High Speed Panning at Olympics- But How

burchis13 wrote on 8/7/2012, 6:11 AM

During the gymnastic vault event in 2012 Olympics there were very fast panning shots of the athletic as they executed their vault.

I can't imagine that was real-time camera panning but more like computer generated.

I am curious to know how this is done.

Comments

farss wrote on 8/7/2012, 6:34 AM

Haven't had time to watch much of this so I haven't seen exactly what you're referring to.

Are you certain it's panning and not tracking?
For some time now coverage of the Olympic has included cameras mounted on very long tracks that are computer controlled and can move very fast to track runners etc. Look for something that looks like R2D2 flying along the side of a venue or track.

Bob.

JJKizak wrote on 8/7/2012, 6:50 AM

I don't see that as a problem. I can whiplash (Pan as fast as you can) my old HDV antique Z1 without any pixelation at all.
JJK

burchis13 wrote on 8/7/2012, 8:17 PM

It's appears more like the camera is circling around the person, maybe about 40 degrees or thereabout. It's hard to explain but you would know it if you saw what I'm talking about.

Serena wrote on 8/7/2012, 8:21 PM

I guess this is another of your jokey questions.

PeterWright wrote on 8/7/2012, 9:07 PM

Yes, I wondered the same thing. After a gymnast had vaulted over the horse and was still in mid-air, the picture froze with them still "in space" whilst the camera whizzed around about a quarter of a circle till it was side-on (it had previously been in line with the direction of the vault), then the action completed. Very striking effect.

goshep wrote on 8/7/2012, 9:08 PM

I believe the OP is referring to the http://sabia.tic.udc.es/gc/Contenidos%20adicionales/trabajos/Peliculas/FX/ej3.html"bullet time"[/link] effect made popular in the Matrix films. They've used it a couple of times that I've seen. I'm pretty certain they've modernized the technique and replaced the banks of cameras with a computer generated interpretation. That would be a bit of a distraction upon landing eh?

JasonATL wrote on 8/8/2012, 7:46 AM

Yes, this is an effect that is used in U.S. college (and probably NFL) football broadcasts as well. It appears to me to be computer generated from two cameras: the starting camera and the ending camera. It is amazing what technology can do.

I'm still impressed at how they can get the first down line (in football) or the world record line (in swimming) to move across with the action and camera movement.