Horse power

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It seemed fitting that ACS used high definition equipment for the first time at the Dubai World Cup to capture the action as winning horse, Curlin, led by 7 3/4 lengths, the largest margin of victory ever in the 13-year history of the race.

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The Gyron 935 was mounted on the tracking vehicle for the World Cup coverage.

Digital Studio looks at the range of specialised production equipment that was used to cover the world's richest horse race in Dubai last month.

Last month, the world's best thoroughbreds were brought together to compete for US $6 million at the world's richest horse race held at Dubai's Nad Al Sheba racecourse.

Dubai TV, the host broadcaster of the event, teamed up with UK-based firm, Aerial Camera Systems (ACS) to cover the action for the first time using High Definition equipment, as Curlin, the four-year-old colt from America, galloped to record victory at the World Cup.

By providing a mix of footage from fixed cams, helicopter-mounted cameras and a tracking vehicle, Dubai TV provided TV viewers with an intimate, yet all encompassing experience of the Dubai World Cup.

While fixed cameras are used to give an overall view of a race to the viewer, today's mega productions are incomplete without an all-encompassing take on the action from a tracking vehicle that drives with the horses, and a helicopter that provides aerial footage.

Specialised camera system specialists like ACS are often called in to provide the 'add-on' to the standard ‘manned' camera provision, which, in this case, was supplied by Dubai TV.

At most races today, the tracking vehicle angle has become a given. At the World Cup, the jeep was fitted with two cameras mounted on the roof and traveled ahead of the horses. One camera maintained a wide shot of the race while the other was used to take tight shots of the horses.

"You can almost cover the whole race with this vehicle alone and it has become an essential camera angle for covering racing anywhere in the world because it empowers the television viewer by putting them right there in the midst of the action," says Richard Heaney, operations manager, ACS.

"It may have started out as being a luxury but now, this angle has become an absolute necessity."

Likewise, producing the World's richest horse race for TV without good aerial footage would be a shame, says Heaney, as having an aerial shot from a helicopter or an airship always creates the feeling that it is a big budget event. As well as covering the race itself, it also helps to set the scene and puts the venue within the context of its surroundings.

"This is particularly true of the Dubai World Cup, where you see the magnificence of the Nad Al Sheba racetrack sitting in the desert with Dubai in the background. Without that shot, some international viewers may not have realised that the racecourse is actually surrounded by the desert on all sides," explains Heaney.

On the day of the race, the helicopter followed the horses from a safe height of at least 1500 feet to 2000 feet to ensure that they did not startle the horses.

The pilot, under the guidance of the cameraman, got into the right position and effectively got a nice overhead shot all the way around.

However, on the previous day, the helicopter flew at a much lower level and tried to see everything from a jockey's point of view.

"Flying low is what really adds some excitement to the pilot's job. A lot of their work is pretty monotonous and a lot of their filming is just general shots of Dubai so flying five metres off the ground is what provided the interest for them," explains Heaney.

At the World Cup, the tracking vehicle was mounted with a Gyron stabilised system while the helicopter was mounted with a Cineflex, and a Sony HD 950 was used to take aerial footage.

An interesting aspect of this production was the use of the Iconix HD mini cameras as stall cams.

"The purpose of the stall cams was to provide three full frame pictures of the three favourite horses and also a fourth angle looking across all the horses from the side," says Heaney.

"The challenge, in this case, was to reposition each camera after every race so as to be ready for the next one."

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