Inside Pitch: Motion Impossible's AGITO a Home Run for MLB's Speed Cam By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Monday, December 28, 2020 - 8:23 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
By Patrick Kligel, Owner of JIB TEK
Every so often an innovation comes along in the field of sports broadcasting that really helps bring the fans closer to the action. And this year, the stand out introduction of new technology that I was involved with probably goes to the Major League Baseball Network's Speed Cam; a rail mounted camera that rides on specially constructed tracks built on top of the first base dugout.
Patrick Kligel, owner of JIB TEK, says Speed Cam offered great new angles for MLB coverage.
Its ability to track a runner as they head from home out of the batter's box to first base has brought fans closer to the action than ever before and manages perfectly to convey the sheer speed and athleticism of the players involved, as the camera keeps pace with the athletes. And at the heart of the nightly drama is Motion Impossible's AGITO modular dolly system.
This has been MLB Network's dream shot to do and they've been working on it for a long time. When I met with the producers of MLB's Game of the Week and discussed what our options were, I thought of several platforms that could do the shot, but I picked the one that could do it the best. And for me that was the AGITO.
I chose the AGITO for a number of reasons, notably the lack of tether, its higher top speeds, its modular design, and its adaptability. The result is a new perspective on a venerable game as it shows the speed of the game at a lower eye level than anybody has ever seen before. That makes the audience feel like they are a part of the game, and not just a spectator. It was also used for interstitials to show the beauty of the Park, the interaction of the fans, and other new angles at replays during the game.
The AGITO is used in its tracks formation and runs on 80-feet of effective track, with a bit more at either end for stopping. Payload can vary, but is typically a Shotover G1 gimbal mounting a POV camera, such as the Sony HDC-P43. Aside from the fact that JIB TEK's AGITO unit can, of course, be used on the productions in its wheeled configuration, the main reasons it was chosen for this particular job was the low profile that would not bring in the spectre of seat kill once fans were allowed back into the stadium, and a crucial combination of wireless operation and speed. We had speeds that were faster than the player and were only really restricted by the limited space to stop.
It was the wireless ability that made this happen, because when you're moving at speed, and you're dragging a cable, that cable can get caught on a number of things. Even if you build a trough for it, with 100% managed cable, it can still twist, bind, get kinked up, and jump.
The worst thing that can happen is for the system to come off the track. But, while the AGITO does have the ability to deliberately come off the track with its free moving version the AGITO Sports, it comes with a lot of safety features that help the gravity-based trolley stay safely planted on the track.
As for the AGITO, nobody matches its versatility in being able to go from track to sport mode as it can track the pitcher on and off the field, catching meetings on the mound, following the pitch to the plate, and more.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...
21/04/2026
Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...
21/04/2026
Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...
21/04/2026
Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...
21/04/2026
The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...
21/04/2026
Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...
21/04/2026
Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...
21/04/2026
Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...
21/04/2026
FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...
21/04/2026
Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...
21/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...
21/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
21/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...
21/04/2026
Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...
21/04/2026
Rashad Frett attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ricky at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shut...
21/04/2026
Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...
21/04/2026
Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...
21/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
21/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
21/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...
21/04/2026
MAS and Lockheed Martin partner to establish an F-35 depot in Canada, enabling in-country sustainment and creating high-skilled aerospace jobs....
21/04/2026
Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration w...
21/04/2026
Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse...
21/04/2026
On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026
Melanie Ciotti April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Unlimited processing, no cloud depe...
21/04/2026
London, 21 April 2026 IBC today announced the appointment of Tim Banham as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly created role that reflects the or...
21/04/2026
Motion Design Tools - April 2026
Roland Kahlenberg April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Within 2 days, Maxon and Canva announced pro-level motion design apps - A...
21/04/2026
Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Inside Pitch: Motion Impossible's AGITO a Home Run for MLB's Speed Cam By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
