First Skating Cameraman in Live TV Broadcast data-src=https://creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/avatars/263018/5fa08c562aaf4-bpthumb.jpg data-srcset=https://creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/avatars/263018/5fa08c561c0e7-bpfull.jpg 2x class=lazyload avatar avatar-80 photo height=80 width=80 />
Brie Clayton May 5, 2021
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Jordan Cowan is creating new perspectives of dancing on ice with a remote-controlled broadcast camera.
In the British live TV show Dancing on Ice , a figure skater is skating among the dancers with a Sony HDC-P50 camera and Canon HJ14 lens. This broadcast camera is stabilized and remote-controlled through a NEWTON system and the results are unique in the broadcast world.
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television series that features celebrities figure skating with professional skating partners in front of a panel of judges. Each season has 10 shows that airs live on ITV from January to March and each show has around 6 million TV viewers. The series started in 2006 but was cancelled in 2014 and then revived in 2018 with a new TV studio at RAF Bovingdon. With the revival, the production hired Alan Wells Camera Services, which supplies a rail cam along the skating rink and since the 2019 season has helped introduce a new camera angle to the show, the Ice Cam.
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The Ice Cam
The Ice Cam consists of the figure skater Jordan Cowan, wearing a Ready Rig that holds a NEWTON stabilized remote head. The head features a Sony HDC-P50 broadcast camera and a Canon HJ14 lens that is remote controlled by cameraman Dominic Jackson, through the renowned NEWTON control panel at a normal operator's desk.
data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145325/Jordan7.jpg alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2409592 data-srcset=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145325/Jordan7.jpg 800w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145325/Jordan7-300x200.jpg 300w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145325/Jordan7-768x512.jpg 768w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145325/Jordan7-624x416.jpg 624w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145325/Jordan7-50x33.jpg 50w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145325/Jordan7-100x67.jpg 100w data-sizes=(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px />Jordan The Skating Camera Dolly
Jordan Cowan is an American figure skater who used to compete in the national team, and since a few years, he is bringing cameras onto the ice to film figure skaters under the name On Ice Perspectives . In mid-2018, Cowan heard through a friend that the producers of the reality show Dancing on Ice in London, UK were looking for a cameraman who could skate. Jordan explains: I contacted the producer and showed them some of my recent video productions. They liked it and hired me for the 2019 season, making me the first ever skating camera operator for a live televised skating show.
data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145342/Jordan6.jpg alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2409593 data-srcset=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145342/Jordan6.jpg 800w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145342/Jordan6-300x200.jpg 300w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145342/Jordan6-768x512.jpg 768w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145342/Jordan6-624x416.jpg 624w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145342/Jordan6-50x33.jpg 50w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145342/Jordan6-100x67.jpg 100w data-sizes=(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px />Developing the Ice Cam
Cameraman Domenic Jackson had operated a Steadicam on Dancing on Ice for several seasons and he used to walk out on the ice, with spike shoes, to shoot links in and out of dance numbers. In October 2018, ITV asked Alan Wells to put together a rig that could move faster on the ice and replace the Steadicam. Alan Wells first thought of a push trolley featuring a remote stabilized camera head but soon abandoned it for a handheld solution. The outside broadcast company Telegenic supplies the cameras and lenses for Dancing on Ice and with their input, the team at Alan Wells customized a Ready Rig so it could control a Sony HDC-P1 camera and Canon HJ14 lens. This was achieved by adding carbon fiber brackets on the Ready Rig so it could hold a NEWTON stabilized remote head, which is rarely used handheld, but that Alan Wells use for broadcast on cable cams and rail systems. Unlike typical handheld gimbals, NEWTON has a control panel that features a standard broadcast setup for camera angle and lens, which is much more suitable for professional TV cameramen.
data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145402/Jordan5.jpg alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2409594 data-srcset=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145402/Jordan5.jpg 800w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145402/Jordan5-300x200.jpg 300w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145402/Jordan5-768x512.jpg 768w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145402/Jordan5-624x416.jpg 624w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145402/Jordan5-50x33.jpg 50w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/05145402/Jordan5-100x67.jpg 100w data-sizes=(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px />During the development of the camera rig, the team at
