A rough version of my complaint to the BBC. I will post up any reply I get

"I have complained before about the camerawork on Strictly Come Dancing but last night was worse then it has EVER been. I saw the cameraman clearly at one point, his shadow is often clear on the floor and I am more aware of him then any of the dancers. In BBC2 It Takes Two show you constantly show fantastic camerawork with a still camera where we can see exactly whats going on - but when it comes to the live show you go beserk! Tell the camera team to STOP upstaging the dancers, stop rushing manically at them and take a backseat. The dancers are putting huge amounts of energy into it and that comes across well enough without the camera running round in opposite circles to the dancers, swooping down and showing their heads or, as they did this week, give us a good shot of Brendan's armpitt as they swooped under his arm and behind his back. I love the show but the camera work is completely ruining it for me. I started a discussion on the Strictly come Dancing forum and so far there have been over 100 posts and counting...people are as furious as I am! We want a still camera, so we can see what everybody else is seeing, as its impossible to tell how fast anything is because the cameraman is involved in some sort of competitive race with the dancers."

The full blurb I sent:

"I would like to make some comments about the totally inappropriate camera techniques and cropped shots in Strictly Come Dancing. Dancing is about the whole body. The torso, legs, feet etc. The flying, zooming, circling, fast cutting editing and camera moves destroys the flow of the dance being watched. The dancers have created the routine to ensure it flows form one second to another and from one move to another. The camera work removes this aspect and we lose the meaning of the dance. Also, for people who are trying to pick up tips on technique we miss the actually footwork body position etc. During the guest singer section we get more shots of the singer than the dancers themselves which again is why we watch the show. We do not watch it for the singer however famous they are. We aren't interested in fancy camera work we want to see good content. It shows that the BBC do not think the content is good enough to just show it as we would watch it if we were there. When we go to a live performance we see the whole thing is one continuous wide-shot and we come away feeling truly part of it. Fast editing and shoddy camera work reinforces the fact that we are not there and makes us feel separate to the experience. I would like to make some comments about the totally inappropriate camera techniques and cropped shots in Strictly Come Dancing. Dancing is about the whole body. The torso, legs, feet etc. The flying, zooming, circling, fast cutting editing and camera moves destroys the flow of the dance being watched. The dancers have created the routine to ensure it flows form one second to another and from one move to another. The camera work removes this aspect and we lose the meaning of the dance. Also, for people who are trying to pick up tips on technique we miss the actually footwork body position etc. During the guest singer section we get more shots of the singer than the dancers themselves which again is why we watch the show. We do not watch it for the singer however famous they are. We aren't interested in fancy camera work we want to see good content. It shows that the BBC do not think the content is good enough to just show it as we would watch it if we were there. When we go to a live performance we see the whole thing as one continuous wide-shot and we come away feeling truly part of it. Fast editing and shoddy camera work reinforces the fact that we are not there and makes us feel separate to the experience."

exellent!Have you sent these to Points of View too?
I hope so.
It's a campaign!
Does anyone else think it's ridiculous that we are begging to be allowed to watch a programme?

I know! The irony is unbeliveable!

I want to watch this programme every year that it is on and as far as I'm concerned we are like all campaigners and freedom fighters in history! - creating change for future generations!

This was the reply I have just recieved:


Thank you for your e-mail regarding 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

I note your general appreciation of the programme but also your concerns over
the standards of camerawork that are employed.

Please be assured that your comments on this matter will be fully registered and
made available to the 'Strictly Come Dancing' production team and indeed senior
management within the BBC. Feedback of this nature helps us when making
decisions about future BBC programmes and services and your views will most
certainly play a part in this process.

For the latest news and features relating to the programme, you may wish to
visit:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.

Regards

Jonathan Carberry
BBC Information

oooh- your complaint is going to Senior Management.
Hurray.Watched the mini SCD on BBC2 last night.You were right- it was worse than ever.
What are they trying to prove?

Maybe theres an award we don't know about for "worst camerawork in a series" that they are trying to win...well - if so, I can't think who deserves it more!!

It will be interesting to see what happens if POV is involved

Just to chime in with my 2 pence worth, Re: camera work. Completely agree that it’s getting really off putting and irritating now. Seriously can’t they just park the flipping camera already?

Another thing that bugs me is during the results show when the pro’s are dancing to which ever singer they have on that week, and they spend so much time on the singers, this was also a problem on dance fever. Sorry to state the obvious but you don’t have to see a singer to appreciate their performance, doesn’t quite work the same with dancing! I appreciate that they may have spent a lot of money on getting west life etc. on the show, but it’s a dancing show, I want to see the dancing. Not an extended close up of a bloke who looks like he may cry with the emotion of whatever lyrics he’s singing

Okay rant over.

I just got this reply to my feedback (didn't go for complaint):

Thank you for your e-mail regarding 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

I am delighted to learn you enjoy the programme, however, understand that you find the camera work detrimental to your enjoyment of the performances.

The BBC is committed to the highest production standards in programme making. We also seek to utilise new technology and techniques. One such advance is the digital camera, a small lightweight device that can be operated by reporters or producer/directors for many different applications. The greater flexibility these cameras offer has enabled the BBC to make hundreds of innovative programmes that would be either too costly or simply impossible to shoot with a full film crew. They can also add realism and tension to drama or give 'energy' to static environments in some lifestyle programmes.

We know some viewers find this distracting, but our programme makers are careful to ensure that only the clearest footage is used.

Nevertheless, please be assured that your concerns on this matter have been registered for the attention of our programme makers, along with senior BBC management. We find viewer feedback an invaluable source of information for the future development of our programmes and your comments will play a part in this process.



Interesting to see there isn't just one reply being cut and pasted for every complaint, or perhaps there haven't been many yet! I would urge anyone who has posted in this thread to send their comments, as I doubt the thread alone has enough impact. I for one felt slightly pathetic doing it, but worth it if our views are heard! It is very easy, just go to www.bbc.co.uk/complaints , I'm thinking of sending one for every show!

Funniest part of the reply for me was the claim that the cameras can "give 'energy' to static environments"... what are they on?!

They'll just wheel out a producer to say the same thing.

Just emailed a complaint:

I'm disappointed to see that the camera work on Strictly is still detracting from the dancing.

I appreciate that Strictly is not *just* a dancing show, but it is a dancing show. Exciting camera work does not "add" to a dance when it means that half the time the viewing audience at home misses important things.

Case in point: Emma and Darren's foxtrot on Saturday - we were unable to see who we agreed with on arguments about Emma's footwork, because we hardly got to see her feet. Sure, I can see that those not that interested in dancing will want to see their faces too, but for a programme where the public hold 50% of the vote, and which purports to be promoting ballroom dance, it's a little strange not to show any technical aspects - this has not been limited to this one sequence, I merely use it as an example.

Another one: Mark and Karen's Paso Doble: now there's one routine that didn't need "added drama". Dramatic dancing and so exciting - so why, towards the end of the routine, does the camera swoop away from the dancers till they can hardly be seen, and until the frame is dominated instead by the silhouette of audience members' heads, and the lights around the edge of the dance floor? I am most intrigued as to what precisely this "added" to the dance... I doubt even the least interested of watchers is going to be more excited by electrical equipment and the backs of people's heads than by good dancing.

In short, while I am sure most people can understand that Strictly is not just about the dancing, and that for some viewers the sweeping camerawork maybe in some degree necessary to retain interest, the excess is doing no one any favours, and is detrimental to everyone's viewing enjoyment.

The implication that the BBC considers the British public to have an attention span of less than 5 seconds and to not care about the dancing as long as they feel they've had a rollercoaster tour of the studio is ridiculous, frankly insulting, and very frustrating.

Carol's very own video diary of SCD! http://www.carolsmillie.tv/SCD_carol_smillie.htm

Please can you have a word with the Production team on SCD? The camera work on the shows is distracting to say the least. Can you ask them to focus on the dancers for more than 4/5 seconds at a time, and to avoid swooping around like a bird? Also, can you ask them to have a think about the music used for the dances. Bon Jovi for a Paso? Seriously? It makes much more sense to use more traditional music.

I've visited the SCD forum on Digital Spy and there are lots of other viewers out there who feel as frustrated as I do, and I know they have contacted you to express their feelings (a lot more eloquently), but my feelings are the same, and I'm sure it's numbers of complaints that change things, not the length of the complaints.

I look forward to seeing a change over the next few weeks.

I registered a complaint on the BBC website. Here's my complaint and their reply:

I said:
Week after week my enjoyment of the program is spoiled, by the over enthusiastic use of swirling camerawork.

I'm sure that the Producers think this adds movement and flight to the dance routines, but we the viewers are increasingly fed up, as we do not get to see the routine in it's entirety, nor can we see the all important footwork.

Frequently the dancers are in the middle of a step when the camera begins to move around them. It means that we don't get to see how the step goes, since our point of view has moved. I don't think the Producers or the Directors realise how annoying this is, or how much it affects our enjoyment of the program.

From a dancers point of view, I want to see the routine filmed from a fixed point. I want to be able to see the performance as a whole and the footwork especially.

I am not alone, nor is it only dancers who are experiencing annoyance. There are many members of the public who have come to realise that they are missing over half of a routine, because of terrible camerawork.

I'm sure that the 'swirly camera' is a great innovation and has it's place, but Strictly Come Dancing is not one of them.

And their reply was:
I understand that you feel the camerawork is often of poor quality during 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

The BBC is committed to the highest production standards in programme making. However, we know some viewers find camera movement distracting and our producers are mindful of the need for restraint in this area. They are always careful to ensure that they get the clearest possible footage but this can be difficult when covering an activity such as dancing live.

Rest assured that your concerns have been fully registered on our daily audience log. This internal document will be made available to the 'Strictly Come Dancing' production team and Senior BBC Management.

So, not much of a reply and since when has it been difficult to film live dancing? They managed it on Come Dancing for years!

Oh well, maybe if the complaints keep going in eventually they will get their butts in gear.....

I understand the BBC's point that the new camera's make the proccess less costly, no need for a full film crew - but perhaps they could take that same cheap camera, and that one man, and tell his to 'stand still and follow the action by moving the camera side to side' - is this too obvious?

Surely it will be easier then sprinting manically around the room!

Well,Thess - you got a better reply than most of us- sounds a little more positive.
Austen - couldnt agree more- cut the budget to one 15 year old apprentice with a videocamera& the end product would still be better.

I agree, the videoclips on this are of much better quality..... and was Brendan Cole the man recording her rehearsal of the quickstep as his voice can be heard very clearly from behind the camers ???

Maybe if the judges boot him off, he can apply for a job as a cameraman.....

I don't think they will take any action as long as the viewing figures hold up.

The reply I got from BBC Complaints:

"Thank you for your e-mail regarding 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

I appreciate that you have concerns with regards to the camera work used on the
programme in that you feel it affects your enjoyment of the dancing and your
sense of 'being there'. I also understand that you would like to see more of the
dancers and not the guest singers.

Please be assured that I have fully registered your comments on our audience
log. This log is made available to the production team of 'Strictly Come
Dancing' and senior BBC management.

Feedback of this nature helps us when making decisions about future BBC
programmes and your comment will play a part in this process.

To find out more about the programme and the dancers you may wish to visit the
following website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/strictlycomedancing/

May I thank you once again for taking the time to contact us with your comments."

Very non-commital. Though if more people get this reply I am going to stop watching. I have other things I can practice where the source material is a one camera steady cam!

Originally Posted by sarah-flute
Just noticed this on the site:

Send in your questions to our 'red button' commentator.

This week, in our series of interviews with the people in front of and behind the cameras, we're talking to Philip Jackson, the man who, each week, commentates on proceedings via the digital 'red button' service.

Once again, we want you to send in your questions. Send them by 10am on Friday to strictly@bbc.co.uk and we'll pose a selection to him.

Come back next week to read the full interview.

I borrowed this from another thread - hope Sarah Flute doesnt mind.I've asked him whether he has to cope with the camera work too.

I don't mind - I borrowed it from the site!

Good question - I hope it gets asked

Hi - got another reply from the BBC from my 2nd complaint after the last episode -

Thank you for your e-mail.

I understand you feel the camerawork in this year's 'Strictly Come Dancing' is poor.

We are always delighted to receive feedback, both positive and negative, from our viewers. Your comments will be carefully registered on a daily log, which is made available to our programme makers and senior management. Feedback of this nature helps us when making decisions about future BBC programmes and services and your comment will play a part in this process.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact the BBC.

Regards

Gary Sullivan
BBC Information

Haven't heard back yet. Let's hope it's because they've been inundated with complaints - might give them something to think about.