Wikipedia

Skycam

Skycamis a computer-controlled, stabilized,cable-suspended camera system.The system is maneuvered through three dimensions in the open space over a playing area of astadiumorarenaby computer-controlled cable-drive system. It is responsible for bringingvideo game–likecameraangles to television sports coverage. The camera package weighs less than 14 kilograms (31 lb) and can travel at 13 m/s (29 mph).

A Skycam at work during aWashington Huskies footballgame in Seattle in 2008.

History

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Skycam was invented byGarrett Brown(also the inventor of theSteadicam) in the early 1980s.[1]The patent for Skycam was assigned to Skycam, Inc. In 2004, Skycam, Inc. was acquired by Winnercomm, Inc. In 2009, Winnercomm was acquired by Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc., parent company of theOutdoor Channel.[2]In 2013, Outdoor Channel was acquired byKroenke Sports & Entertainment,owner of several sports franchises including theLos Angeles RamsandDenver Nuggets.[3]

In 2015, a federal lawsuit was filed by Nic Salomon, the former President of Skycam, claimingintentional interference with contractual relationsrelated to the 2013 acquisition by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.[4]The case was allowed to proceed by the court in the Northern District of Texas in August 2017. It was then dismissed in February 2019, weeks before a jury trial. In March 2019, Salomon appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.[5][6]In April 2021, the Court of Appeals ruled in Kroenke Sports' favor.[7]

Despite the dispute, Skycam remains an important technology for the presentation of football content.[8]

Usage

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Skycam HD at anESPN on ABC–broadcastUniversity of California, Berkeleyfootballgame.

While "SkyCam" is a registered trademark, the term "Skycam" is often used generically forcable-suspended camera system,and competing systems like CableCam (invented byJim Rodnunskybut also a subsidiary ofKroenke Sports & Entertainment,LLC),Spidercamand Robycam 3D. 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 andservomotor technology as well as cost (a 2001 estimate pegged the cost to use the Skycam at $30,000 per event).[9]All of these systems began seeing more widespread use in the 21st century.

American football

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Skycam was first publicly used in fall 1984, at a preseasonNational Football League(NFL) game in San Diego between theChargersand49ers,televised byCBS.[10]NBCdebuted the first wire-flown remote-controlled camera used in sports coverage at the1985 Orange Bowl.[11]

TheXFLwas one of the first leagues to make extensive use of the Skycam as a primary camera angle for broadcasts when it debuted in spring 2001.[12]Traditional camera angles were used more prominently after the first week of play; the "Xcam" (as it was known in that league's broadcasts) remained in regular use throughout the rest of the season.[9]

ESPNfirst used Skycam in 2001 for an NFL pre-season telecast and then consistently in 2002 forSunday Night Footballbroadcasts. Since then, ESPN and sister-networkABChave made widespread use of Skycam forNCAA football,Monday Night Football,andSuper Bowl XXXVII.The networks have regularly offered a Skycam-only internet broadcast of many of its more important sportscasts under theMegacastbrand.

CBCused a CableCam in their broadcasts of the2005and2006 Grey Cups.[13]

On October 22, 2017, NBC was required to broadcast the majority of aSunday Night Footballgame using Skycam angles, as their traditional sideline angles were obscured by a large amount of fog.[14]Reception to the impromptu experiment was mostly positive (with some drawing comparisons to the default camera angle used in football video games, such as theMadden NFLfranchise); NBC announced that it would experiment with intentionally using the Skycam as a primary angle during a subsequentThursday-night game on November 16, 2017[15][16]and again for the December 14 game the same year.[17]

The Skycam's perspective, while making more effective use of the field of vision offered by a television screen (thus allowing viewers to see plays develop more clearly than the traditional sideline view),[18]distorts vertical distances and makes it more difficult to assess yardages, which was part of the reason it has not been used more often.[9]Consequently, in NBC's trial runs, they switched to a traditional sideline camera in short-yardage situations including thered zone,where the shorter distances negate some of the disadvantages of the sideline camera.[16]To mitigate some of these disadvantages, NBC experimented with expanding thelive on-field graphicsto include a "green zone" that darkens the area between the line of scrimmage and the line to gain for a first down.[19][20][21]

Other sports

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Prior to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, it was proposed that Skycam be used at the Opening Ceremonies and Track & Field events at theLA Coliseum.During test runs, the images were excellent, but on its last test, one of its four support wires snagged on the top of the steel football goal post at the peristyle end of the Coliseum and bent one of the arms. Skycam was unharmed, but was not used at the Olympics that year.[1]

Systems from Skycam and CableCam have also been used for theNBAandNHLfinal series and the beginning of the 2005 and 2006NASCARseason broadcast onFox.CableCam was used on the famous 17th hole at theTournament Players Club at SawgrassforNBC's coverage ofThe Players Championshipin 2005.CBSused a SkyCam for their coverage of the2010NCAAMen'sBasketballFinal Fourgames inLucas Oil Stadium.

InAustralia,theNine Networktrialed Skycam for three of theirFriday Night Footballbroadcasts of theAustralian Football Leaguefor the2004 season.It was also used in theState of Originseries.

The first use of Skycam for anMLSbroadcast was on April 2, 2005, for an ESPN broadcast of a match betweenDC UnitedandChivas USAatthe Home Depot Centerin Carson, California.[22]However, the use of Skycam proved to be controversial three weeks later on April 23, 2005 when the camera crashed to the field of the Home Depot Center during a match between theLA Galaxyand Chivas USA.[23]

Skycam has been used infrequently for MLS broadcasts since then, including the2015 MLS All-Star Game.On April 2, 2016,Sporting Kansas Citydebuted the league's first semi-permanent Skycam installation atChildren's Mercy Park,in a match againstReal Salt Lake.[24]

Technical overview

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Skycam consists of three major components: the reel—the motor drive and cables; the spar—the counterbalancedpanandtiltvideo camera; and central control—the computer software used by the operator to fly the camera.[1]

Reels

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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 horsepower (3.4 kW) motor and disc brakes with its own computer capable of a.01 inches (0.25 mm) positioning resolution. The cable is a braidedKevlarjacketed single modeoptical fiberwith conductive copper elements and is capable of supporting 600 pounds (270 kg) on a single cable.[1]

Mobile spar

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The 36-inch (91 cm) tall spar contains theSonyHDcamera, the pan and tilt motor, and stabilization sensors. Weighing 45 pounds (20 kg), the package also includes a power distribution module and electronics for fiber optic signaling.[1]

Central control

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Central control is an industrial grade Linux 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.

Incidents

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  • In the December 20, 2009Las Vegas Bowlbetween theOregon State Beaversand theBYU Cougars,Skycam had to be taken down as a result of high winds. Gusts were reported at over 40 miles per hour (64 km/h).
  • In the2011 Insight Bowlon December 30, 2011 between theIowa Hawkeyesand theOklahoma Sooners,Skycam crashed onto the field with 2:22 left to play, almost striking Iowa receiverMarvin McNutt.The game was delayed for about 5 minutes as a result, as the camera and its cables were removed from the field of play.[25]
  • During a Week 9 game between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on November 6, 2022, one of the Skycam cables snapped with 8:27 remaining in the third quarter, causing a 12-minute delay. The camera and its cables were removed from the field of play.[26]

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^abcdeLukas, Mike (January 27, 2022)."The NFL SkyCam: Ultimate Guide to the Floating Camera".wsn.Retrieved2022-01-31.
  2. ^Robert Evatt,"TV client buys Winnercomm: Outdoor Channel pays an undisclosed sum for the Tulsa company"Archived2011-08-29 at theWayback Machine,Tulsa World,January 13, 2009.
  3. ^Lieberman, David (2013-05-17)."Kroenke Sports Completes Outdoor Channel Acquisition".Deadline.Retrieved2022-01-31.
  4. ^¨Kroenke in fight over cameras used in NFL games¨St. Louis Business Journal, December 2, 2015
  5. ^"PacerMonitor Federal Court Case Tools".pacermonitor.
  6. ^"U.S. Court Of Appeals".ecf.ca5.uscourts.gov.
  7. ^"Salomon v. Kroenke Sports & Entm't, L.L.C., No. 19-10350 | Casetext Search + Citator".casetext.April 1, 2021.Retrieved2022-01-31.
  8. ^"Newsroom | NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA".Archived fromthe originalon 2019-12-01.Retrieved2019-08-24.
  9. ^abcLarry Stewart (February 7, 2001)."XFL, NBC Working Out Kinks".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedMarch 10,2009.
  10. ^Cone, Lawrence L. (October 1985)."Skycam: An Aerial Robotic Camera System".BYTE.p. 122.Retrieved27 October2013.
  11. ^""The Design and Operation of Skycam" by McConkey, Larry - American Cinematographer, Vol. 66, Issue 4, April 1985 ".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-30.Retrieved2017-09-11.
  12. ^Terry Tefton (May 16, 2011)."Bubba Cam put cameraman into the game".Sports Business Daily.American City Business Journals.RetrievedMay 17,2011.
  13. ^"CBC will be stringing viewers along".CFL.ca. 2005-08-08. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-30.Retrieved2006-12-03.
  14. ^Dachman, Jason (2017-10-23)."Inside Fog Bowl 2.0: How NBC's Sunday Night Football Team Adapted on the Fly With SkyCam".Sports Video Group.Retrieved2022-01-31.
  15. ^"How fog might have revealed the future of NFL camera angles".SBNation.Retrieved2017-11-17.
  16. ^abGeoffrey C. Arnold (November 16, 2017)."NBC's 'SkyCam' will provide Madden-like view of tonight's Titans-Steelers game".oregonlive.RetrievedNovember 17,2017.
  17. ^Manza-Young, Shalise (December 15, 2017)."SkyCam returns for Broncos-Colts on Thursday Night Football".Yahoo! Sports.RetrievedDecember 15,2017.
  18. ^Gaines, Cork."3 plays that show perfectly why Skycam is the future of the NFL on TV".Business Insider.
  19. ^"NBC's" Green Zone "Is the Ultimate Conclusion of Graphics Creep".The Ringer.Retrieved2018-11-21.
  20. ^Dachman, Jason."NFL Kickoff 2018: From Green Zone to Dual SkyCams, NBC Sports Has Big Plans for Sunday Night Football".Sports Video Group.Retrieved2018-11-21.
  21. ^"I'm here to defend NBC's 'green zone' -- sort of".Sports Illustrated.Retrieved2018-11-21.
  22. ^"ABC, ESPN2 unveil broadcast team, enhancements for 2005".Retrieved2016-06-22.
  23. ^"MSL notes: Adu continues to prove he deserves more minutes".Deseret News.26 April 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-08-07.Retrieved2016-06-22.
  24. ^McDowell, Sam."Sporting KC telecasts will soon show soccer in a new way".The Kansas City Star.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-11.Retrieved2016-04-02.
  25. ^Marshall, John (December 31, 2011)."No one hurt after camera falls at Insight Bowl".San Diego Union-Tribune– via Associated Press.
  26. ^Haring, Bruce (November 6, 2022)."CBS SkyCam Cable Snaps, Causing 12-Minute Delay In NY Jets-Buffalo Bills Game".

Bibliography

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