What is it that makes a Kickboxing show great?

[Slyman]

Hi all,
I don't know if this has been posted before but I'd just like to run this one by you and get some feedback:
What is it that makes a good show great?
Is it the venue? Well matched fights? KO's? Ring Girls?
Comedians between events? Martial Arts demo's?
Pomp and ceremony? Atomsophere? Fireworks etc etc.....

What is it that keeps you coming back?

You have to feel for promoters sometimes. They put in a lot of effort which can be brought undone by pullouts, incorrect weights, training injuries, colds and flu's and the like. The best planned show can be reduced to crap on the night. Ya just gotta love the sport I reckon.

Who knows, maybe your comments might give them an idea about something no-one has thought of doing yet.

Here's my two-bobs worth and from a photographers perspective, I like good even lighting. No dark spots or hot spots in the corners. No lights in positions where the fighters (or photographers!) vision is impared by lights hitting them in the eyes. Of course the good lighting come from the shows that are on FOX Sports, but there are a few venues around (in Sydney) which have great lighting available, but sometimes it isn't used. Having two 500 watt halogens 10 feet above the ring just doesn't cut it sometimes.
It's understood that most shows are run on a tight budget and shooting from ringside, my angle of view lends itself to getting lights in the background. Sometimes it adds to the photo, other times it can be a rectal pain.

cheers Slyman

[paul c]

After having a good long think about it,

Hype, Prior History, Great fights and good venue.

I've been to quite a few shows were the fights were brilliant, but I had no knowledge of who the fighters were or whom they had fought prior to the fights I just witnessed. I walk out of these show half satisfied.

Compared to for example the now coming Ozkan Vs Tsakonas fight which has really been in the making for possibly 18 months. Well, I know that the Tsakonas camp have wanted it for ages. Or if we are ever to see a Nezif Vs Zambidis fight, I think the anticipation of such a huge fight plays a very large part of just how satisfying, or not a Kickboxing Show is.

Phogographers need not read (I'm sure it will only bore and confuse).

I agree with you about the lighting, espescially now that I'm shooting digital, flash is near impossible with my generation of camera. The difference between a fox covered event compared to some of the others I've been to has been enormous. When the images look crap, I reckon it makes the show look a little grungy, so I think it's in the promoters best interest even if they have to buy them, to put up more lighting. The halogens they sell at the hardware are basicly the same as the ones on the ring. I think you can pick them up for about $40 each.
Ian, I was once shocked to hear a Video Cameraman in Sydney asking the promoter to turn the lighting down. I have absolutely no idea why, or how it would help his video production look better.

Lucy's last show....ISO 800, 1/300th of a sec at F4, plus a neautral corner position (important as you don't wanna get in the way of teams). An absolute dream shoot for me. As are all Solak's shows (when I do get a corner seat), espescially when he has big video screens that can be used as colourful backdrops.

The worst lit I've been to...ISO 6200, 1/125th wide open at 2.8.
It was an absolute nightmare to try and even focus, and I felt blessed to have enough shots to hand over to the mag (only just, you can imagine how bad the grain was...totally yuk). Five stops of light diffence is absolutely huge. I think it roughly works out to the fox covered event having about 64 times the light.
The smaller shows that use the small halogens really need to have at least 8, but 3 in each corner would be awesome. Even then the light is about 1/4 of the fox shows.

Nightmare shoot scenario #2
The seats are so close to the ring that you can't even straighten up to take a shot, plus your in the middle of a row of people and your camera bags are on an annoyed spectators feet.
You tell the promoters assistants how difficult this is, only to be told to shoot from your seat.
I couldn't be bothered shooting ropes all night, and luckily for that shoot, I didn't have to hand anything in to Blits, so I left after the second fight as I didn't want to trash (back then) $200 worth of film and processing.