ESPN is back in Aspen this week for the 20th edition of Winter X Games. Not surprisingly, the network has once again rolled out plenty of bleeding-edge tech and next-gen production workflows.
Although the debut of Intel's Curie sensors for the Men's Snowboard Big Air and Slopestyle is generating lots of buzz, ESPN has many more tech toys on tap, including 4K/HDR testing onsite, the Winter X debut of Sony HDC-4300 cameras, and the return of live GoPro/Vislink RF POV cameras, which debuted in Aspen last year. In addition, the Winter X operations team continues to cultivate REMI at-home production and EVS Portal/file-transfer techniques that it helped create and now deploys across several ESPN properties.
A lot of stuff starts here in terms of technology and innovation, says Paul DiPietro, coordinating director, event operations, ESPN. The beauty of owning and running our own event is that we basically have free rein to test new technology.
In all, ESPN will produce 24 hours of live coverage (16 on ESPN and ABC and eight on ESPN3) from Aspen; the X Games Extra Presented by Skype late-night show is being televised on ESPN2 for the time after previously only being streamed on XGames.com.
Sony HDC-4300, Live GoPro RF Cams Headline Camera Complement
ESPN has deployed more than 30 manned cameras at more than 100 locations, along with nine robos (provided by Fletcher) throughout Buttermilk mountain.
The SuperCrane on the SnoCross course extends 135 ft. in the air.
Two Sony HDC-4300 cameras - one each for Venue A and Venue B - are on hand, running at 4X and 6X slo-mo depending on whether it is a day or night event. In addition, ESPN is running several Sony HDC-2500s in 2X-slo-mo mode.
The debut of GoPro's live RF POV camera (using Vislink's transmitter) in Aspen last year drew plenty of attention from viewers, who were able to see athletes' POV live for the first time. Rebranded GoPro HeroCast, the system is back this week with 16 units on hand in tether (camera and transmitter on opposite sides of an athlete's helmet) or backpack (transmitter in backpack). HeroCast is also used for FollowCam-style selfie-stick shots and for course descriptions.
In addition to deploying 16 HeroCast live RF POV cameras for ESPN's coverage, GoPro trotted out Loki the WolfDog to capture GoPro footage for social media.
The RF GoPros added a wrinkle that elevated the product like no other over the past few years, says ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Amy Rosenfeld. The fact that we can do that live really took it to the next level. We are deploying that even more into the coverage after learning how to utilize it last year. Our partnership with GoPro is so strong that we are working together to figure out what worked last year and how we can elevate it.
BSI (Broadcast Sports Inc.) has upgraded three FollowCam systems with new imagers based on the on-board/in-car cameras it provides for its auto-racing coverage. These systems have also been outfitted with a wider lens this year.
Also included in ESPN's camera arsenal are a SuperCrane (135 ft. in the air at the SnoCross course) and three RF handheld cameras (provided by BSI).
ESPN's Super Group: NEP's EN1 and EN2 Join Forces
ESPN also packs a powerful punch in the compound this week with two of NEP's elite mobile units - EN1 and EN2 - working together for the first time ever. ESPN has once again split the operation in two venues, with EN1 handling Venue A (Slopestyle, SuperPipe, Big Air, and Special Olympics) and EN2 handling Venue B (SnoCross and X Course).
Based on NEP EN1 and EN2, the sprawling ESPN X Games compound comprises six NEP trailers and a BSI truck.
With a total of six trailers on hand (EN1 A, B, D, and E and EN2 A and B) and state-of-the art infrastructure in place, ESPN moved several portions of the operation that would previously have been located in office trailers into the production units, including TOC operations, robotic-camera control, and the Visual Technology group.
We didn't have these types or size of trucks in the past, says ESPN Operations Producer Jon Winders. But now that we have these massive trucks with lots of firepower, it makes sense to use the infrastructure that's been provided to us. And the best thing is that everything is interconnected so easily via fiber and they work together perfectly. All the trucks parked, they got power, connected via fiber, and everything was immediately interconnected.
Bleeding-Edge Imaging Update: 4K and HDR In, Drones Out
Always the testing ground for up-and-coming technology, X Games is serving as test bed for ESPN's exploration of 4K and HDR production tools. ESPN has deployed a team onsite using multiple camera systems to capture 4K video at variable frame rates and HDR footage in order to conduct comparative-viewing tests later.
The ESPN operations team on hand in Aspen
X Games has always been an event where we can test and explore new and evolving technologies, and this year is no different, says ESPN EVP/CTO Aaron LaBerge. We're excited to continue testing next-generation video formats and cameras, such as 4K and UHD, as a part of that.
While 4K and HDR undergo testing in Aspen, one next-gen production element that debuted at the 2015 Winter X Games is absent this year: drones. ESPN's use of a drone to cover a handful of events last year marked the first legal deployment of a drone for live sports coverage in North America. However, the network declined to deploy a drone this year. According to Rosenfeld, the decision was made well before a drone crashed and nearly hit Austrian skier Marcel Hirscher during the Madonna di Campiglio in Italy in December and had more to do with a better allocation of resources than with concern over safety.
The thinking was that we really wanted to put as much weight
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ESPN is back in Aspen this week for the 20th edition of Winter X Games. Not surprisingly, the network has once again rolled out plenty of bleeding-edge tech and next-gen production workflows.
