Spidercam
Encyclopedia
The Spidercam is a 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 field or a tennis court. The name "Spidercam" is a trademark.
The Spidercam operates with four motorized winches positioned at each corner at the base of the covered area, each of which controls a Kevlar
cable connected to a gyro-stabilized
camera-carrier, or dolly. By controlling the winding and unwinding of the cables, the system allows the dolly to reach any position in the three dimensional space. The inputs of the Spidercam "pilot" are processed by software which forwards the commands to the winches via fiber optic
cables. Two of the Kevlar cables also have fiber optic cables woven into them to carry commands to the camera and the remote head, and bring the camera's high definition signal back to the control station. The remote head, which houses the camera, provides pan and tilt movement and includes the lens remote which controls focus, zoom and irising. A gyro sensor in the dolly stabilises the horizon. A specially trained Spidercam camera operator
controls the camera.
n company began in 2000 specifically to create a fully functional cable-suspension system for a camera transporting device, capable of moving not only laterally or horizontally along the ground, but also vertically, thus providing full three dimensional movement while covering wide areas both indoors as well as outdoors, using standardised and reliable components as modules.
The first successful test of the system took place in a large event hall in Carinthia, Austria in 2003. In 2004 the system was employed for the first time on a television production in Austria. That same year, Peters teamed up with the German company PMT Professional Motion Technology GmbH, a rental house specialized in camera motion technology. After some modifications inspired by PMT, the Spidercam entered the market. Its initial uses were for live events such as concerts – Kylie Minogue
in Australia, Robbie Williams
in Great Britain and The Police
in Argentina – television programs such as the Eurovision Song Contest
in Greece and Finland, and major sporting events such as the European Swimming Cup in Hungary, Red Bull X-Fighters
in Mexico and Spain and international soccer matches. PMT also provides a system for 35mm film
cameras.
A new partner, the Austrian businessman Herbert Neff, joined Peters in 2007 and a new company, spidercam GmbH, was founded. Since then further business relationships have been created in a number of countries, such as Sweden, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Tunisia, Australia and China, which provide staff, equipment and local know-how for the broadcast and film-production companies in those countries. To meet the growing demand for spidercam services, spidercam GmbH offers workshops for prospective operators, with the goal of guaranteeing the highest quality and safety standards.
Spidercam Gmbh has an in-house engineering department which works on improving the spidercam and developing special applications to meet customer requests. Currently work is being done on a completely revised and new system, to be called spidercam MkII.
In cricket, Spidercam was first used in the Indian Cricket League(ICL), followed by the semi-finals of the 2010 IPL(Indian Premier League)in Mumbai & then in Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa.
The Spidercam operates with four motorized winches positioned at each corner at the base of the covered area, each of which controls a Kevlar
Kevlar
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...
cable connected to a gyro-stabilized
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
camera-carrier, or dolly. By controlling the winding and unwinding of the cables, the system allows the dolly to reach any position in the three dimensional space. The inputs of the Spidercam "pilot" are processed by software which forwards the commands to the winches via fiber optic
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
cables. Two of the Kevlar cables also have fiber optic cables woven into them to carry commands to the camera and the remote head, and bring the camera's high definition signal back to the control station. The remote head, which houses the camera, provides pan and tilt movement and includes the lens remote which controls focus, zoom and irising. A gyro sensor in the dolly stabilises the horizon. A specially trained Spidercam camera operator
Camera operator
A camera operator or cameraman is a professional operator of a film or video camera. In filmmaking, the leading cameraman is usually called a cinematographer, while a cameraman in a video production may be known as a television camera operator, video camera operator, or videographer, depending on...
controls the camera.
History
Jens C. Peters, the founder of CCSytems Inc., developed the Spidercam system. The AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n company began in 2000 specifically to create a fully functional cable-suspension system for a camera transporting device, capable of moving not only laterally or horizontally along the ground, but also vertically, thus providing full three dimensional movement while covering wide areas both indoors as well as outdoors, using standardised and reliable components as modules.
The first successful test of the system took place in a large event hall in Carinthia, Austria in 2003. In 2004 the system was employed for the first time on a television production in Austria. That same year, Peters teamed up with the German company PMT Professional Motion Technology GmbH, a rental house specialized in camera motion technology. After some modifications inspired by PMT, the Spidercam entered the market. Its initial uses were for live events such as concerts – Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
in Australia, Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
in Great Britain and The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
in Argentina – television programs such as the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
in Greece and Finland, and major sporting events such as the European Swimming Cup in Hungary, Red Bull X-Fighters
Red Bull X-Fighters
Red Bull X-Fighters are freestyle motocross motorbike stunt competitions contested in bullrings and similar venues. Alongside the X Games, they are the most prestigious and most challenging freestyle motocross competitions....
in Mexico and Spain and international soccer matches. PMT also provides a system for 35mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
cameras.
A new partner, the Austrian businessman Herbert Neff, joined Peters in 2007 and a new company, spidercam GmbH, was founded. Since then further business relationships have been created in a number of countries, such as Sweden, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Tunisia, Australia and China, which provide staff, equipment and local know-how for the broadcast and film-production companies in those countries. To meet the growing demand for spidercam services, spidercam GmbH offers workshops for prospective operators, with the goal of guaranteeing the highest quality and safety standards.
Spidercam Gmbh has an in-house engineering department which works on improving the spidercam and developing special applications to meet customer requests. Currently work is being done on a completely revised and new system, to be called spidercam MkII.
In cricket, Spidercam was first used in the Indian Cricket League(ICL), followed by the semi-finals of the 2010 IPL(Indian Premier League)in Mumbai & then in Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa.