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Drones Cover The Winter Olympics
Fly through the rings // Illustration by Kate Walker
Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) has deployed drones to provide new angles and more dynamic coverage of the Winter Olympics in Italy.
The Winning Picture: Drone technology has advanced significantly in recent years, and the people piloting those drones are now pros in their own right. Having entered mainstream use (in both good and bad ways), bringing drones into next-level sports coverage seemed inevitable… and it could further boost engagement for Games coverage.
Behind The Angles: There’s a new kind of buzz happening at the Olympics this year.
OBS, which provides camera feeds to broadcasters worldwide, is deploying over two dozen drones for this year’s Games.
They’re being used at every indoor and outdoor event — except ice hockey and curling, according to Axios.
How closely the drones track each athlete varies by sport, but they’re required to remain behind competitors at all times — guardrails developed in consultation with pro athletes and international sports-governing organizations.
Last Run: To ensure the drone coverage is both safe and cool, OBS hired only pilots with “deep knowledge” of the sports they’re filming, including former ski jumper Jonas Sandell.
The cameramen capture the action in what’s known as “First-Person View” (FPV), meaning they wear special goggles to see exactly what the drone sees. That allows for super-precise camera moves that pull audiences straight into the action and truly convey just how fast these athletes are moving, according to NBC Olympics coordinating director Michael Sheehan.
Maybe there should be a medal for cinematography.
Next Games: The next superstar of the Games might just be the one who plays directly to the drones.
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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Nick Comney. Polled and Copy-edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.