Over the course of the last year, I have been following a consistent pattern of breaking down game film by isolating a number of individual plays and using gifs to showcase what happens on the play, followed by my analysis.
For the future, I will be relying less on utilizing gifs to illustrate my point while breaking down film, while putting greater emphasis on screen caps and description that better zero in on the aspects of a given play that I am evaluating.
This is just a matter of housekeeping to inform the readers to expect to see a slightly altered approach to my film review articles, beginning next week with breakdowns from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game against the Baltimore Ravens.
While I will continue to use gifs, as they are valuable tools in painting the full picture of a specific play, I will be more selective with the plays that I choose to highlight using that method, as it’s not often necessary.
At times, it even becomes intrusive, because it shows too much and distracts from the narrower, more specific focus of the review of any given play. Often, a screen cap of a point of impact would better illustrate the point.
Utilizing more description will also make it easier to cover more ground, rather than isolating on a select number of plays, to give a fuller, and more complete view of the topic, when the topic warrants a broader narrative.
I understand that some have come to appreciate the frequent incorporation of gifs in my film review articles, based on some of the recent comments that I have received from readers. I know, therefore, that it has been, and will continue to be, a valuable tool.
But I now plan to use it as just a hammer in my tool kit, while adding a screwdriver and saw, to expand on the number of things I will be able to build.
It also serves as a preemptive measure in case some person of importance wants to take issue with the amount of game footage used, but more importantly, it should simply help me paint a broader picture, and perhaps even help me provide more informative insights.
The film reviews that the three of us do here are a huge part of the appeal of Steelers Depot, and will continue to be so. It’s what separates us from many other Steelers websites, both blogs and otherwise.
This will hopefully only enrich that aspect of our contributions to the collective knowledge of Steelers Nation, which is already among the most knowledgeable fan bases in the league, and with ease at that.
