Skycam
Encyclopedia
Skycam is the trademark
ed brandname of a patent
ed, computer
-controlled, stabilized, cable-suspended camera
system. The system, similar to Steadicam
, but maneuvered through three dimensions in the open space over a playing area of a stadium
or arena
by computer-controlled cable-drive system, is responsible for bringing video game-like camera angles to television sports coverage. The camera package weighs less than and can travel at .
Invented in 1984 by Garrett Brown
(also noted as the inventor of the Steadicam
), Skycam was acquired by Winnercomm, Inc. in 2004. On January 12, 2009, Winnercomm was acquired by Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc., parent company of the Outdoor Channel.
for any cable-controlled camera system. Fox Sports refers to their system as the DLP Ultimate Picture Cam, its title sponsored by the Texas Instruments projection method.
Skycam, and systems like it, have been in limited use since the mid 1980s when the technology was first patented, but until the mid 1990s progress was slow due to limitations in computer and servo
motor technology.
NBC
debuted the first wire-flown remote-controlled camera used in sports coverage in February 2001 for the XFL
. ESPN
first used Skycam in 2001 for an NFL
pre-season telecast and then consistently in 2002 for Sunday Night Football broadcasts. Since then, ESPN and sister-network ABC
have made widespread use of Skycam for NCAA football, Monday Night Football
and Super Bowl XXXVII
respectively.
Systems from Skycam and CableCam have also been used for the NBA
and NHL
final series and the beginning of the 2005 & 2006 NASCAR
season broadcast on FOX
. CableCam was used on the famous 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass
for NBC
's coverage of The Players Championship
in 2005. CBC
used a CableCam in their broadcasts of the 2005 and 2006 Grey Cups. CBS
used a SkyCam for their coverage of the 2010
NCAA Men's Basketball
Final Four
games in Lucas Oil Stadium
.
In Australia
, the Nine Network
trialled Skycam for three of their Friday Night Football
broadcasts of the Australian Football League
for the 2004 season
. It was also used in the State of Origin
series.
Skycam consists of three major components: the Reel - the motor drive and cables, the Spar - the counter-balanced pan
and tilt
video camera, and Central Control, the computer software used by the operator to fly the camera.
jacketed single mode fiber optic with conductive copper elements and is capable of supporting on a single cable.
HD
camera, the pan and tilt motor, and stabilization sensors. Weighing only 25 pounds, the package also includes a power distribution module and electronics for fiber optic signaling.
Skycam also uses an embedded system
based on LynxOS
for motion control
.
and New Orleans Saints
, the CableCam system made a "controlled descent" onto the field as a result of human error. No one was hurt from the incident, the first ever resulting in the stoppage of a game.
In the December 20, 2009 Las Vegas Bowl between the Oregon State Beavers
and the BYU Cougars
, Skycam had to be taken down as a result of high winds. Gusts were reported at over 40 miles per hour.
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ed brandname of a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed, computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
-controlled, stabilized, cable-suspended camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
system. The system, similar to Steadicam
Steadicam
A Steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement, allowing a smooth shot even when moving quickly over an uneven surface...
, but maneuvered through three dimensions in the open space over a playing area of a stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
or arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
by computer-controlled cable-drive system, is responsible for bringing video game-like camera angles to television sports coverage. The camera package weighs less than and can travel at .
Invented in 1984 by Garrett Brown
Garrett Brown
Garrett Brown is an American cinematographer, best known as the inventor of the Steadicam. Brown's invention allows cameramen to film while walking without the normal shaking and jostles of a handheld camera...
(also noted as the inventor of the Steadicam
Steadicam
A Steadicam is a stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement, allowing a smooth shot even when moving quickly over an uneven surface...
), Skycam was acquired by Winnercomm, Inc. in 2004. On January 12, 2009, Winnercomm was acquired by Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc., parent company of the Outdoor Channel.
Usage
"Skycam" is a trademarked name, and properly refers to one company and their equipment. However, with the expiration of the original patents, other companies have entered the market, and the term is mistakenly used as a generic referenceGenericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...
for any cable-controlled camera system. Fox Sports refers to their system as the DLP Ultimate Picture Cam, its title sponsored by the Texas Instruments projection method.
Skycam, and systems like it, have been in limited use since the mid 1980s when the technology was first patented, but until the mid 1990s progress was slow due to limitations in computer and servo
Servomechanism
thumb|right|200px|Industrial servomotorThe grey/green cylinder is the [[Brush |brush-type]] [[DC motor]]. The black section at the bottom contains the [[Epicyclic gearing|planetary]] [[Reduction drive|reduction gear]], and the black object on top of the motor is the optical [[rotary encoder]] for...
motor technology.
NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
debuted the first wire-flown remote-controlled camera used in sports coverage in February 2001 for the XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
. ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
first used Skycam in 2001 for an NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
pre-season telecast and then consistently in 2002 for Sunday Night Football broadcasts. Since then, ESPN and sister-network ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
have made widespread use of Skycam for NCAA football, Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
and Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
respectively.
Systems from Skycam and CableCam have also been used for the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
and NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
final series and the beginning of the 2005 & 2006 NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
season broadcast on FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. CableCam was used on the famous 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass
TPC at Sawgrass
The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, colloquially known as TPC at Sawgrass, is a well-known golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville. Opened in 1980, it was the first of several Tournament Players Clubs to be built...
for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's coverage of The Players Championship
The Players Championship
The Players Championship is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour.Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, the inaugural event in 1974 was played at Atlanta Country Club in Marietta, Georgia before moving to the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas in 1975 and Inverrary...
in 2005. CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
used a CableCam in their broadcasts of the 2005 and 2006 Grey Cups. CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
used a SkyCam for their coverage of the 2010
2010 in sports
2010 in sports will describe the year's events in world sport.-January:* Alabama defeats Texas 37–21 in the 2010 BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, thereby claiming the 2009 National Championship in College Football....
NCAA Men's Basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
games in Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium
Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The stadium celebrated its grand opening on August 24, 2008, and its ribbon-cutting ceremony August 16, 2008. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. The stadium was built to...
.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
trialled Skycam for three of their Friday Night Football
Friday Night Football (Australia)
In Australia, Friday Night Football is the broadcasting of both the National Rugby League and Australian Football League Friday night matches on television. Friday Night Football is generally considered to be the biggest stage and generate the most publicity for the clubs involved in both codes...
broadcasts of the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
for the 2004 season
2004 AFL season
Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2004.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-Wizard Home Loans Cup:The Wizard Home Loans Cup Final saw St...
. It was also used in the State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
series.
Technical overview
Panning (camera)
In photography, panning refers to the horizontal movement or rotation of a still or video camera, or the scanning of a subject horizontally on video or a display device...
and tilt
Tilt (camera)
Tilting is a cinematographic technique in which the camera is stationary and rotates in a vertical plane . A rotation in a horizontal plane is known as panning...
video camera, and Central Control, the computer software used by the operator to fly the camera.
Reels
The system consists of four reels anchored at high fixed points at corners of the stadium or arena (the cables are attached to fixed spars formed by tall extensible lift platforms when permanent anchors are not available). Each reel is a cable spool with 4.5 hp motor and disc brakes with its own computer capable of a .01" positioning resolution. The cable is a braided KevlarKevlar
Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...
jacketed single mode fiber optic with conductive copper elements and is capable of supporting on a single cable.
Mobile spar
The 36" tall spar contains the PanasonicPanasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
HD
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
camera, the pan and tilt motor, and stabilization sensors. Weighing only 25 pounds, the package also includes a power distribution module and electronics for fiber optic signaling.
Central Control
Central control is an industrial grade, Windows XP computer workstation that provides camera flight and video control. Both a pilot (the one who flies the spar in 3D space) and the operator (the one who controls the camera pan, tilt, zoom and focus) use this system for controlling the overall video shot. The central computer system uses a custom software package to control each aspect of the camera system, including motion, video, and obstacle avoidance.Skycam also uses an embedded system
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
based on LynxOS
LynxOS
The LynxOS RTOS is a Unix-like real-time operating system from LynuxWorks . Sometimes known as the Lynx Operating System, LynxOS features full POSIX conformance and, more recently, Linux compatibility...
for motion control
Motion control
Motion control is a sub-field of automation, in which the position or velocity of machines are controlled using some type of device such as a hydraulic pump, linear actuator, or an electric motor, generally a servo...
.
Incidents
During the October 14, 2007 game between the Seattle SeahawksSeattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
and New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
, the CableCam system made a "controlled descent" onto the field as a result of human error. No one was hurt from the incident, the first ever resulting in the stoppage of a game.
In the December 20, 2009 Las Vegas Bowl between the Oregon State Beavers
Oregon State Beavers
The Oregon State Beavers is a name shared by all sports teams at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers are part of the Pacific-12 Conference . Oregon State's mascot is Benny the Beaver...
and the BYU Cougars
BYU Cougars
BYU Cougars is an American soccer team based in Provo, Utah, United States. The team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference....
, Skycam had to be taken down as a result of high winds. Gusts were reported at over 40 miles per hour.