Live from Aintree: Drone AR and new camera technology enhance 2023 Grand National coverage

Two tracking vehicles are kitted out with a Cineflex on a jib and a Sony F55

“We go racing every week of the year and produce over a 100 race meets but there’s so much more of it at Aintree,” says Rob Oldham, tech producer at ITV Sport, speaking ahead of the 175th Grand National which takes place on Saturday (15 April). “It’s the biggest racing event in the public eye so we throw all the toys at this.”

This year there are 73 camera sources arrayed around Aintree, including shared camera feeds from RaceTech (horse racing’s integrity coverage supplier), 22 radio-based cameras (compared to just two on a large football match) and 11 presentation cams, plus three pres-cams in the ITV Studio in the middle of the course.

Dozens of specialist cams include Steadicams, an onboard ‘lipstick’ jockey cam and an Aerial Camera Systems (ACS) supplied helicopter with GSS camera.

CAMCAT’s Colibri wire system is deployed by ACS over two areas: One is attached to a 40m-high crane over the finish line tracking the final run in with a Cineflex and RF links. New for this year is a second wire cam running over the parade ring.

Two tracking vehicles, which keep pace with the riders travelling at 40mph, feature another Cineflex on a jib and a Sony F55 for 3 x high motion (kit supplied by ACS). Another super-slo is positioned on the finish line.

New for 2023

Having trialled a shallow depth of field ‘Megalodon’ style camera at Cheltenham earlier this year, the camera is making its Aintree debut.

“We got some good material for things like teasers into breaks and EVS montages, although it tends to spend quite a lot of time out of focus to be cut into the live,” says Oldham.

There are also two large sensor film style cameras being trialled during the three-day Grand National Festival, which began on Thursday, with both needing to integrate with the onsite RF system. It’s a stabilised shot, almost like a Steadicam, but requires a more compact package to weave among crowds. One is based on a Ronin 4D stabilised camera with NEP custom electronics.

“With horse racing we cover large expanses of space so RF is key to the success of what we do,” explains Jon Harris, technical projects manager at NEP. “We have to ensure any products we bring in will work on our network of radio cameras.”

Editorially, explains ITV Sport programme director Paul McNamara, the depth of field camera offers up high-profile shots of a key jockey walking out of the changing room or close-ups of a horse in the parade ring.

Also new for this year is a lantern-cam cross-pollinated from Six Nations rugby where it is held by a camera op over the player throwing a line out ball. It’s essentially a remote head on a stick.

There’s also a dedicated PTZ on the starter, replacing the normal shot from a jib. Ruby Walsh, who is part of the presenting team, is also covered with a PTZ. A standalone remote control PTZ RF cam is built into a padded unit and used for low angles of horses jumping over fences. This so-called ‘Claisse cam’ was developed at Cheltenham and named after the race clerk (Simon Claisse) who helped get the kit approved.

Four minicams are built into fences. At Fence One, for example, a minicam in the middle of the fence takes shots towards the grandstand of the runners.

“It’s a really impressive shot with 40 runners all coming towards the fence and jumping it,” says Harris.

There are two main hubs of connectivity out on the circuit built by NEP. One, at the Embankment, has three commentary booths for ITV, Radio 5 Live and RaceTech, and a camera position on top. A second tower with commentary booths is at Canal Turn, 2km from the TV compound. All adjacent minicams and FX mics are run back to the nearest hub and onward to the compound over fibre.

“Because of the geography of the course, the main commentator on the stand can’t see all the way round so we build two temporary structures for two further commentators with remote connectivity and line of sight to that part of the course,” says Harris.

“If a commentator needs a reminder as to what was going on, a colleague could assist if they have eyes on it, via comms. That’s very different to what we do on any other race fixture where traditionally we only ever have one commentator who’d have sight of the whole course.”

Jon Harris: ‘With horse racing we cover large expanses of space so RF is key to the success of what we do’

Another characteristic of this and all UK racing venues is that the cabling infrastructure is still triax. “It’s an ageing technology now but we’re able to use Grass Valley triax-based cameras,” informs Harris.

The whole set up is reliant on radio cameras for flexibility and portability, for which NEP has customised GV LDX 80s specifically for racing to include return vision.

“Quite often you take an ordinary video camcorder and add a radio link, a data receiver and a radio mic on top, making them big and bulky. We wanted to move away from that to create an integrated camera that looks and appears like a standard camera but has all the functionality of a wireless transmitter and integrated radio mic receiver. The custom backs that fit onto the back of the LDX 80 enable a lighter weight package suitable for racing,” says Oldham.

“The management of the radio spectrum and associated kit is a big task for us here. Between ourselves and the other broadcasters I don’t think there’s a spare frequency.”

Expanding augmented reality

In a first for ITV Racing the team are experimenting with augmented reality (AR) over pictures from a drone. The most simplistic form of AR has been in place for a number of years. These are lines and distance markers overlaid on the picture to illustrate the horses’ approach to the finish line.

AR has also been added to various wire cams for recent large race meets. It means the camera can zoom in on the action on ground then fly up to find a graphic hovering above for a big impact presentation.

“Within that graphic we can put VT,” says McNamara. “For example, if we’re doing the result of a race we can show images of the winning horse crossing the line. It’s just a much more vibrant three dimensional graphic than the flat 2D one.”

At Aintree, Alston Elliot (AE) is producing AR for the wire cam over the parade ring and they are also experimenting with AR from a drone. AE is also producing the broadcast’s conventional graphics.

“The challenge with both shots is that there’s potentially a lot of data from the camera with its positioning, zoom distance on the lens, and position in 3D space,” says Harris. “These variables require a lot of data processing in the AR engine to work out where exactly the graphics should sit.

“Weather can have a huge effect. Even droplets of water on the lens can break the illusion that the graphic is floating within the space that you’re seeing. It is critical to get the conditions right and that you have all the data in order to place the graphic in the right place.”

The drone AR experiment is being done more with a view to future events. ITV also has an ambition to produce real-time graphics which identify each horse and jockey during the race overlaid on the picture. A key to this future innovation will be tracking runners and riders across the whole course, including remote corners, using 5G.