Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

This is one of five departments I run with a free hand to manage as I – and only I – see fit.

So, in retirement with nothing much else to do, I came up with three inquiring minds questions. 

As for the answers, I found them on Google.  Think about that for a minute.  It used to be that, to find answers to such questions, you had to consult your bookcase full of encyclopedias, hoping to find the answers after a long look.  Now, you touch a couple buttons and the answers come up quickly.  Such is our technology-fed life these days.

1. HOW DO YOU TEACH ACTORS TO LIE STILL, WITHOUT MOVEMENT, WHEN THEY ARE ON THE AUTOPSY TABLE?

According to Google, TV actors use a combination of physical control, specialized auditioning, practical tricks, and digital effects to lie completely still on an autopsy table.

Specialized Auditioning:  Casting directors actually test actors on how long and how still they can lie without moving or reacting, as not everyone can handle the mental and physical challenge.

Controlled Breathing:  Actors master shallow diaphragmatic breathing, completely exhale to flatten their chests, or hold their breath entirely during close-ups.

Focal Techniques:  To avoid blinking or involuntary eye twitches when their eyes are open, actors fix their gaze on a distant, out-of-focus point or use contact lenses to help retain moisture.

Visual Effects: Modern productions frequently use digital compositing — capturing a still frame of a resting chest or eyes and layering it over footage where the actor might have subtly moved or breathed.

Body Doubles and Dummies:  For longer, wider shots or scenes that require graphic forensic handling, productions swap the actor out for a lifelike silicone/foam dummy or a prop.

See, now you know.

• HOW DOES THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE INDIVIDUAL RECORDS, SUCH AS HOW MANY YARDS HALFBACKS (ARE THEY STILL CALLED “HALFBACKS”?) PICK UP BEFORE AND AFTER CONTACT?

As I have watched a number of pro football games these days, I have found myself asking how those involved in putting on the game keep track of all the stats.  Such as how many yards halfbacks get before and after they get hit.

From Google:

Keeping track of the absolute deluge of records, obscure stats, and player milestones in the NFL is a highly synchronized operation.  It relies on a combination of microchip technology, automated custom software, specialized research bureaus, and human stat crews working simultaneously.

1. The Technology: “Next Gen Stats” and Automated Alerts

The foundation of modern NFL record tracking is digital automation.

• RFID Chips: Every single player has two RFID microchips embedded in his shoulder pads.  Additional chips are placed inside the game balls, on the officials, and inside the first-down markers.’

• Instant Processing: Powered by Amazon Web Services and Zebra Technologies, chips track location, top speed, and acceleration 10 times per second.

• Automated Record Pings:  According to stadium personnel on Reddit, the home team’s local stat crew inputs data into a central computer system.  When a play causes a historical record or obscure milestone to break, the computer automatically triggers a visual alert to notify officials and media.

• How TV Analysts Get Stats Instantly:  When a broadcaster randomly drops a stat like, “That is the first time a quarterback has thrown three touchdowns to three different tight ends in the rain since 1984,” he or she didn’t pull that from memory.

• The “Stat Box” Production Truck:  Behind every major broadcast (CBS, FOX, ESPN) sits a dedicated production truck.  In it, research directors use highly advanced sports software (such as SMT’s QBStat machine) to feed live metrics directly to the commentators’ booth monitors.

• Research Bureaus:  Networks pay millions to look up information via the Elias Sports Bureau (the official statistician of the NFL) and commercial databases like Stathead Football.

• Sub-30 Second Graphics: If an analyst thinks of a wacky or highly specific question during a drive, an off-camera research operator can type, search the massive database, and push a custom graphic onto your TV screen in less than 30 seconds.

There.  Again, aren’t you glad you know?

• WHY DO NFL COACHES ALMOST ALWAYS COVER THEIR MOUTHS WHEN THEY TALK ON THE SIDELINE?

The basic answer is logical.  NFL coaches shield their mouths when they talk primarily to prevent opposing teams, TV cameras, and professional lip-readers from decoding play calls, formations, and strategies.

Key reasons for the habit include:

• Stopping Lip-Reading:  High-definition broadcast cameras and sideline zoom lenses can capture a coach’s facial movements in slow motion.  If an opponent matches a spoken key term or play name to the resulting formation on the field, they can crack codes and anticipate tendencies.

• Guarding Against Film Study:  Over the course of a game or season, rival analysts study sideline footage to piece together vocabulary and signal-calling habits.

• Post-Spy-Gate Paranoia:  High-profile scandals — such as the NFL’s 2007 “Spy-Gate” investigation involving videotaping signals — heightened institutional awareness regarding how easily competitive edges can leak through unencrypted visual data.

• Privacy and Reputation Control: Covering the mouth also keeps strategy private from the media and prevents out-of-context frustration, coaching critiques, or sideline chatter from being picked up by broadcast lip-readers.

• Habit and Focus:  For many coaches, holding a play sheet or hand over the mouth has simply become a physical routine under the intense pressure and noise of game day

As for the latter, I saw that a day or so when coaches covered their mouths even though the game was only seconds from being over.  So, if anyone was able to read their lips, no one would care what was being said.

So, again, aren’t you glad you know?