Infront sets the pace with dynamic Run Rome The Marathon production
The race took in many iconic sites, including the Victor Emmanuel II monument
The 28th edition of Run Rome The Marathon took place on Sunday 19 March 2023, organised by RTI with Infront Italy as group leader, in association with Corriere dello Sport Stadio, the Italian Marathon Club and Atielle.
The event involved a wide range of people of all ages and fitness levels taking to the streets in the incredible setting of the Italian capital.
The 42.195 kilometre route, which started and ended at the Fori Imperiali in the shadow of the Coliseum, took in several of the main monuments and historical and cultural sites of Rome, including the Victor Emmanuel II monument, the Insula Ara Coeli, the Campidoglio and the Marcello Theatre.
Some 30,000 people took part, including those who opted for the Run4Rome relay and the 5km fun run, which finished in the Circus Maximus and took in sites such as the Pyramid of Cestius.
Production highlights
Infront Productions Italy is the division of the Infront Group that deals with live production, content production and technical services.
Within the division, Giacomo Betti, manager of the summer sports and football projects, and Enrico Cappelletti, project manager and producer of the project, dealt with the production and distribution of Run Rome The Marathon.
“Infront Italy organised and implemented the entire event,” said Cappelletti. “Our team takes care of television production and the international world feed.”
A 12 metre OB with expansion containing three EVS machines with eight channels each was used to produce the event, while an SNG vehicle took care of transmission and a separate vehicle handled broadcasting graphics.
Sixteen cameras, both static and dynamic, located in strategic points across the course captured the action. Three were positioned at the start, with RF connection: one mounted on a DJI Ronin gimbal support, one on a scaffolding and one on a jimmy-jib equipped with a 12m arm, almost a crane.
Two of the cameras at the starting area were initially positioned in front of the start line, the first with a long lens and the second with a standard lens. They were then moved behind the start line to be ready to capture the finish.
The start/finish line close to the Coliseum
Among the special cameras for shooting, a drone was also used to shoot live images in order to make the start even more spectacular and showcase the huge number of participants from above as well as accompanying them as they ran.
The drone also offered a bird’s eye view of the first stage, at the Fori Imperiali and Piazza Venezia, and captured and framed the salient and exciting moments at the finishing line.
A fourth RF camera was positioned on a 35 metre crane in Piazza Venezia, which delivered images from above.
An attempt was also made to make the video shooting as dynamic as possible by using moving vehicles: two motorcycles with Grass Valley cameras and a quad with a Sony camera were able to move easily along the route. Each operator on board was equipped with a camera with stabilised optics thanks to the Ronin support aid.
There was no shortage of 6x super slow motion shooting with a long lens and a camera placed on a scaffolding 100 metres from the start and finish to capture the emotion and expressions on the athletes’ faces.
Taking to the skies
So as not to miss a moment of the action, Infront also utilised a helicopter mounted with a Cineflex shooting system to cover the whole route.
A LiveU system with LTE link handled transmission. The images from the helicopter were received by the main director who integrated them into the broadcast host feed. In addition to international audio, Infront has also provided English commentary.
“The Acea Run Rome The Marathon,” concludes Cappelletti, “is considered the most important marathon in Italy, it was broadcast on Sky Sport Uno in Italy and by over 70 international broadcasters. The live feed was also available on the official Marathon YouTube channel.”