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"If we're in Berlin we just
take the straight High Definition [HD] feed from the International
Broadcasting Centre in Munich, whereas if we're on site we can
supplement with whatever we want, so I'll have three or four cameras in
the studio and three or four cameras to add on to the match coverage.
Then I can make it more England-specific, so if John Motson suddenly
calls for a shot of David Beckham or something, I can cut that in –
because the hosts will have a brief to be neutral, it's quite clearly
defined as to what they can and can't do," explains Phil.
He's excited about the ability
to broadcast the tournament in HD for the first time and says that for
those who have the equipment to receive HD signals, it will make a huge
difference.
"It's almost as big a
difference as black-and-white to colour, it shows such amazing
detail," he says. "I'm really pleased that we're going to be
the first ones to do it over an event the size of this."
He reveals, however, that it
does bring its own problems… "In terms of the way you shoot it,
it will still be the same – but there are big differences in terms of
the way the set is constructed. Every little glitch and every little
bump needs to be smoothed out. You can get away with a lot less with HD
in terms of make-up, for example – it's so much more defined."
The BBC is covering England's
opening match against Paraguay on 10 June, and Phil's desperately hoping
Sven's men have a good tournament.
"If England do get through
[from the group stage] we've got both the first knock-out game and the
quarter final exclusively on the Beeb, so they are certainly quite large
events for us."
To reflect that, supplementing
the main pool of presenters, commentators and expert analysts, a few
crews will be out and about in key areas – plus the host broadcasters
are sending out 14 crews around the various team headquarters so the BBC
will have access to interviews, training footage and the like from them.
And for its part, the BBC is supplying its commentary to some of the
other nations, including Germany, as an option on their interactive
coverage, so anyone who doesn't want to hear the domestic commentary can
hear the likes of John Motson instead.
As for Phil, his job isn't half
as glamorous as it sounds...
"I'm in a truck the whole
time – the last World Cup and the last Euros I haven't actually seen a
single game as a spectator! For the big England games, sometimes you'd
like to sit down and watch it with a beer with all your mates, but then
to have the opportunity to do what I do – I'll never ever be able to
beat that," says Phil, who's quietly optimistic about England's
chances although "you can't really look much further than Brazil at
the moment".
He adds of his own World Cup
experience: "It's a bit like how footballers feel when they score a
goal, when you're doing it on BBC One, because you know that so many
people are watching and whatever you do is going to be seen by them –
I get a great buzz out of it" |
UK...
BBC Throughout June
