Kiwi-made cameras changing the sports broadcasting game

From big budget movies to the biggest sporting arenas, New Zealand company Shotover is leading the way in stabilised cameras. (Source: 1News)

For those at home who've watched Top Gun Maverick, you would have been stunned by the footage captured while chasing Tom Cruise in a fighter jet.

It turns out the real star of that production is a New Zealand-made camera setup that is now changing the game in sports broadcasting as well.

Kiwi-based company Shotover have created a gimbal that attaches to an aircraft and can track anything from Formula 1 cars to America's Cup boats.

"Essentially you can pan the camera, tilt the camera and roll the camera all while looking like the system is sitting on the ground on a tripod," Shotover's Gordon Barry said.

"It's actually hovering on this really inflexible platform."

Traditionally, gimbals can only look in one direction, but Shotover have created a breakthrough technology called a "six axis" where the camera can rotate from six different pivot points.

"It allows you to move the camera in any direction — even in the absolute opposite direction to where the helicopter is going."

Shotover has become a world leader in this technology. Sports like Formula 1, MotoGP and the America's Cup are all using their creation, and their most recent deal is with the World Rally Championship (WRC).

"When you compare it with the previous one, it's a real game changer," sWRC helicam operator Bart van Aert, who controls the gimbal from inside the aircraft, said.

"I've got a control panel with a big joy stick to control the camera movement — that's with my right hand.

"My left hand controls zoom, focus, iris exposure, so it's like a big live PlayStation game!"

Shotover have sold almost 300 systems. One of the buyers just so happens to be the production team for Top Gun Maverick, where they helped revolutionise aerial cinematography.

"Putting a camera on a high speed jet, achieving 350 knots, everyone knows the inverted shot up over the mountain," Barry said.

"There's no CGI, it's Shotover that made that happen."

SHARE ME

More Stories