Skycam Images

Near the polevault pit

Me on the field at the '96 atlanta Olympics. Our team was there supporting the four Skycams deployed. I had an "Infinity" or all-access pass to the Olympics and I went everywhere.

On Field Gear

The gear you needed to be on the field. Staff polo shirts, on-field vests, and several passes.

Skycam in the Omni

Skycam rig in the omni arena, covering Basketball. You can see the dumbbell shaped rig - bottom is camera, and top is communication and control. The four lines are (by this time) kevlar with nylon sheath and copper & fiber core. the kevlar is for strength and low weight. The nylon sheath keeps the kevlar together, since by itself kevlar looks, in the words of a team member, like "strands of dried snot". The copper core was used to trickle charge the batteries to extend life - the fiber core carried the video signal.

Garrett at Atlanta

Garrett Brown fussing over some obscure piece of gear. In addition to four Skycams, Garrett took a "Plungecam" and a "Mobycam" to the games. The Plungecam dropped alongside of a falling high diver. The Mobycam ran on a track on the bottom of the pool, and tracked the swimmers from an underwater viewpoint.

Skycam control at the Omni

Dark picture of the Skycam control point at the Omni - showing the view from the camera (L) and the control screen (R) - now Windows, with positioning graphics.

skycam15w.jpg

The author running the Skycam at the Atlanta Olympics. The culmination of a 15 year dream.

Coke

the author enjoying a celebretory Coke at the Atlanta Olympics

Skycam Central

The Trailers from which the Skycam team operated at Atlanta. Thats Garrett's wife Ellen on the right.

The Man

A smiling Garrett Brown during the Skycam triumph at the 96 Olympics. Its now a regular feature of television sports coverage, but was considered pretty outrageous in 96 - hanging a moving camera above the action. Garrett has been an inspiration to me, showing what can happen when you absolutely refuse to fail.