In the world of sports, creating engaging content is essential to keep the audience interested and provide professionals with valuable insights. One such type of content is sports highlights, which include key moments from a match or game. In this article, we will explore the different methods of creating sports highlights and their benefits.
Typically, after a match, the recorded video footage is sent to the studio, where editors create highlights for different purposes as requested – compiling dangerous moments for fans, fouls and tactical elements – for coaching analysis, and so on. Here are some of the situations in football that can be shown as highlights: scoring a goal, a goalkeeper's save, a free kick, dribbling, passing, tackling, headers and feints. High-quality highlights enhance fan engagement, especially via social media, while coaching analysis provides a comprehensive view of the match.
There are two general ways of producing sports highlights:
- Manual creation – after the game or match, the recorded material is given to the editor. The editor works with a list of files by hand and it takes time to process them, especially when working with multi-camera setups;
- AI generation – as AI may not be completely accurate and there is always a risk of incorrect moment recognition, each algorithm needs to be customised for a particular sport. The main challenge is that the output still requires human review and correction.
Both methods have their pros and cons, but ultimately, creating highlights manually provides more control over the final product and ensures accuracy in selecting key moments. Meanwhile, using AI can save time and effort, making it a practical solution for teams aiming to swiftly produce highlights for external or internal use.
The SLOMO.TV team offers two effective solutions for creating high-quality sports highlights:
- Dynamic creation of an Edit Decision List (EDL) during the routine Replay Operator control. In this case, the timeline for the Non-Linear Editing (NLE) is generated during the event. This allows the editor to work with the recorded material (using DMR™ technology) both immediately after the match and dynamically during the match. The editor receives a list of recorded files and markers for the most interesting moments from the replay operator. This simplifies the manual compilation process;
- Automatic generation of highlights for each of the replay playlists. With our replay system, the operator can easily categorize replay clips into playlists, with each playlist dedicated to a specific type of event – such as goals, kicks, fouls and so on. Once recording is complete, one or more selected playlists can be exported to a video file. Thanks to the wide range of formats supported, the finished file can be used in an NLE editor for final editing or immediately shared with the audience or posted on social media.
An operator marks playlists with tags such as 'foul' or 'goal', which are then used to automatically create an EDL file. This file is uploaded to a video editing software, where the NLE editor creates a timeline. The editor can then immediately edit and export it to a video file, speeding up the process considerably.
The significant advantage of the SLOMO.TV system is the ability to create highlights from different cameras. When creating the EDL, this feature makes it possible to tailor the content specifically to the audience (fans and coaches need different types of overview) and during automatic export to use the camera marked by the operator as "shot from the best angle". In particular, the operator can choose which events he is interested in exporting, for example fouls and standard positions or kicks and saves.
The user can also select the export format. For example, a football club's video editor may need this feature to further edit video content for social media. It can definitely simplify the process of uploading videos to various video hosting platforms.
These solutions can be used to create engaging and informative content for a variety of purposes, bringing the most exciting moments of the game to audiences and providing valuable insights into team performance.
In conclusion, producing high-quality sports highlights is a challenging task that demands meticulousness and a thorough understanding of the sport. However, by employing modern technologies and adhering to proven methods, you can create captivating and informative videos that will assist you in achieving your objectives.
