Broadcast News

Bookmark and Share
20/09/2013

Q-Ball Takes Red Bull Cliff Diving Right to the Edge

Q-Ball remotely controlled pan/tilt/zoom equipment from Camera Corps, a Vitec Group company with extensive experience in designing specialty camera systems, recently provided dynamic coverage of the Boston leg of the 2013 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. When the event was held in Boston, it drew more than 25,000 spectators who watched the action from the only "urban cliff" diving platform in the series. A Q-Ball was mounted at the extreme edge of the platform that resided on the Institute of Contemporary Art roof 90 feet above Boston Harbor. Q-Ball supplied close-up coverage of the divers while delivering the excitement, power and grace of the event to the home audience in full HD.
"This is exactly the type of broadcast the Q-Ball was designed for," comments Camera Corps Managing Director Laurie Frost. "It enabled the Red Bull production team to achieve shots that would have been extremely dangerous, if not impossible, any other way. The production team was able to make full use of the platform-mounted Q-Ball to capture close-up and follow shots of each contestant during the approach, launch and descent. The Q-Ball provided footage from the center of the action without requiring a camera team to operate in a dangerous and potentially distracting location. Each dive was televised both live and in slow motion to capture the full emotion of this extreme sport."
As one of the most physically demanding sports, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series invites the best high divers in the world to launch themselves from a platform eight stories above the water. Speeds clocked between 53 and 62 mph are typical and this is where Q-Ball, with its high-precision motors, shines. Pan/tilt/zoom commands from a Camera Corps PTZF joystick-based control unit are sent to the Q-Ball via a two-way optical link from the Red Bull Production facilities, which in turn receive broadcast-quality 1080i high-definition video. The operators were able to follow all the diving action, from the approach and takeoff to the dive and entry into the water, with no tracking problems.
The contest moves to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil before the final in Krabi Province, Thailand.
The Q-Ball has delivered close-up HD broadcast pictures from many very high-profile broadcast events in recent years, including the BBC Proms, Summer and Winter Olympics, international football, motor racing, water sports, tennis, football and rugby. Housed in a robust and weatherproof cast-aluminium sphere of similar diameter to a standard compact disc or DVD, the Q-Ball head comprises a 1080i camera with 10:1 zoom optics plus a fully rotatable pan-and-tilt head. High-precision motors enable the operator to adjust the camera angle from practically any location, including smooth adjustment of vertical and lateral tracking speeds.
Bexel
Camera Corps
(MH/CD)
Solidmate Ltd Memory Card Hire London

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

21/02/2023
Ateme's Video Encoding And Delivery Suite Validated On Red Hat OpenShift
Ateme has announced that its complete live video encoding and delivery suite, including its TITAN transcoders and NEA packaging, and CDN solutions, ar
02/08/2017
RED Raven Camera Kit Available Exclusively From Apple Store
RED Digital Cinema has revealed its RED RAVEN Camera Kit is now available to purchase at Apple.com. As RED's most compact camera BRAIN, weighing at ju
14/12/2012
High Diving Plunges Into Canada
V has licensed Banijay International’s original diving format, Stars In Danger: High Diving. A Canadian French language television network have signed
30/09/2013
XL Captures Red Bull Cliff Diving
XL Events captured the British leg of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series recently, when the competition was held in Wales. A total of 14 divers fr
12/03/2024
Ikegami USA To Display Range Of Broadcast Quality Camera Systems
Celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year, Ikegami USA is to demonstrate the latest versions of its wide range of broadcast quality camera systems an
02/06/2023
Wooden Camera Launches New Elite Accessory Camera System
Wooden Camera has announced the new Elite Accessory System for ARRI ALEXA 35: a series of camera cage components designed to provide a flexible, full-
17/05/2023
RED DIGITAL CINEMA Univeils KOMODO-X Camera
RED DIGITAL CINEMA® rhas unveiled its KOMODO-X camera, the newest addition to RED's KOMODO line of small form-factor 6K global shutter sensor cameras
23/09/2013
Q-Ball Takes Cliff Diving Right To The Edge
Q-Ball remotely controlled pan/tilt/zoom equipment from Camera Corps, a Vitec Group company with extensive experience in designing specialty camera sy
04/08/2009
Offhollywood Opens East Coast's First Authorised RED Digital Cinema Camera Rental And Service Facility
Leading digital cinema Offholllywood has opened the first authorised RED Digital Cinema camera rental and service facility on the East Coast. Occupyin
29/11/2012
Stars In Danger: High Diving Sold To China
Banijay International’s diving format, Stars In Danger: High Diving has been licensed to China’s Jiangsu Satellite Channel just ahead of next week’s A
01/12/2023
AJA ColorBox Achieves RED-CERTIFICATION
AJA Video Systems has announced that ColorBox has become the first color management and color conversion solution to be certified as Compatible with R
13/02/2013
New Territory Signs For BaniJay Stars In Danger: High Diving
Banijay International's original diving format Stars In Danger: High Diving is to be produced in Spain following a deal with Mediaset Spain. Banijay G
07/12/2023
Videosys Broadcast Announces New Features For Its Camera Control Products
Videosys Broadcast has announced a range of new features for its camera control products including its flagship Epsilon 4K base station Camera Control
02/11/2021
CS And RED Digital Cinema Launch Multiple Camera Accessories
Creative Solutions (CS) and RED Digital Cinema® have announced the launch of a series of multiple camera accessories for the new V-RAPTOR Camera Syste
02/09/2021
RED Digital Cinema Unveils New V-RAPTORTM 8K VV Camera
RED Digital Cinema® has unveiled the new V-RAPTORTM 8K VV camera, launching its first entrant into the next generation DSMC3 platform. Building on RED