Typical Day
It all started back in the fall of 1974, when Cam Raman was but a wee baby. Cam's father took him to his first St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. Somewhere deep inside Cam's infant mind, a love of sports—and especially America's favorite pastime—was born.
However, Cam had a problem: He was the clumsiest kid ever. He couldn't catch a baseball without dropping it. He couldn't be open for a pass during a football or soccer match without tripping over his own feet. His performance in track and field was terrifying to behold.
Even though Cam was a complete failure as an athlete, he still loved sports. He spent hours in front of the television every week, watching all kinds of sporting events, and this ultimately inspired him to become a sports camera operator.
Now, it's 12:45PM in St. Louis. Cam has been at Busch Stadium since 5:00AM, preparing to work the early afternoon match-up between the Cardinals and the San Diego Padres.
Today, he's responsible for Camera Five, and even though he finished setting up for the game's broadcast ages ago, he does a last-minute check of his equipment. There's no predicting when something might malfunction, and Cam always does everything in his power to prevent a technical screw-up on his end.
At 1:00PM, Cam puts on his headphones and connects with the broadcast director, Joe Manyscreens, in the production trailer. Cam and Joe have worked together on several occasions and, most memorably, at a pre-teen ice skating championship in Fargo, North Dakota. They speak briefly to ensure that their lines of communication are open, and then Joe asks Cam to turn his camera to the field, where the pre-game warm-up is concluding.
At 1:15PM, the game begins.
As a die-hard Cardinals fan, Joe would love to give his full attention to the game, but he can't. He's too busy listening for Joe to bark directions in his ear. Camera Five is focused on the pitcher's mound, and so it seems as if Cam is constantly taking shots of wind-ups and pitches and of each pitcher's face as they react to the play on the field.
Cam knows that, in the production trailer, Joe is parked in front of a bank of screens matching shots from cameras situated all over the stadium as the footage is beamed up to a satellite and then to television screens all over the country.
Sports broadcasting is like an intricate dance with a million revolving pieces—live footage, sound, graphics, pre-recorded video, and on and on—linking together into one seamless show. Cam feels immense pride in being a part of something that requires teamwork and his complete concentration. It doesn't hurt that he's seen more baseball games for free than anyone has a right to.
Suddenly, Joe's voice crackles over Cam's headphones. "Seven, we've lost you!"
Joe is referring to Camera Seven, which looks out over the third base line. The operator there is an old pro, however, and it only takes a minute or two to resolve whatever technical issue the camera was experiencing.
The rest of the game is uneventful, well, at least it is from a broadcasting perspective. The Cardinals beat the Padres 8 to 2, and Cam can't stop a silly grin from spreading over his face.
Once the game is over, Cam shuts down his equipment and heads over to the production trailer to say goodbye to Joe and any other crew members who're there. Several of the guys, Cam included, decide to head over to a nearby sports bar for a beer and some fried ravioli. Maybe they'll actually get to relax and watch a baseball game while they partake.
Cam has had great success as a sports camera operator, but that success took years to achieve. He had to start out as a camera operator in the studio at the NBC affiliate in Amarillo, Texas.
On the weekends he would scout out local high school sports events and practice his technique. Eventually, he started getting picked up to film college teams in Texas, and then college sports events all over the country. He was then able to move home to St. Louis and become a regular camera operator for the Cardinals games.
Right now, Cam feels that his career is pretty stable, but he does wonder what will happen as technological advances allow networks to replace more and more human camera operators with robot cameras. After all, robot cameras can't unionize.
But, on this sunny fall afternoon, as Cam settles around a table with the other crew members and orders a cold one, he's content with his lot. And, hey, the Cubs are on TV. Cam gleefully prepares to spend the next couple of hours booing the rivals of his beloved Cardinals.