Multimedia
Blogs
Forum
Affordable HD
Whitepapers
Newsletters
Events
Advertisers
DCP Directory
MillimeterSD Endurance
May 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Story and photos by Bill Miller
How live TV coverage keeps pace with the Boston Marathon.
Panasonic AJ-SDX900 DVCPRO 50 cameras were chosen because the signal can be output directly from the camera using a serial digital-interface terminal.
Endorphin rush
Today, helicopters are out as relay points. So what to do? The New York City Marathon is easy because it's run in Manhattan with skyscrapers all around. Antennae are mounted on tall buildings to relay the signals. But outside of downtown Boston, there are no tall buildings all the way to Hopkinton, an outer suburb where the race starts. So show producers turned to a Pennsylvania company called Total RF, which had been involved in the Boston Marathon since the early 1990s.
“We provide complete digital coverage utilizing six terrestrial receive sites, with a complement of four vehicles [two trucks and two motorcycles] all tracked by GPS. All sites and vehicles employ proprietary systems designed and manufactured by Total RF Productions,” says Tom Sharkoski of Total RF. “The weather conditions of the past no longer haunt us. Now no matter how low the ceiling, the signal gets through.” The receiving units sit atop 120ft. snorkel lifts that weigh 55,000lbs. Some are on municipal lots or on public ways; others have to be put on private driveways. One accommodating citizen, when rebuilding his house, installed a special hot-topped pad just for the heavy lifts.
The lead runners of both the women's and men's divisions are covered by cameras on the back of pickup trucks and special motorcycles. The flatbeds of the pickup trucks are configured with custom air-shock camera-mount systems designed by Total RF, which hold stabilized FLIR camera systems. According to FLIR, “The UltraMedia product line features five-axis, microprocessor-controlled gyro-stabilization, which removes all the vibration and jitter from the image even when hard-mounted to a helicopter. Each unit is hermetically sealed for weatherization and can zoom to more than 1000mm. The system can be outfitted with standard-definition or high-definition cameras with aspect ratios of 4:3 or 16:9.”
For the Boston Marathon, Sony DSR-570 SD cameras with Fujinon 36X10.5BERD zoom lenses (10.5mm-378mm) are used. The trucks, like the bikes, have custom wiring to accommodate the microwave outbound camera signals, audio feeds from the announcers, and the two-way communications systems. The producer and director need to be able to speak directly with the camera operators and drivers.
As the four vehicles traverse the course, they are tracked via GPS in order to determine their location. This tracking allows each receive site to optimize RF signal strength.
The processed signals are then combined and passed back to the Prudential tower, a high-rise near the production trucks at the finish line in Boston, where the signal continues its journey along a single-mode fiber-optic cable.
On the back of the pickup trucks, camera operators control pan, tilt, and zoom on Sony RMP-9 portable control units. The resulting pictures are extremely smooth, hiding the bumps, ruts, and potholes leftover from an extreme Boston winter.
Complementary coverage comes from two motorcycle units, affectionately referred to by the technical crew as “motocams.” This is not for the faint of heart. It takes courage and fortitude to qualify for this job. Camera operators sit backward on the buddy seat of the cycle, handholding Panasonic AJ-SDX900 cameras (DVCPRO 50) equipped with Fujinon A10X4.8BEVM-28 (4.8mm-to-48mm) lenses. The SDX900s are chosen for this utility because the signal can be outputted from the camera via a serial digital interface (SDI) terminal. This interfaces with the RF uplink units without the need for further conversion. The cameramen roll tape along the way, just in case. It's a cooperative effort between the cameramen, Tim Deroin and Dick Garrett, and the motorcycle drivers, Jim Faria and Mark Olson — all veterans of many years of covering marathons around the world.
The capture vehicles are equipped with GPS devices so the show's producers can keep track of their locations along the route and optimize RF signal strength.
“It's a dance all along the route,” Garrett says. “We have to be in sync. I don't use my zoom because pictures are smoother if I use the wide-angle end of the lens. So to maneuver around the runners, to zoom in and out, so to speak, I ask my driver to slow down or speed up.” It's a physical effort. At times, the cameras dangle close to the ground; other times, the operator is standing up and holding the 20lb. camera over his head as the moving motorcycle bumps along, to get “that impossible shot.” It's a stressful job, especially for the motorcycle drivers.
“You have to keep a distance from the runners, yet keep close enough to get the shot, avoid road hazards and enthusiastic fans who become more numerous as the route approaches the downtown area,” Faria says. “And there are no ‘pit stops’ along the way.”
“It's hard enough when the weather's cooperative,” says “TV” Tim Deroin. “But in a pouring rainstorm, like the one last year, the job becomes 10 times more hazardous.” A dent in his helmet highlights the point.
“These are special guys, real veterans,” Treut says. “They make the show really exceptional. Not any cameraman can do the job. I have been working with them for a number of years, and I've come to rely on them to get exceptional pictures.” Overhead, because the weather this day is crystal-clear, a helicopter provided by WBZ-TV sends back aerial views of the race.
