Live coverage of cycling should be impossible. A venue which stretches across hundreds of kilometres of terrain, often mountainous. Reference points for viewers are few and far between, so telling the narrative also brings its own challenges.
However, with the right radio frequency (RF) setup and a crew who know each other’s instincts well, the captivating story of a race can be told well. This is production in motion.
Eyes in the sky capturing wheels on the ground
“In the race, we have two motorbikes and a helicopter. The two motorbikes make shots of the peloton… and above that is the helicopter, who makes the nice beauty shots of the environment as well,“ explains Jacco Smuling, RF Project Manager for Infront Productions. All of this footage is beamed further up (literally) to an aeroplane following the race 7km above the Alps.
From there, the signal is handed off to receive sites on the ground, which, due to the need for line-of-sight, often require cranes to lift the antenna above rooftops.
“We need to be above buildings, to have a line-of-sight connection with the aeroplane down to the Finish Line” adds Jacco. From there, everything funnels into the OB truck, where the programme is finally stitched together.
The result? Continuous, immersive footage live from a mountain-top road, to the heart of a town square sprint finish the next. It all forms part of a much wider production.
The real tech? Trust
Of course, the gear only works if the crew does. Relationships are as critical as routers in RF broadcasting. The motorbike teams work in close quarters. Whilst production could fall off the air with a single missed cue or misjudged turn, few of the crew focus on the camera model or tech specs and more on trust.
“The most important thing for working together is the cameraman. He must trust me 100% – and we are a team on the bike” says Jos Haijen, Motorbike Pilot for Infront Productions. In other words, it’s about balance, timing and shared risk.
“We are a good team. We don’t need a lot of words. We know how to drive. We know each other,” adds Robert Egging, Motorbike Camera Operator for Infront Productions.
The stabilised shot and the roaming story
The trust story crosses over in the air. The latest gyro-stabilised systems allows the camera operator to zoom in from a distance without shaking the frame.
“There’s a gimbal hanging onto the helicopter… they are gyro-stabilised. So that means I can zoom in with a large zoom lens, and the image will remain stable,” explains Bas Vandenbranden, Aerial Camera Operator for Infront Productions. “The more you know about the sports, the more I can provide pictures that help the director explain and tell the story”
That storytelling instinct is tested every day. “The fun part about our work is that we work very remote… The start of the race is 100 kilometres away. And all of a sudden, when we go live, we work as a team together," adds Bas. In other words, everything is disconnected…until it isn’t. Then it clicks.
Never miss the moment
The story is always moving in cycling, so the production must move with it. It transcends valleys, peaks, rivers and towns, carried by radio waves and trust.
Thanks to teams like these, you never miss the attack. You just watch the race unfold from the best seat (or saddle) in the house.
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