FloSports Makes History with First In-car Camera in Dirt Racing
9m 30s
Now in its seventh year, FloSports' FloRacing streaming platform continues to grow and is now looking to bring some of the staples of big time racing coverage to its motorsports productions. On May 26 at High Limit Racing's Bob Weikert Memorial at Port Royal Speedway, FloSports deployed an in-car camera – marking a first for the streaming platform and in dirt car racing.
In terms of live production, short-track dirt racing can be drastically different from NASCAR and Formula 1 broadcasts. While the driver’s car control is truly remarkable, covering laps from traditional camera positions often doesn’t do it justice. Streaming productions typically rely on getting GoPro video from the respective teams and inserting it into the production after the fact. However, FloSports wanted to show that car control as it was happening and, with that, the pursuit of an economical solution for live, reliable, in-car cameras began.
The in-car camera solution VP Production Joe Baker and his team needed would have to feature a reliable signal, be 60 frames per second, provide multiple camera angles in one car, be easy to setup and adjust to a different car if needed, have a weight that would be acceptable to teams, and be on par with a streaming production’s budget.
The in-car cameras that were selected, which were deployed in the cars of star drivers Brad Sweet and Rico Abreu, featured equipment provided by 3G Media and were run entirely by the FloSports production team.
The system used point to point RF signals since many of these tracks are in the middle of nowhere and have little to no internet or reliable cell service. Thankfully, FloSports' technology partner 3G Media is well versed in this technology and is staffed with many of the same folks Baker worked with during his days at ESPN working PGA, NASCAR, IndyCar and NHRA productions.
In this edition of SVG Rewind, Baker details how his team navigated the complicated development process setup was, selected the best positions to mount the camera and transmitter, dealt with the impact of flying dirt and vibration on shots, and how the production went overall.