ASIA-PACIFIC BROADCASTING

Two 40m tracking systems, nine sports dollies, over 60 robotic heads, 118 HD cameras, and a large inventory of lenses, controllers, interfaces and support equipment were installed to cover events from Vancouver as well as the winter sports resorts of Whistler and Cypress Mountain.

UK-based Camera Corps specialises in providing high-volume support services for reality-TV programmes as well as very large-scale sports events.

Its ever-growing arsenal included high-level cranes, HD and SD motorised tracking cameras, underwater cameras, bulls’ eye-mounted archery target cameras and fireproofed high-temperature cameras. The Camera Corps team expanded during large-scale events from 10 full-time staff based at Shepperton Studios to as many as 200 specialists, including highly skilled rock climbers who established camera positions in almost any location.

Laurie Frost, founder and managing director of Camera Corps, added that 12 complete Q-Ball robotic camera systems were also used, following the camera’s successful trials at a major sports event in Africa last year.

“Our particular speciality is delivering images from positions very close into the action,” he said. “We had 16 cameras mounted in the roof of the bobsleigh track to follow the passage of each bob down the course. There were also two special pop-up cameras mounted in the ice, which could be remotely lowered flush with the ice surface if a bob turned on its side. That removed any risk of the competitors coming into direct contact with either pop-up camera. The pop-up cameras could also be lowered during ice-grooming operations.”

“Our Winter Games installations were thoroughly tested to ensure efficient operation at sub-zero temperatures,” added Camera Corps’ technical director, Jim Daniels. “Tolerance of high-ambient temperature is often an important factor at summer sports events but in Vancouver our concern was to ensure protection against snow and ice, including the common-sense element of keeping the camera powered overnight to maintain a moderate level of internal heating. All our sports POV cameras are designed to ensure maximum weather resistance.”

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