FOR-A’s FT-ONE 4K Camera Used to Capture Red Bull Productions

FOR-A Corporation of America announces that its FT-ONE full 4K variable frame rate camera has been used to capture high-quality footage of sports action in super slow motion for several Red Bull Media House productions this year, including last summer’s Red Bull Wake Open in Tampa, Florida.

The Red Bull Wake Open features the best wakeboarding competitors from around the world. The competition showcased wakeboarding athletes performing in three different disciplines  – Boat, Big Air and Park – and took place on July 4th through July 6th at the Tampa Convention Center and SunWest. FOR-A’s FT-ONE was used in conjunction with the Evertz Dreamcatcher replay system to catch footage of the competition in 4K super slow motion. The camera system was positioned near one of the start/finish positions, and footage captured by the FT-ONE was broadcasted on NBC.

The FT-ONE was also used this past March in Quebec, Canada, for Red Bull Crashed Ice, an ice cross downhill world championship. Quebec City marked the final competition    – where the track is known to be the toughest, longest, fastest one in the entire series – and the FT-ONE was there to capture all of the intense action.

“The FT-ONE seamlessly fits into our live productions,” said Sumesh Thakur, of OceanWatch Production Group, Red Bull’s production house. “Unlike other 4K cameras, which are designed more for ENG or film, the FT-ONE is an ideal ‘live show’ camera. We’ve been very impressed with the FT-ONE/Dreamcatcher system, and recognize that it allows for tremendous creativity in live event production.”

The production team has been particularly impressed with the zoom and slow motion capabilities of the camera, which has allowed them to capture images in ways they’ve never been able to before. The Red Bull Crashed Ice event took place at night, so the OceanWatch operators capitalized on the FT-ONE’s dynamic range and low light capabilities to capture high quality imagery of the event’s action. The FT-ONE can record up to 900 frames per second, and employs FOR-A ‘s “FT1-CMOS” advanced CMOS color sensor.

“Working with Red Bull has been so exciting for us,” said Hiro Tanoue, FOR-A Corporation of America’s President. “The FT-ONE’s high speed and 4K capabilities are a perfect match for the adventurous sporting events that Red Bull hosts. Using the FT-ONE at these competitions has been an excellent opportunity to capture the thrills of sports at high resolution and slow motion camera speed never before seen.”