Infiniti Red Bull Racing use Polecam and LMC PICO for F pit stop analysis

Infiniti Red Bull Racing use Polecam and LMC PICO for F1 pit stop analysis 21 October 2014

Quadruple Formula One World Champions Infiniti Red Bull Racing have enlisted the help of Polecam and Live Motion Concept for pit stop analysis. LMC have developed the Ultra-Motion Minicam known as the Antelope Pico, named after its big brother the Antelope MkII.

The challenge with an F1 pit stop is that so many critical events happen in such a short time and they are all important. This includes jacking the car front and back, taking the wheel nuts on and off, removing and replacing wheels, adjusting wings, cleaning visors and even removing debris from radiators, and all of this has to happen in just 2.5 seconds. Tenths of a second in a pit lane can win or lose a race. When it all happens in the blink of an eye but we want to see it instantly in fine detail, the Antelope Pico makes it easy.

"Weve worked with Polecam and LMC before," said Al Peasland, Head of Technical Partnerships at Infiniti Red Bull Racing, "but to have the camera moved into an almost impossible position so quickly by the Polecam during our pit stop practice sessions within our factory, and then instant replay, its incredibly beneficial. Analysis after a full practice session is valuable but instant replay after each pit stop is visual gold. It allows us to analyse in greater detail and make changes during the same session to make our pit crew training as optimum and efficient as possible."

Jonathan Wheatley is the Team Manager at Infiniti Red Bull Racing. He and his team, including the physical trainers for the pit crew, gained valuable knowledge from the Polecam/ Pico visit. "Ive been doing pit stops for 25 years and I cant believe how much I have learnt in such a short period of time. There are things I suspected I knew and have now had them confirmed. If were able to discover something that can save just a tenth of a second in a pit stop, that can mean the difference between winning and losing a race."

Steffan Hewitt, inventor of the Polecam system, said "Seeing the reaction of the Red Bull Pit Crew as they watched back their handiwork was a joy. Everyone can see straight away what works and what doesnt work."

"This sort of work is a real joy. Its not about broadcast, its about teaching, training and analysis, and this is now a really powerful tool. Polecam has started to penetrate this market and it is something that I want to do more of. Medical filming for surgical training is a growth area for Polecam with the likes of Arthrex Inc ordering their third Polecam just for shooting surgical procedures for training surgeons. By generating the content they can make it available globally saving both time and money on flying people all around the world.

Airbus Industries use a Polecam in their wing testing lab. It allows them to get a camera into places where they cannot get a normal camera by utilising the 8m reach of the carbon fibre arm, even placing the Polecam 20m up a gantry!"

The Antelope Pico is available for demonstration from Polecam tel: +44 (0) 1234 855 222 www.polecam.com

Polecam's attraction has always been a winning combination of portability, speed of rig/derig, adding production value without hassle, getting crane shots where no other rig could go, and getting right in to where the action is. Crane shots up a mountain! No problem. In a small location studio! No problem. On a small boat! No problem.

The company has continued to develop and refine Polecam, never standing still, and today Polecam Systems offers a wide choice of ways to own a rig, from the Polecam Starter Pack, an entry level configuration which, using the Long Head, will take a variety of cameras such as minicams, D-SLRs, the Canon C300, Sony Nex 700, Black Magic Design Cinema camera or RED, and now, at the higher end of the range the new Polecam Professional Pack PPP.

When configured as 7th Heaven, the full Polecam rig has an extended reach of 8m/26 and when fitted with a minicam you can get right in close to where the action is, giving a unique creative viewpoint to your productions.

There is a whole range of mini HD cameras, other specialised cameras, heads, accessories, recorders, not to mention 3D, underwater add-ons and Extreme SloMo too.

Polecam will change the way you shoot and the way you think about shooting.

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