EPT
Hi TL, this is a post I've kinda wanted to make this post for a while, in fact I've had to more or less written up for months, but I've finally gotten around to editing it some, so hopefully it will be helpful!
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ta2hw.jpg)
This is a waterfall, enjoy how beautiful it is in your own time, as the camera operator, your number one job is to resist the urge to be zooming in on random shit on the map like this.
Intro
When watching a stream of a SC2 tournament, arguably the most important thing the stream provides is the visuals, the camera capture of the game going on, obviously commentary is something that always spawns loads and loads of discussion, but at the end of the day people are often watching many streams at once with audio muted, and even with the best commentary, games can be head ache inducing if the camera is controlled poorly. From the NASL, IPL to MLG pretty much every major tournament has had issues with observing, GSL has become the gold standard really, while our first meeting with ST_Legend was a bit rough, I think everyone will agree the GSL observing is top notch and has become the gold standard. Not only is the observing in GSL superior to pretty much every other tournament, the dedicated observing allows the casters to do a much better job and provide better commentary. I expect by the end of 2012 every major tournament attempting to have top tier production value will need to have a dedicated observer for their main stream.
Basic DOs and DON'Ts
DO:
Have the menu on the top left turned off, the in-game timer turned on, and hotkeys above the main console turned on. This stuff is simple, but often it is ignored, don’t ignore it.
DO:
Use the scroll wheel on your mouse, don’t jerk your mouse to the side of the screen you want to scroll to as if you’re playing, if you think the arrows keys work…. You might be some kind of psycho but just keep the movement smooth and you can probably get away with it. For bonus points feel free to remap your camera pan from the scroll wheel to something else if using the mouse wheel is uncomfortable.
DO:
Click on the minimap if you’re going to move far across the map, maintain some balance though, if you’re going to go from a main to a natural, consider panning and showing the player’s entire base, in short, use common sense. Watch GSL casts, and WCG Korea on OGN to see this done best.
DO:
Select a unit of Player X, hold V and demonstrate to the viewer what this player can see, SC2 is all about information and as the person controlling the camera you need to be able show the audience. This is particularly useful with the initial scouting worker to show basic things like if I player has seen their opponent take their gas geysers, but is important throughout the game to keep tabs on what each player knows. Particularly if there is a Terran in the match you should be trying to keep tabs on anytime they may scan and showing the viewers what they see. You can also use F to follow particular units of a player!
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/soYbH.jpg)
This can be the difference between winning and losing for a Protoss player, if the viewer doesn't get this information, they don't really know what's going on!
DO:
Keep tabs on upgrades, click a single marine/zealot from time to time, even use the mouse cursor to add emphasis and point at the upgrades, the caster or you if you’re also casting don’t even need to necessarily mention it, just add it to your “motions”.
DO:
Watch the minimap, keep tabs of unit compositions and know when different forms of harassment may occur so you are ready and do not miss them (Hellions, Medivacs, DTs, Warp Prisms, Mutas, Banshees, and SO ON these are the type of active units you need to be aware of when they are out on the map). Having experience playing the game at a high level will actually help here.
DO:
Have health bars set to “selected” and before important engagements hold shift + double click all units with energy, such as Ghosts, Sentries, Templar, Infestors, etc. Also continue to select important units, and if the situation calls for it hold the ALT key, if Viking are abusing certain terrain to get potshots on Collosus, for the love of god select the Collosus so the viewer can see what is going on. If its Ghosts vs Sentries and Templar, double click a ghost, then hold shift and double click a sentry and HT, voila!
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/oc2mX.jpg)
As HuK and Thorzain trade EMPs and Feedbacks in the center of the map, having hit point bars on for these Marauders would really create a lot of clutter, for now keeping tabs of the Ghost/HT energy is great, and the alt key can be used if any storms do land on the Marauders.
DO:
Actually play the game, watch a lot of VODs, understanding the standard builds and common cheeses will help you show what’s more significant so you aren’t sitting there also trying to figure out why the players are doing what they’re doing and what it will lead to.
DON’T:
Overuse some of the gimmicky tabs; the units tab and the production tab are by far most important, stick with the bread and butter, sometimes it’s cool to see that 40 drones or whatever died, but if hellions are just being traded on par with drones and get cleaned up, it doesn’t necessarily put either player ahead and provide any valuable information. The income tab should basically be avoided in any matchup with a Terran player because MULE timings are largely random and create very useless numbers, furthermore in a matchup like ZvP I firmly believe you’re better off having the commentator quickly go over the worker count, number of bases each player has and if any bases are getting close to being mined out to give the viewer an idea of where each player stands in terms of income.
DON’T:
Zoom in for every god damn thing, it can be a neat feature, and useful when some idiot won’t leave and his last 20 probes and 2 zealots are getting kited by 30 marauders, but please don’t overdo it. Common sense rules all here, ST_Legend does it well, but sometimes it feels like he is overdoing it.
DON’T:
Just randomly select units, select units that will show something of value, energy levels, upgrades, what units are queued up on a building, etc etc
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/EeNn4.jpg)
If you don't know what to do, give the scantipedes some respect.... wthin reason.
DON’T:
Just focus on one player, keep it balanced, even if we’re watching NesTea and nerdgasming over what he’s doing, we can only appreciate what he’s actually doing if we know what his opponent is doing.
Conclusion:
Overall, when I re-read this list, most of it is pretty obvious. I think the reason so much SC2 observing is poorly done is because the caster just doesn't think about it, they're much more focused on casting, and rightfully so, casting isn't easy, but for the most part casters are stuck doing double duty, so focus on camera control as well as casting. If you're very serious on improving IMO this guide is a good start, but take some time and watch GSL/OGN broadcasts, see how their camera work is done, watch the stream muted, and see how easy the game is still to follow without commentary, then pick another random cast from MLG/IPL/DH etc and watch it muted, see how it compares, see what you like about how the camera is controlled in some games as opposed to others, mimic things you like, minimize things you don't.
BONUS:
*Remap hotkeys to make your life easier, finger hurts holding down the scroll wheel? Use a button on your mouse, same can be said for F (follow), V (vision), and alt, etc!
*Keep tabs of where Ghost Academies and catch nukes as they leave the silo, you’ll feel like a real gosu if you catch them taking off, but don’t do this at the expensive of seeing the nuke land or missing a very significant engagement etc.
If anyone else has tips/tricks they've picked up on or notice casters doing, feel free to post and I'll do my best to update this. Varying opinions are of course welcome to, feel free to discuss anything relating to observing.
Thanks for it! 
