Specialized cameras for OB sports
Nov 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON
New technology puts viewers at the heart of the action.
Technological advances in mini HD cameras, wireless camera systems (including HD) and high-quality slow motion recording are being used to lift productions out of a formulaic rut or to tell stories not hitherto possible.
Minicams fit into places that normal cameras can't go and are often tailored for specific applications, such as covert filming of wildlife, undercover reporting or hidden camera entertainment shows.
However, innovation is most bold in sports, as broadcasters are driven to put the viewers right into the heart of the action by delivering astonishing new close-ups with ultra motion cameras or spectacular aerial views from versatile overhead rigs.
The BMS CT2020 HD wireless system attached to a Sony HDC-1500 camera gives the operator complete freedom to cover football action close up from the touchline.
Many sports production companies have experimented with placing cameras in unique places for niche sports, such as in rugby posts, onboard racing cars or in the pockets of snooker tables. This type of acquisition really comes into its own during coverage of major international sports events like the Olympics, where there is a huge demand to replay action from every possible angle.
Specialist camera developers and rental outfits are well advanced in their bids for business at next year's Olympic Games, making presentations to host broadcaster Beijing Olympic Broadcasting (a joint venture between Chinese state broadcaster CCTV and International Sports Broadcasting).
In Beijing, the track and field athletics alone will feature more than 30 HD cameras and more than 30 remote minicams (many also HD) that will be plugged into pole vaults and high jump poles, as well as fitted to hammer throw nets or into the ground on the javelin pitch. There will also be a variety of trackside and aerial cameras.
All the indications are that another international event, Formula One Grand Prix, will also be covered in HD next year. This is a sport with a profile that has been significantly boosted by the clever implementation of onboard cameras delivering a driver's eye view of the circuit as well as RF pit lane cameras. An HD production depends on the robustness of microwave links from the car to the trackside as well as advances in reducing the size and weight of camera systems. These are the two key technical limiters that restrict further specialist acquisition.
Specialist cameras
Production companies or equipment suppliers tend to delegate responsibility to experts when multiple specialist cameras are required. North One, which provides on-location host broadcast for the World Rally Championship (WRC), partners with the BBC Resources Special Cameras team to design, fit and support an array of onboard cameras. Gearhouse Broadcast regularly works with the UK's Camera Corps to provide wireless feeds, which Gearhouse then slots into the overall operation.
The BBC's team is responsible for some of the most creative camera angles in world sports. Its most famous application is the Stumpcam, now standard issue for cricket coverage. It has also put remotely-operated 360-degree cameras in rugby posts, as well as placed minicams onboard A1 Grand Prix cars and in the bulls-eye for archery contests.
The BBC’s Resources Special Cameras team developed the HD Plunge Cam, which is mounted on a 16m vertical track and captures divers in real time.
The broadcaster has been extremely successful in coverage of international swimming events. It won a prestigious Royal Television Society sport innovation award for its HD Plunge Cam, a camera that is mounted on a 16m vertical track and captures divers in real time. The camera slows as they dive into the pool and when they're 4m below the surface where there is considerable pressure on the glass and seals. The system uses old 16mm C-mount lenses and cost about €300,000 to develop.
Most recently in a venture with Golf Flagstick (which markets advertising space around the pole), the BBC team built the FlagstickCam for CBS' coverage of one hole of the U.S. Masters golf tournament. The unit consists of six minicams and their batteries, which are incorporated into a 2in (5cm) diameter sleeve around the flagpole. One camera looks straight down into the cup; the rest cover the green from all directions. A BBC technician was on-site to ensure the signal from the FlagstickCam integrated with the host broadcast.
The BBC team finds it practical to convert domestic minicams because no manufacturers are making small enough HD cameras. The HD chip and zoom lens is retained but new software is engineered to feed an HD-SDI signal into the scanner. Alternatively, widescreen anamorphic, security or medical (endoscopic) lenses are adapted with the SD signals upconverted, as is done for cricket's Stumpcam.
The BBC is currently testing flash memory-based minicams onboard WRC cars that are much lighter and more robust than the current miniDVs. Tests are proving successful, allowing additional cameras to be fixed to the car, increasing North One's editorial armory.
Camera Corps has devised several unique point-of-view cameras. For example, its Pop-Up Ice Cam consists of two cameras housed in a 22cm unit that can be raised and retracted to capture footage of a bobsleigh heading both toward and past the camera at speeds in excess of 110km/h. The company has also housed cameras in ski poles and mounted a camera in a baseball base.
In addition, Camera Corps manufactured a CCU system to remotely control up to 130 cameras over long distances for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The current CCU can control 13 different camera models, including HD cameras, and is routinely used on reality TV shows.
A favorite device of specialist camera firm Aerial Camera Systems of Surrey, UK, is the Iconix HD-RH1. It comprises a 3CCD split optical block and a 33mm × 38mm × 50mm camera head, weighing just 70g. It captures 720p, 1080i and 1080p, and supports frame rates of 24fps, 25fps, 30fps, 50fps and 60fps.
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