Athletic endeavors for remote cameras

[haikuman]

Now we are having some camera fun with no budget restrictions ~!~ *(:>*

http://blogs.reuters.com/photographers-b...e-cameras/
By Reuters Staff AUGUST 16, 2013


Moscow, Russia

By Fabrizio Bensch and Pawel Kopczynski


The great success of remote and robotic cameras during the London Olympics opened up a new window of opportunities to shoot sports pictures from above.

With that in mind, our preparation for the World Athletics in Moscow started back in November 2012, as we began to analyze the venue from a technical point of view.

Luzhniki stadium is not a new one. It was built in the mid fifties and was upgraded just before the 1980 Summer Olympic Games. A large metal roof structure extends far into the inside of the stadium. Three separate catwalks attached beneath the roof looked like an ideal place to install our cameras. Our first impression was that shooting from above ought to be a relatively easy job compared with some other venues, where access was difficult, with no catwalk at all.

While awaiting approval from organizers to install our cameras, we got a phone call from our office in Moscow, with unofficial information that access to the roof in Luzhniki would only be possible with an industrial climbing certificate. A few days later, an official’s letter arrived, confirming the news. From that point, we knew that Reuters photographers would not only have to shoot excellent pictures and have pretty good technical knowledge. They also needed climbing skills.

Everyone from the team went through a very difficult course of IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trade Association) training and, after passing the exams, received a certificate that not only opened the door to the Luzhniki roof but also gave us a chance to learn how to safely access difficult construction areas. We brought 20 Canon 1DX cameras to Moscow to use for different remotes on the roof finish line and infield. To be fast, all the cameras work as part of a network, transmitting pictures directly to our editing system.

This is our set-up at the stadium. Our staff photographer, Lucy Nicholson, is in charge of the head-on position, shooting on the new Canon zoom 200-400, and releasing up to seven remote cameras mounted with different lenses on a special bar just in front of the finish line.

Specialist photographer Kai Pfaffenbach uses a pedal to shoot three to four cameras installed on the side of the finish line, in addition to his normal photographer’s job.

[Ombligo]

The logistics of installing remote cameras is amazing. I've been directly involved in placing remote cameras for launches of the Space Shuttle and indirectly with placement at both NFL and the NCAA regional basketball tournament.

Oddly, NASA was far easier to deal with than the NCAA, which had layers of bureaucracy.

With NASA we had to undergo a background check in advance, then the equipment need to be hand checked both prior to setup (generally done a day in advance) and afterwards. The remotes also had to fire completely independently of any human interaction. That meant setting up the remote to activate at the beginning of the launch window and fire when the shuttle launch commenced. Several hours after launch, we were allowed to retrieve the equipment.

With the NCAA, you had to work through it's rules committee, facilities management, and promotions. Then you had to deal with the facility itself; finally you had to play second fiddle whatever television network owned rights to the game. Each could set it's own rules and each set could be completely incompatible with the other's rules - but you could be sure that none made any realistic sense.

[The UnDoug]

The difference between doing something for the sake of money and the sake of knowledge.