", mine was "fantastic" in the past. This can be trained out of you with enough repetition and experience. For me that took the form of watching past interviews wanting to bang my head against a table because I couldn't believe I said the stupid word "fantastic" AGAIN!

I do think FIRST, or her producers on the floor, should have done a better job prepping her about that catch word. It also probably would have helped to let her do some warm up interviews at a bunch of different fields on Thursday and Friday just to get some practice in before the big show.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by AlexD744

I know and agree... I was making fun of her over use of the word awesome.

Perhaps you shouldn't be making fun of a volunteer on a public forum. Would you do this to her face?

I understand that once you pick up a microphone you become a target for criticism, but please remember that every speaker/MC/announcer is a person with feelings. Constructive criticism is one thing, but making jokes over word choice is over the top. Maybe I'm rubbed the wrong way by this over the ad hominem criticisms I've received over the years over my performances, but just try and remember that words can have real impacts on people.