In Broadcast - March 2015 - 62

62

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 3 | March 2015

InFocus

Ultramotion Is Crucial For
UHD Sports Production
By Laurent Renard, CEO

U

ltramotion
sequences
have
become a must-have for giving
big sports events a premium feel and
increasing the sense of occasion.
The search for the 'killer shot' has
become highly competitive, with
broadcasters jostling to uncover
breath-taking new insights into the
action that viewers will remember
when the game is over.
Ultramotion naturally lends itself to
fast-moving sports such as ice hockey
or motor racing, where sequences shot
at frame rates of 600fps or 1000fps
can really show aspects of the action
that might otherwise be invisible
at normal speed - the deformation
of mechanical components under
extreme physical stress, or the splitsecond timing of a contact between
players that reveals who fouled who.
There's also widespread use of
ultramotion in less speedy sports
such as athletics, soccer, and even
weightlifting. Why would broadcasters
want ultra-slow motion sequences
in these sports? Because they
highlight the human character of the
participants as they push themselves
to the limits of endeavour.
The beads of sweat forming on the
brow, or the shimmering droplets of
water as the diver slices into the water

- these shots are more of an aesthetic
use of ultramotion than the forensic
'action analysis' shots typically used in
high-speed sports.
Vital Versatility
With the advent of 4K, the ability
to show yet more detail through the
combination of incredibly slowed
action and much greater resolution,
means that broadcasters once again
have a new creative landscape to
explore with ultramotion. Yet, as
in HD production, versatility in 4K
ultramotion systems is vital, so that
production teams can cover a lot of
bases as they develop new styles
to exploit the potential of the UHD
format.
I-MOVIX's X10 UHD has for example
been used to premiere new ways
of using 4K in pioneering coverage
of global sports events where the
broadcast format is HD. The world's
ﬁrst 4K ultramotion system to support
both continuous Super Slow Motion
(SSM) and Ultra Slow Motion (USM) at
frame rates of up to 1,000 FPS, X10
UHD has brought new ﬂexibility to
productions through use of 4K zoom,
where the HD window on ultramotion
sequences captured at 4K can be
panned and zoomed to highlight areas

Evertz and I-MOVIX have collaborated on interoperability

Big sports events demand slow-motion replays

of particular interest.
Until
4K
viewing
becomes
widespread, the value of 4K
ultramotion shots for HD production
has already been demonstrated in
this way during numerous prestigious
international sporting events, all with
the X10 UHD system.
The greater image quality offered by
4K means that ultramotion systems for
the format must deliver images that
look every bit as good as those from
the other cameras in the production.
The X10 UHD uses the best 4K highspeed image sensor available in the
market, with an increased dynamic
range, which is vital for shooting
ultramotion in widely differing
lighting conditions, and increasing
performance when lighting is poor.
Shooting Modes
Because different sports are staged
in a variety of conditions and demand
a range of shooting styles, the X10 UHD
offers many modes for both 4K and HD
production. For very high-frame rate
ultra-slow motion in 4K
sports coverage, the system
operates in USM mode to
deliver instant replays of up
to 1,000fps. For continuous
non-stop recording, SSM
mode delivers up to 120fps
at 4Kp60.
Although at this point
4K ultramotion tends to
be used for premium high
budget events, the cost
to broadcasters of 4K

infrastructure is a concern, so it is
important that 4K camera systems
give a return on investment by being
readily usable in multiple roles.
So when operating in HD resolutions
(1080p or 1080i) X10 UHD offers up
to 600fps in continuous SSM mode,
and up to 2,000fps in USM mode. The
system can also complement these
specialised applications by performing
in a conventional live camera role.
For even more versatility, the system
can be speciﬁed with RF capability and
used in wireless mode for very highframe rate, ultra-slow motion in HD
sports productions, where being close
to the action makes the difference.
The solution is lightweight, convenient,
and as easy to operate as the other
systems in the product range.
As anyone who's seen top quality
ultramotion sequences in 4K knows,
the impact ultramotion makes in HD
production is even greater at higher
resolution, and this suggests that it
will become a key feature of sports
production in UHD.

i-MOVIX's X10 UHD system
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://vimeo.com/89689548 https://vimeo.com/113277024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke8nked4Va0&feature=player_detailpage
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