SPORTSCASTING
The fastest sprinter at the Sydney Olympics won't be an athlete - it'll be a tiny camera racing along aerial wires at speeds of up to 35 mph. The device - dubbed the GoFlyCam - will follow the action during track-and-field, mountain biking, and kayaking events, plus the opening and closing ceremonies.
The camera is the work of inventor Garrett Brown and his three-person shop, the Moving & Talking Picture Co., based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Legendary in Hollywood for developing the Steadicam stabilization harness, Brown has been equally influential in sportscasting. His mobile camera creations include the MobyCam, an underwater unit that tracks swimmers; the fast-dropping DiveCam, used in platform diving; and the high-speed GoCam on a monorail, which keeps pace with track's 100-yard dash and the vault in women's gymnastics.
Brown's GoFlyCam, which he describes as "a flying eyeball," swoops along ultrathin wires on motorized reels. The camera is piloted by a two-person crew via remote control: A pilot "drives" the rig, while a shooter pans and tilts the camera. The apparatus weighs 25 pounds, far less than other aerial cams, which can weigh hundreds of pounds.
"We're a skunk works for moving-camera technology," says Brown. "The kick for me is to come up with a shot that's been considered impossible."
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