Sony XDCAM shifts to high gear for Indy 500

For the
second consecutive year Sony played a pivotal role during Indianapolis 500 coverage as Sony XDCAM
camcorders, eight Sony HDC-1000 and eight HDC-1500 cameras are in a new HD
mobile unit built by IMS Productions, the production company for the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“This is the first Indianapolis
500 using this truck,” says Charlie Morgan, president and COO of IMS
Productions and Radio Network. “Last year, through our relationship with Sony,
we telecast the first race in HD and were so pleased with the results that the
speedway decided to invest in our own HD mobile unit. We realized that if we
wanted to control the quality of Indy Car broadcasts all season long, then we
needed to make this type of commitment and build our own truck. So, much of
what the viewers at home see will be shot with Sony HD cameras.”

Three XDCAM HD camcorders (model PDW-F355) were used by IMS Productions.
According to Morgan, IMS chose the XDCAM HD camcorders not only for their image
quality, but also for their flexibility. The cameras will be used in the pits
and also to capture live race footage.

“A live event like racing requires a camera operator to be able to react
quickly in order to capture the best shots,” Morgan says. “There’s obviously a lot
of fast-moving action that happens in the blink of an eye, and having cameras
that can respond quickly and begin recording immediately is a huge benefit. Our
crews can be reviewing the footage they just shot, and the second something
happens, they hit record and they’re getting everything.

He added that the XDCAM cameras were also right for the job in terms of
enhancing the IMS workflow during post production after the race. “The
flexibility, immediate random access and the fact that the files are already digitized
are great advantages to our workflow,” Morgan adds.