Security Answers Blog

When you watch a football or baseball game on TV, the crystal-clear images and perfectly timed camera angles are no accident. These shots are the result of careful planning, strategic placement, and the right equipment. The same approach should apply to designing and implementing security camera systems. That’s the core message in Tom Fontana's collaboration with Eric Moreau of Theseus Professional Services.  They break down how lessons from sports broadcasting can elevate surveillance strategies in government, healthcare, campus, and other similar environments.

Strategic Planning Starts with Site Surveys and Risk Assessments

Just as a sports producer knows where the action will unfold, security professionals must anticipate potential risks and identify critical coverage points. That’s why site surveys and risk assessments are the essential first steps in any surveillance project.

“You can’t design a system over the phone,” Tom Fontana notes. “You’ve got to go out, walk the site, understand the lighting, the infrastructure, and identify the choke points.” These choke points—building entrances, stairwells, hallways, or vehicle access points—are where the most identifiable security footage is captured.

DORI: A Framework for Camera Placement

The video introduces the DORI model—Detection, Observation, Recognition, and Identification—as a guideline for setting expectations around image quality and camera positioning.

• Detection means identifying that something or someone is present.

• Observation allows you to monitor movement or behavior.

• Recognition helps you determine if the subject is familiar.

• Identification gives you enough clarity to positively identify an individual.

Each level requires a different resolution and field of view. A wide-angle overview camera may be perfect for detection in a parking lot, but it won’t help with identification. Conversely, a camera at an entrance should be optimized for detailed facial recognition or license plate capture.

Sports Analogies That Make Sense

Throughout the video, Tom Fontana and Eric Moreau  draw parallels to sports setups. Football stadiums use cameras at strategic locations—50-yard lines, goal lines, and pylons—each serving a different purpose. Wide shots offer situational awareness, while zoom lenses deliver close-up detail of key players. Security systems can mirror this logic: panoramic cameras for general coverage, and targeted high-resolution views at high-risk zones.

Drones even come into the conversation, with references to both manually operated and autonomous models. In security, drones can act like the overhead cable cameras at games—providing sweeping views and responding to alarms in real-time.

Baseball coverage offers another perspective. Since cameras can’t be placed on the field, broadcasters rely on zoom lenses from outfield, along the base lines, or behind home plate. The same concept applies in facilities where mounting options are limited—you’ll need the right lens and resolution to zoom in and get the necessary detail from a distance.

Real-World Application: Cafeterias and Parking Lots

One compelling comparison made in the video is between parking lots and hospital cafeterias. Both are large, open spaces, but the camera mounting heights and coverage needs vary dramatically. In parking lots, cameras can be mounted high, offering wide coverage and leveraging features like IR illumination for nighttime use. In indoor spaces like cafeterias, where ceiling height is limited, more cameras may be needed to provide complete coverage of the entire area for general surveillance and situational awareness.

The takeaway: environmental conditions matter. Whether it's tree foliage affecting camera placement outdoors or a tall cabinet obstructing a camera indoors, on-site walkthroughs reveal challenges that specs on a datasheet won’t.

The Importance of Lighting and Infrastructure

Lighting is often overlooked but critically important. Unlike sports venues, which are uniformly lit, real-world locations—especially parking lots—can have inconsistent lighting. IR-enabled cameras or supplemental lighting might be necessary. Infrastructure is another factor. In industries like Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), the cost of a single pole might justify the use of a high-end PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) camera, because placing multiple cameras isn’t cost-effective.

Visualization Tools Help Bridge Expectations

One of the more exciting topics discussed is how new technology helps clients visualize their surveillance systems before they’re installed. Using Revit models, CAD drawings, or even virtual reality goggles, security designers can simulate camera views within a 3D space. This allows for real-time adjustments and avoids surprises like obstructions or missed angles.

“Data sheets are great,” Eric says, “but they don’t show you what your camera is actually going to see.”

Flexibility and Scalability

The discussion closes with a critical message for anyone planning a surveillance system: build with scalability in mind. Whether it’s storage capacity, network bandwidth, or camera counts, systems should be able to grow. Camera counts rarely decrease. 

Final Thoughts: Function Over Flash

Security isn’t about picking the highest resolution or the fanciest features—it’s about meeting a specific need. A 4K camera doesn’t matter if it’s pointed in the wrong direction or installed in poor lighting. That’s why Theseus Professional Services and Chesapeake & Midlantic Marketing stress the “holistic approach”: balancing budget, environment, technology, and threat level to design systems that work.

As the video emphasizes, it’s about solving a problem—not just selling a camera.

Schedule a site visit or demonstration with our team >>

Discuss a Physical Security Risk Assessment with Eric Moreau and the Theseus Team >>

Now, more about DORI...

Who is DORI? Detect, Observe, Recognize, Identify

Our team is always keeping DORI in mind when deciding on camera technologies to recommend. We've also facilitated some interesting security camera demonstrations over the past 25 years. We've always said, "you have to see it to believe it." 

Why?

It's critical that all organizations, including commercial, industrial, healthcare, financial, education, critical infrastructure, and government, understand exactly what they will see and record with their security camera system BEFORE they buy it. These are big investments protecting people and securing assets. Stakeholders may have different expectations when it comes to camera system performance and seeing the performance first hand ensures that the entire team is satisfied with the plan.

There's a way

You can make sure you get the technology that's perfectly matched to your application. It's simple: see it for yourself. Demand a Proof of Concept (PoC) demonstration. In addition to a PoC demonstration, the BSIA has produced a document that aids in creating your surveillance system specification or plan. Part of the BSIA document outlines an important acronym: DORI.

We recorded one of our camera shootouts and explained how DORI applies to "real life." Here's Nick Hoyt and Joe Veiga to explain why we set up these camera performance shootouts and how DORI applies to real life as far as setting expectations for security camera imaging:

When DORI and a Proof of Concept demonstration are combined, there's no reason to be surprised with poor performance once a solution is deployed at your facility. Instead, be confident. Get exactly what you want out of your purchase with no surprises. 

Download the BSIA standard (BS EN 62676-4:2015) that DORI is based upon here

DORI example for camera/lens selection

In order to better explain DORI we put a few resources together for you.

DORI Explained is a summary document we created to put DORI into simpler terms. You can download it here.

Here are a few examples of Proof of Concept demonstrations:

Proof of Concept Guide

Here's one of the best checklists you'll get from us. It's our Proof of Concept demonstration preparation guide. With this guide, 

• Integrators can save tens of hours in preparation and avoid embarrassment
• Security Sales Professionals can increase their "value add" to their customer by offering a professional demonstration with their manufacturer partners
• Business and Facility Managers save years of collecting poor video evidence and frustration
• Security Department Officials deliver expected results to administrators and investigators
• IT Departments better understand the network load and recording requirements
• Financial stakeholders can see the difference between low bidders and top performers
• Specifiers and Engineers can verify that their specification meets the expectations of their clients

You can download it for free here. Plus, if you're located in the Mid Atlantic US region, you can have our team come to your facility to do the demonstration.  Contact us to schedule today.

Contact us for a live Proof of Concept demonstration >>