Drones to the rescue - USFL

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DLD

Major Contributor
Fox and NBC will use drones in football game coverage for the first time. During last week’s scrimmages, the drone followed a player through the hole during one play to show his running path.

Two players from each team will also have cameras in their helmets. During the scrimmages, the helmet cams captured a player blocking a punt and a defensive back intercepting a pass in the end zone.

Telecasts will also have access to all the audio feeds of coaches and 32 players on both teams wearing mics.
Click to expand...

https://apnews.com/article/the-mast...panthers-nfl-57a831082d07a40d565d3ebaaf83b173

Side note - the large sensor cameras with a shallow depth of field are pretty much a standard now in the Euro soccer coverage.
 
I was talking with another video person the other day and he was mentioning his hope that drones could become more accepted to replace tripods, high-pods etc... Way less gear to haul around for sports productions. Wireless needs to improve as well as battery life. But I can see it getting there.
 
They will never replace them because of the nature of sports and how you need non-aerial angles - and also because of how heavy multi-camera is for sports - but drones will definitely continue to be involved as an integral part of the overall production.
 
The NFL and the top world soccer broadcasters introduced the overhead cable cameras many years ago but, as a viewer, I always found the high position sideline POV the most convenient. What I dislike immensely is having a low position sideline cam, as it's done in many an NHL game. In fact, I dislike the NHL TV coverage - aside of their commentators, who are very good - the most.
 
I watched a little bit of the USFL coverage and I needed to adjust to the drones. The game I saw had two and they generally were flying too fast for my tastes. It was so different than the normal shots that it was a bit jarring. I am sure they will practice and improve the role of the things. The lens is so wide that the perspective is a jolt as well. The drones looked like 30p and the image quality was a noticeable hit. But something new. They also needed to work some audio kinks out as they had some duplicate feeds overlapping with delay. A lot of mics were hot which is a mess in such a large area.
 
Well, when the manufacturers have a plan, they execute it. These are (limited) highlights from this morning's English Premier League Arsenal - Manchester United match that was streamed on Universo. (I am not giving away the score, if someone wants to be kept in suspense, so I push the link down) NBC Sports YouTube channel will have the extended later. The high angle highlights off a moving camera are, obviously, drone based. The operator and/or director, it seems, is learning on the job. Some shots are far too wide but, in general, I like it!
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The line breaks don't seem to help.
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.Edit : I replaced the Universo with DAZN. No score in the frame. And more footage. And less screaming.
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A drone track of an extreme biker ... in one continuous shot!

The ride itself starts at 8:10 if one wants to skip the setup.


An alternative would be a large sensor action cam.

 
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