New ‘post-cam’ debuts at BBC rugby coverage

BBC Sport is set to use an innovative remote 360 degree tracking camera housed around a rugby post to enhance its coverage of Six Nations Rugby match between England and Wales on March 20 and the Scotland v France match the following day again.
The camera is also set to be used at future Six Nations matches and at a number of Rugby League matches this season. ‘post-cam’, which has been developed by BBC Outside Broadcasts, has now been successfully used at the England v Ireland and Wales v France matches on March 6 and 7.
A compact wireless device, ‘post-cam’ follows a long line of innovations from the Special Facilities team at BBC Outside Broadcasts. The remote control camera is gripped to the post above its safety padding and can provide 360 degree tracking footage of action whether it be players in view or the crowds reaction in the stadium.
For the first time, the ‘post-cam’ will be able to capture views of scrums, players’ shots on goal as well as images of the audience watching the action from behind the post. As it is fixed above the pads on the posts and uses a wireless digital video signal (COFDM), it means that it can be fitted unobtrusively and rotated using a remote control device offering the production team exciting shots of the game from a completely new angle.
‘Post-cam’ has been on the bench at Special Facilities for some time and through discussions in conjunction with BBC Sports’ Innovation Group the idea was able to come to fruition for this season. It is a robust device that is flexible enough to change views and gain good pitch coverage but isn’t disturbed by weather or obstructive to the players.
This is another of the innovations of the Special Facilities team at BBC Outside Broadcasts and builds on recent successes such as ‘crowd-cam’, which is used extensively for football and rugby matches and ‘halibut-cam’, which tracks the underwater movements of swimmers as they cover the length of the pool.
Paul McNeil, BBC Outside Broadcasts said: “The success of the England rugby team has captured the imagination of the nation and we wanted to build on that by getting audiences as close to the action as possible. Post-cam has been designed to operate within the field of play and will provide some exciting new perspectives on the game.”
(GB)