or involvement than Channel 4 or Sky,” he adds, “and they will usually come in on the same day and get the job done quickly and efficiently, which eases our work.”
The TV production team at Epsom is Sunset and Vine, who are in charge of all the arrangements for the televised events throughout the season. The process of planning coverage of next year’s event begins virtually as soon as the last spectator has left the course, Andrew explains. “In the wash-up meeting we discuss how everything went and how to improve on it for next year. Six months before the event, the build-up process begins in earnest,” he adds. “The Epsom spring meeting in April serves as a good practice run for the Derby. It allows us to run all our production equipment in a real race event, enabling us to pick up on any problems that might arise or assess the success of any pilot schemes we might be running. Each year, we talk to the TV companies and our own production teams about any innovations in camera work as a way of looking for new ways to improve the experience of horse racing for viewers.”
Several new ideas surfaced recently, including wire cams, gibs, moveable and hand-held cameras. Not all can be taken forward. “It is important for us to balance spectator pleasure with our strict safety concerns. Safety of the horses must come first, therefore any experimental camera positions that might risk spooking them have to be dropped,” he stresses.
“The idea of tracking cameras is a
great one,” he continues “and would make for great TV, but employing them at such a bustling, busy event like the Derby is difficult,” he admits. “Cameras mounted on vehicles travelling in front of the runners could be potentially too dangerous for both spectators and horses,” he remarks. “But we like to remain open to suggestions and to incorporate them into the coverage if at all possible. After all, it is in all our interests that we do so.” Helicopters are used to cover racing
from a fresh perspective, although even then, height limits apply - usually about 1000 metres above ground is the threshold. “Noise is a major factor”, Andrew says, “and has disrupted the speaker in the past, not to mention the nuisance to the horses.” Racing differs from televised sports such as football, athletics, and cricket, where cameras can come in really close to the action. “We don’t have that luxury,” he says “and we have to remember that animals are involved, so we have to take every precaution to ensure that we don’t do anything that might put them ill at ease.” Wire cameras have been adopted successfully but, unlike sports like athletics where the wire cam runs right alongside athletes, courses simply cannot take a similar approach. “No gap exists between riders and spectators to run the wire, so we need to elevate the cameras above the crowd, which limits the scope of coverage.”
Budgets also play a part too and, if television companies or broadcasters believe something is just too expensive, it gets ditched, Andrew says.
Hand-held cameras used in
front of horses - after the race or as they walk out to the start are used but have caused problems when the cameraman
moved in too close. The method moved on at Epsom last
year, with the BBC piloting a battery- controlled platform for cameramen. “In the end, the horses were becoming spooked by it, so we had to pull the plug on that idea,” Andrew recalls. Another pilot did surmount the tough criteria however. Perimeter advertising, commonplace in football, was introduced for the final leg at Kempton Park last summer. “There was no negative impact, although we couldn’t have the electronic moving advertising because of the distraction to the horses. A good example of how a new idea will be tried out at a smaller venue to gauge its success.”
A week before the Derby, the big set-up begins, with the BBC usually arriving on the Monday before the event. The ducting and wiring is usually in place permanently, but cameras can be changed if production teams wish it, although all decisions have to be checked for safety. “That said, we definitely see our relationship with the TV and production teams as a partnership and we are not in the habit of saying no lightly,” he stresses. “We must retain a balance between the dual commitment of maintaining a high level of security and safety while striving to make the racing as exciting as possible for viewers at home.” Epsom is a major rigging exercise, with some ten fixed camera positions adopted to cover the Derby, as well as hand-held units. For events such as the Grand National,
microphones and cameras are often positioned at the jumps and even fixed within them to achieve the dramatic views of the riders clearing the hurdles. “They can prove temperamental,” Andrew says. “Riders can knock them, rendering them redundant.” Nine of the twenty-eight days of
fixtures at Sandown Park are televised, while of the fourteen day Epsom calendar, the BBC will be filming the four days of the Derby meeting.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140