Subject: [robocup-sim] Project: Annotations for FIFA soccer finale 2006
From: Hans-Dieter Burkhard <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 10:19:42 +0100 (MET)

Dear all,

I got the message below: They are interested in tools for
annotations to soccer matches.

Their project is to annotate the Finale match of WM 2006 (France-Italy).
They can provide the position data (looks similar to simulation
league).

Annotations can be of different forms. Like commentators, and
coach advices etc. We had several such programs in our RoboCup
competitions, especially in simulation league.

If anybody of you is interested (or if you know interested people)
please contact me. If you need, I can provide additional material (unfortunately
in German language).

Best regards,
Dieter

----------------------------
Dear Sirs,

For documenta <http://www.documenta12.de/english/news.html>  12 (16 June -
23 September 2007), the world's largest and internationally highly respected
exhibition of contemporary art, Harun Farocki will submit a work of art to
be shown at this for the first time.

The prominent position documenta enjoys provides, in our opinion, the most
suitable occasion to realise a project we have long had in mind - football
as art. In keeping with the high profile and quality of the exhibition, we
will develop our work from the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2006~Y.

To do this we are in close cooperation with FIFA (Niclas Ericson, Head of
Marketing and Sales Management; Rupert Daniels, Marketing and Sales
Manager), HBS/Infront (Dominik A. Schmid, Executive Director, Broadcast
Operations; Ben Ball, Paul Farnell, Infront Archive Management Ltd.) and DFB
(Dr. Volker Bartsch).

The work of Harun Farocki also will be integrated in the foyer of the new
FIFA headquarter, "Home of FIFA", in Zurich, Switzerland that will be opened
in Mai 2007.

Whenever spectators watch a football match, whether in the stadium or via
television broadcast, they always translate the familiar images into other
images; we are seeking to show something of this process of translation.

*          How does a striker moves so as to be free to receive a pass?
*          How do players co-ordinate their routes in order to perform
through-balls, one-twos or crosses?
*          How do teams divide the pitch up?
etc.

We hope to illuminate the layers and sequences of space, movement, intention
and results and to make the individual elements visible by means of
electronic image processing. The investigation will take place purely on the
visual level, without spoken commentary.

The possibilities we envisage include,

*          Presenting the match in such a way that the electronic image
processing clearly marks those areas of the pitch in colour where play is
not currently taking place. Two thirds of the roughly 50,000 m² making up a
pitch often remain unused throughout a match.

*          Presenting a match so as to make the paths taken by one or more
specific players visible on screen.

*          Presenting a match in a way that allows a visualisation of the
fields of vision of one or more specific players in terms of cones shown on
screen - when looking up from the ball, when checking their position, when
looking round at the opposition.
A player has the ball and wants to pass. What are the other 9 players he
could pass to doing at that moment? Are they marked, are they trying to
break free? Are there any free spaces into which they could play the ball?

The central material is to be the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2006~Y of
9. July 2006 in Berlin, France - Italy, as it is the final that is most
emotionally charged, where the two best teams can be seen and a game that
many people experienced in their own, individual way.

Our main materials are:

*         International Broadcast Feed - edited for TV
*         Clips Feed - Slow-Motion Replay
*         Tactical Feed - Birds eye view of the match
*         High Angle Feed - under stadium roof
*         Team Cam Italy - Bench shots etc
*         Team Cam France - Bench shots etc.
*         Player Cam Italy - Player close ups
*         Player Cam France - Player close ups

Out of this feed we have gained the tracking data with positions of the
players and the ball.

The length of the installation is determined by the complete length of the
match plus extra time and penalty shootout in its entirety.

The installation at the exhibition will be shown on 20 large scale screens
of 3,5 x 2 m and 5 x 3 m that divide up the exhibition space and allow
visitors to follow the game from a wide variety of perspectives.

The screens will frequently be showing two images side by side, allowing
viewers to compare the familiar, television image with the result from the
processing.

The inscription on screen of paths the players take, the portrayal of
patterns of tactical behaviour and the correlation of diverging perspectives
on the same occurrences will allow us to reveal interdependent contexts and
elements that underlie the game. The image processing will produce a result
that is both self-explanatory analysis and which at the same time lends an
artistic touch to a familiar form of image.

In our work we will introduce image processing systems comparable with those
currently being developed at research institutions throughout the world and
which may in a few years perhaps be deployed during live broadcasts to
replay certain highlights of the game.

For example, software that automatically plots the route taken by one or
more players on screen, thus marking areas of the pitch in colour, so called
heat-maps.

The interest is to offer the spectator opportunities to compare original and
treated version as well as the relation between several parts that f.e.
present the same event of differing point of views.

The sound is original synchronous ambient. There is no spoken comment,
neither the usual TV comment, nor of the author.

The documenta takes place every five years, most recently in 2002. The
documenta acts both as initiator and commissioning body, under the artistic
direction of a new curator for each cycle. The artistic director of
documenta 12 is Roger M. Buergel. The documenta expects a public made up
both of experts and of people interested in art. The exhibition is generally
regarded as presenting a comprehensive overview of contemporary artistic
positions and methods of production.

The result of Harun Farocki's work will be an unaccustomed view on the game
of football presented to the huge public. This novel appearance will be the
result of image processing aimed at raising the level of information
perceived by viewers.

The approach is not to be that of 'art for art's sake'. The analysis of the
images will lay out before the viewers' eyes how football actually works. It
is only then and as a consequence thereof that a sense of amazement at the
artistic aesthetics will arise.

Information about our work to date as well biographic details concerning
Harun Farocki are available at our website (www.farockifilm.de
<http://www.farockifilm.de/> ). We would of course be happy to supply any
further information you might require.

We would like to imagine that with help of our position data file it could
be possible to "feed" f.e. RoboCup programmes.

May we ask you:

*        Do you think that there are projcets existing that are able to read
the position data file and to interprete these data in a semantic way?

This is clear that:

*         we will provide you with all data that is needed for your purposes
*         the authors will explicitely be named in the video installation as
well as in all form of public (press, catalogues, video demonstration)

We are looking forward to hear of you.

Yours sincerely

Matthias

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