NAC Hi-Motion II delivers ultra slow-mo for Amstel Gold Race

In a significant development for broadcast coverage of professional cycling, a motorcycle-located NAC Hi-Motion II ultra slow motion camera supplied by Netherlands-based full service rental house Broadcast Rental delivered shots throughout the recent NOS broadcast of the Dutch cycling classic Amstel Gold Race. The impressive footage was transmitted live through a RF connection to the OB truck. In regular OB productions, the NAC Hi-Motion II is connected via cable whilst the replay-operator controls the ultra slow motion footage from the camera. During the Amstel Gold Race, however, the slow motion footage was actually triggered by the camera operator and the replays sent as a live feed to the director for broadcast.

NOS director Pim Marks specified the use of the NAC Hi-Motion II for this live broadcast: “Last summer we were really happy with this camera during the London Olympic Games; unfortunately we couldn’t use it on a motorcycle due to safety measures. Now I had the opportunity of using it on the back of a motorcycle and it truly met my needs. I had the best ultra slow motion shots just when I needed them, for live and fall back situations. And the viewers could enjoy amazing never before seen close-ups of the cyclers and their bikes. ”

“We had a world first here,” says Geert Paul Slee, CEO of Broadcast Rental. “It was never done before during road cycling that an ultra slow motion camera transmitted the shots live through a wireless RF connection to the OB truck. Together with the R&D department of NAC we managed to do it with dedicated new software. It enables the camera operator on the back of the motor cycle to trigger ultra slow motion situations as they happen.”

Broadcast Rental was the first to invest in the NAC Hi-Motion II on the mainland of Europe.