1D cable cam for TV broadcast - Defy Dactylcam and Newton stabilized camera head

A cable-suspended camera system is a system of cables above or along an area to be filmed or videoed, over or along which an attached camera head travels to achieve required

camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...

angles. There are two broad types cable-suspended camera systems: fixed-cable and moving-cable types.

Fixed-cable type

In fixed-cable type cable-suspended camera systems, the cable is attached at fixed anchor points and a motorized camera head travels along the fixed cable. This kind of system can be advantageous over longer distances and where it might be difficult to set up winches with moving cables, or in no fly zones. Some use cases have a camera head running along the ground in trolley mode for a kind of

tracking shot A tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded. In cinematography, the term refers to a shot in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly that is then placed on rails – ...

. In recent years, fixed-cable suspended camera systems has become popular for professional live TV broadcast and film production to shoot sport and entertainment events. A widely used system is the Defy Dactylcam, which travels along the cable with a motor, and the Newton stabilized camera head which controls the camera and lens. This system is for example used at the live TV broadcast of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

football), track and field, concerts and ski competitions. There has also been an upsurge of low budget amateur cablecam systems for action cameras and even cellphones that is used for: amateur sports videos, hobby video, lower budget film and video, photography, and motion time-lapse footage. Companies selling fixed-cable suspended camera systems include: Newton Nordic, Flyline, Defy Products, High Sight, Wiral and Syrp.

Moving-cable type

In moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems, cables are attached to winches at their ends to allow movement of an attached camera head between multiple cables. There are several variants of moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems, including: * 3D moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems, a.k.a. suspended flying camera systems, with four cables moving an attached camera head in three dimensions; * 2D moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems, with two cables moving an attached camera head vertically and horizontally; * Point-to-point (1D) moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems where there is one cable pulling an attached camera head between two fixed points. Spidercam Light with Newton stabilized head

Spidercam Light with Newton stabilized head

3D moving-cable

3D moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems, a.k.a. suspended flying camera systems, are used by broadcasters and video production companies to create dynamic video footage of sporting events and cultural events like concerts. They are a type of cable robot. Advantages include reducing or eliminating the need for crane shots, using camera cranes or jibs that might obstruct spectator sight lines or take up valuable space or interfere with a shot. Commercial 3D moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems include:

Spydercam ''Spydercam'' is a cable-suspended camera system, and rigging system used in making motion pictures, television and at athletic stadiums. Using computer controlled winches to drive synthetic lines connected to a crane, truss or buildings to achie ...

SkyCam __NOTOC__ Skycam is a computer-controlled, stabilized, cable-suspended camera system. The system is maneuvered through three dimensions in the open space over a playing area of a stadium or arena by computer-controlled cable-drive system. It is r ...

Spidercam The Spidercam is a cable-suspended camera system which enables film and television cameras to move both vertically and horizontally over a predetermined area, typically the playing field of a sporting event such as a cricket pitch, football fie ...

, and RobyCam 3D. Events that have been photographed using 3D moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems include: NFL games (e.g., when the Skycam captured the Chicago Bears' Cordarrelle Patterson's 102-yard kickoff return touchdown on October 20, 2019),

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

matches, Tennis, Cricket, Rugby, Soccer, concerts (Spidercam), swimming and

esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

(RobyCam).

2D moving-cable

2D moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems typically move in the horizontal (X) and vertical (Z) planes are used by broadcasters and video production companies to create dynamic video footage where other types of systems are impractical or impossible to setup because of venue/location. Commercial 2D moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems include the RobyCam 2D and CamCat's CamCat 2D. and the RTS RopeClimber that has for example been used at the Oscars 2019 and 2020

Point-to-point (1D) moving-cable

Point-to-point moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems are used to draw a camera head or dolly between two fixed points. These systems tend to move faster than 3D and 2D systems and are thus used for sports where speed is a factor like horse-racing, skiing and extreme sports. Commercial point-to-point (1D) moving-cable type cable-suspended camera systems include Robyline (used at

Biathlon World Cup The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 Biathlon World Cup, 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 Biathlon World Cup, 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons ...

FIS Alpine Ski World Cup The FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is the top international circuit of alpine skiing competitions, launched in 1966 by a group of ski racing friends and experts which included French journalist Serge Lang and the alpine ski team directors from France ...

and

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...

)

References

{{reflist Cameras