Why is the camera work for E3 press conferences always so atrocious?

Every. Single. Year. When showing trailers, the video stream's for these conferences will go from 'full screen trailer' to 'darkened room, dark empty stage, panning about said empty darken space, trail on 1/4th or less of actual screen". They go from showing us the full trailer to showing us a camera filming a screen with the full trailer!

Every year, every conference. Almost as bad is going from what is suppose to be at least live game-play, showing us not the gameplay, but some random dude/dudette holding a controller. Again, at best we will get the game behind them in 1/4th of the screen. Happens less now but arg!

This has been going on since I started watching e3 stuff in like..2008? Whenever I got cable/they were on spike/g4. Its as if the people with control of the camera's/video feed desperately need too prove they know how to make their camera's move, or call for "ok go to camera 2" or whatever. Its insanely annoying, seemingly super stupid..but I've never seen anyone complain about it/mention it except me? Maybe I've just missed it? Maybe I am clueless for the great reason they do so. If so, enlighten me fellow GB fans. Otherwise..does this bother anyone else? Do people even notice..

You're not the only one that it annoys. I think they think they'll someone calture the crowds reaction in that dark room. Idl, but you would think they'd know to stop by now.

I agree, it is super annoying when they cut to the stage. Maybe they do it to show off their expensive sets. But it seems to be slightly less bad this year. Vinny has certainly complained about it before on past year's streams. I don't believe they cut to the stage at all during the Bethesda show. It was basically a "Bethesda Direct" with the stage only appearing to bookend the presentation.

I thought MS did a pretty good job this year of keeping the trailer at full screen, only cutting when it played with the format where it extended out from the screen.

Fingers crossed the Sony camera work continues to be terrible. I want a random fast zoom. Always gives me a chuckle.

It's bad, but I feel like it's been slightly better this year. Of course the best thing would be that they never cut away from the trailer or gameplay footage.

It hasn't annoyed me so far in the same way it has the previous years.

I don't know. They only seem to cut to the stage when there's something 'extra' to see there (like some special effects work like smoke and lights), so I'm not too bothered with it. Especially since you can just watch the trailer on Youtube anyway.

The camera work on E3 conferences is usually really good actually. What you're describing isn't camera work, camera work is how the camera moves, the shots, etc. What you're describing is probably direction (even though direction dictates the camera moves and shots, it also dictates the cuts).

I think they cut to the stage because they think it's important to show how the video looks on the stage with all the lights, multiple screens (and pyrotechnics sometime). I understand why they want to cut it to the stage shot, there's a lot of work on the production of the stage, but that is for people who are there to see, making the cuts on the stream isn't necessary. It doesn't really bother me that much, since I I'm into those types of productions and I can watch the trailer later on YouTube, with better quality than the stream. But it also definitely gets annoying sometimes, specially when they cut to the stage and there's nothing happening there.

Because live camera work is actually really difficult and takes a buttload of coordination.

Just speculation, but it might have to do with the game companies hiring external production companies. These production companies most likely focus most of their work on capturing all kinds of events (concerts, large meetings, stand-up comedy, etc.).

So while WE might want to just watch full-screen trailers, the production company was hired to cover an event. So they do what they do best, and try and cover the press conference like they would the rest of the events they work on in a year.

I'm sure it's the least of the game companies concerns that the production company tries to put in a little razzle-dazzle, when they're probably more focused on getting everything else at E3 ready.

Or maybe no one really knows what they're doing, and this is all a dream.

Same. It was for sure better than years past. It seems they are just using it at the start of trailers and stuff vs last year I remember they'd cut out of trailers and show wide shots of the stage during videos it was maddening.

Sony is always the worst offender. I hope they don't tighten it up because it's very amusing.

The Bethesda presentation this year was refreshing in that regard