Polecam FishFace & PICO partner for new aquatic sports views and swimming analysis

Polecam has taken its partnership with the Antelope PICO Ultra Slow Motion minicam a further leap forward by putting the camera into a re-designed FishFace waterproof housing on the end of a Polecam remote head lightweight jib arm. This combination now allows Polecam to shoot aquatic sports in HD streaming Ultra Slow Motion from viewpoints above and below water level, demonstrating new shots and moves not seen before.

Polecam Systems took the kit to the Luton Active Pool to test the FishFace/PICO system and to record Ultra-Motion of swimmers and divers. “The aim of this was two-fold,” said Steffan Hewitt, owner of Polecam Systems. “Firstly to validate the system and generate footage for future events, and secondly as a training tool for the coaches.”

The FishFace system was developed at the request of Laurie Frost of Camera Corps (a Vitec Videocom company) for the 2000 Sydney Olympics for a new view on swimming and diving. Since then it has become a standard tool for major aquatic events including the swim section of the Triathlon. Now by adding the Antelope PICO into a re-designed housing to attach to the standard FishFace, ultra-motion shots at 350fps can be achieved.

“Sport no longer happens without some form of ultra-motion for replays,” said David Jenkins, Diving Development Officer for Luton Active, “but for us to be able to replay a shot instantly and then play back on a 50″ monitor poolside is an invaluable training tool and we look forward to using it again.”

“Instant analysis, but also having this high quality full HD footage for further analysis on my laptop after the session is also priceless” said Peter Woodbridge, Swimming Development Officer for Luton Active. “Playing back shots poolside immediately after the event is so much more powerful than the next day. It’s fresh, and adjustments can be made immediately. Formula One pit-stops or 50m freestyle sprinters, the benefit is the same.”

Veteran Polecam/FishFace operator Mark Sallaway (pictured) was on hand to run the three-section (3.5m) Polecam while Steffan Hewitt piloted the Pico and its instant replays. The Pico was running up to 350fps at full HD.