Intro #
Hello and welcome to this iRewind Tutorial. In this tutorial, we will show live, from Zürcher Silvesterlauf, how to get the most out of your shots. We are now sharing with you how to best position your cameras to make the most out of your shots, but also some examples of great camera placements, as well as ones that could have been better.
Camera Placement #
Relative position to timing mats #
In order to get the most reliable information about every single participant, you should aim to position your cameras within a reasonable distance from the timing mats or antennas on the course, to guarantee accurate information for each and every single participant, as we can’t always identify on the footage the participant’s BIB number. We recommend placing the cameras within a 15-20 m distance from the timing reading equipment, so please take that into account when you are planning your event.
Camera placement angles #
As you set up your cameras at the event, just like we are doing now, you want to make sure you are placing your cameras to film the best possible shot for all participants passing by your position.
There are certain things you want to look out for when you are placing your camera.
First off, like we explained in our Tutorial about “Tripod & Camera Setup”, you should decide if you can get the best shot by simply positioning your camera on the tripod or if you need to use a Tripod and a boom arm or any other mounting solution.
In order to keep the same angle of view throughout the whole race, we advise not moving or changing the camera’s position, unless specifically needed. This is very relevant for the automation process and guarantees that all participants will receive the same experience. Therefore, it’s important to test out the best camera angle from the start of your set-up.
Of course, once you have more events under your belt, it will become very easy to know from a glance what setup fits you best.
Finish Line camera positioning #
Let’s start with placing the camera in the finish line. This is, by far, the most meaningful memory for the participants. Therefore, you have to make sure you get a perfect shot of them crossing the finish line, by catching a full body shot of the last meters of their race, as they cross the finish arch and slow down to celebrate their finish.
We are going to show you some examples of what we consider to be a good view. Of course, depending on your event and the configuration of your finish line, you might find even better angles.
Recommended set up #
For the finish line area we usually recommend using a tripod stand and boom arm to get high enough with the camera and, most importantly, to get the most central view possible of the finish area and participants crossing it.
You can see here an example of how the finish camera placement could look like. Or a similar setup at the finish line from another event.
Please notice how the camera angle is slightly oriented downwards, catching a good view of the entire Finish gate, but the primary focus is kept on the participants’ full silhouette as they pass the finish line.
Let’s see some other examples.
Mounting the camera on the arch #
As mentioned in our Tutorial on “Tripod & Camera Setup”, when possible, we also recommend using a elbow arm or a universal clamp to mount the camera directly on the Finish arch structure.
Just like in this Finish Line example, where the camera was mounted directly on an arch behind the finish line, giving a great central camera shot. Or directly on the finish line arch.
When going for this option, please take into account that there will be races where you will not be able to access the camera directly once you set it up, so make sure you connect a longer charging cable to your camera and attach a battery pack somewhere reachable, in order to access it when needed.
Pre-Finish Camera placement #
You can also position more cameras in the same area, like a Pre-Finish camera before the actual Finish Line, giving you a great shot of the participants on the last 100 meters of their race.
The pre-finish camera in this example was positioned approximately 15 Meters before the finish line, catching this long view shot of the final stretch.
To get as close as possible to the participants and catch their final sprint, we recommend positioning the camera as central as possible over the track using a boom arm. We advise you to slightly orientate the camera angle of view downwards to catch a full body shot of the participant approaching the camera, yet leaving enough head space to catch the background scenery.
Position relative to the timing mat #
Do remember to take into account to position your cameras next to the timing mat or antennas, anywhere between 15 – 20 m before or after it.
That will give our system the best match between the footage, timing, and automatic BIB recognition we are using on it and the timing you provide to us, maximizing the video output. The further away you position the cameras from the timing mat the less reliable the match becomes and the final video loses accuracy.
Safe camera placement #
One of the most important part of these setups is that your camera placement is safe for the participants and the passers-by. We can’t stress enough how important it is that the camera is positioned at the correct height and you make sure it does not put the participants in danger.
And while safety is crucial, you also do not want your camera being hit and damaged, and your footage to become unusable.
Furthermore, make sure your tripod is correctly stabilized with a sandbag or weight, so it does not easily move when slightly pushed or hit by wind gusts.
Recommended height #
The height of the camera position is especially important if the race has an official timing car opening the race, with speakers or an official timing clock on it, or if there are pacemaker runners or bikers with flags or balloons attached to them.
So make sure that with a tripod and potential boom arm your camera is placed high enough, to avoid it being hit. Also, delimit it from passers-by, avoiding the risk of them moving the position of your camera by leaning on the tripod or hitting it inadvertently with their feet. You can always signal your tripods and cameras accordingly, with visible tape or ground cones, if the case.
Correct camera view #
Also, when setting up the camera shot, make sure that horizontal red line on your screen is correctly aligned with the horizon line, giving you a correct composition of the shot and a nicely aligned shot.
You can use the gridlines you see on the screen of the smartphone camera to align your shot correctly, so you don’t end up with a beautiful shot that is crooked.
Participant focus #
As mentioned earlier, the participant is the main subject of interest. Therefore, you have to make sure to take the height of the participants into consideration, so you are not cutting off their silhouette when they are approaching or passing the camera as we can see in this example. The camera angle should be orientated a bit downwards, to film the participant in full view, as much as possible, while passing in front of the camera.
Placement on the race course #
Now that we saw the Finish shots and some mentions on how to position the camera safely, let’s take a closer look at how you can make the most out of your camera placement on the race course.
Just like at the Finish line, when you are mounting the cameras on the race course, you have to decide if you are close enough to the subjects and if you want to have a more central shot of the race course.
And based on that, you have to decide if it makes sense for you to place a boom arm or just the tripod.
But because each race is different and has its particularities, you can see there are different methods to place the camera, it does not always need to be high up or perfectly central to get great shots.
Zoom / Wide angle shots #
When mounting the camera and choosing the position, you can also take into account the various views you can get by using different lenses mounted on your smartphone camera.
We sometimes use a 58’’ Tele lens, giving our cameras a 2x optical zoom and allowing for a closer shot of the subject from a lateral or top position.
But the same position, without any lens, just with the smartphone’s camera native image, could give you a wider shot, allowing you to cover a bigger part of the race course and more participants at the same time.
And for special placements, where you might have an interesting landmark in the background of the shot or where you might have a narrower course, you could also take into account the use of a wide-angle lens .
It’s important to note that when using a wide angle lens or no lens at all with our iRewind ONE 3D-Case you should make sure that the sun-rain protection cap is not visible in the shot.
Side shots / alternate positions #
When talking about various positions and uses of lenses, here’s a perfect example here of a different type of shot.
The camera here is only mounted on a tripod, but it gives a good view of the runners and has a very good positioning.
If this is your first event implementing the cameras, you just finished these tutorials and still think you need some help, get in touch with our team and we can provide you with general support as part of the onboarding process or discuss a more customized assistance package, tailored to your needs and availability, from supporting in the set-up phase to active, live-assistance throughout the event.
You can always see more examples of various setups in our template library if you want to get even more inspiration.
Just head down to our Tutorials Tab in the Dashboard Menu. We will make sure to create more videos from our implementation and share more tips & tricks, to help improve your operations and the final video result.