In Broadcast - January 2021 - 50

50

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 11 - Issue 1 | January 2021

InStudio

Motion Impossible's AGITO
Sports makes its MLS debut
Portland Timbers first Major League Soccer club in the U.S. to trial
AGITO Sports as COVID-Compliant Steadicam replacement...

O

ver the course of two matches
at the start of November, the
Portland Timbers became the first
team in Major League Soccer (MLS)
to feature Motion Impossible's AGITO
Sports modular dolly system as part of
live broadcast coverage from its home
ground of Providence Park. Operating
in a dedicated area along the touchline
in its wheeled configuration, the AGITO
Sports enabled the broadcast team to
keep pace with the action for the whole
90-minute game, as well as providing
the flexibility for a range of other shots
- all in a safe and remote manner.
The AGITO Sports was deployed and
operated by Las Vegas-based speciality
camera support company, JIB TEK LLC,
which has already used the system
several times in sports broadcasting,
notably in its tracked configuration as
" MLB Network's Speed Cam " . Using
the Sports drive ends, allows the
AGITO Sports to effectively become
the world's first multi-terrain robotic
dolly system, its four-wheel drive
adjustable suspension providing top
speeds of 32mph. Being fully remote
controlled, it also means that a remote
camera can run a touchline without
worrying about rails or other fixed
equipment proving a hazard to players
or coaching and broadcast staff.

" Providence Park is the oldest
soccer-specific stadium in MLS, with
not much space between the pitch and
the advertising hoardings, but we were
able to run safely along the pitch side
while ensuring that we kept ten feet
away from all people at all times, said
Patrick Kligel, JIB TEK's owner. "
The AGITO Sports was used at
Providence Park mounting a Shotover
G1 gimbal and flying a Sony HDC-P1r
box camera package. Using it in
SPORT mode not only gave it greater
opportunities to range round the pitch
when play wasn't underway - such
as to track the players coming out,
or getting close-ups of the Timber's
mascot Timber Joey, who uses a
chainsaw to cut a slab off an enormous
log whenever the home team scores but it also gave the team greater speed
and responsiveness too.
" The drive train is really efficient and
responsive; you have a really quick
start and really quick stop, as well
as being able to move in your own
direction and shoot your own angles "
says Kligel. " When you put the AGITO
Sports on a field and you have free
run capability, you unleash the beast;
within the boundaries of safety, it can
go anywhere and it can do anything. "
" The AGITO Sports allowed us to not

only put a camera safely on the field,
in a way that our viewers have never
seen before, but also to be able to get
close to the players while providing
smooth and steady pictures, and get
some really unique perspectives, " said
Patrick Brown, Director/Coordinating
Producer at Root Sports. " Patrick and
his group from JIB TEK made things
super easy for us and they really
delivered a turnkey system; here's
a cable, plug it into your truck, and
you have a camera. If I was to get the
opportunity again, I would definitely
use it every time I could. In a scenario
where there was a full stadium the
AGITO Sports could do some neat stuff
and I would really love to see that. "
While a convenient replacement
for Steadicam under current COVID
conditions, meaning one less camera
operator in production bubbles and
less worry about virus transmission,
Kligel maintains that the AGITO
Sports is a good alternative under any
circumstances.
" For a start we can get tighter on
the lens than Steadicam can because
we're a gyro-stabilized head and not
a balanced gimbal, but you watch a
Steadicam operator towards the end
of a match and they're not moving
much, " he says. " Steadicam is a great

tool, but it's tiring to use and the
operators can start to show fatigue
through the course of a game. The
AGITO Sports gives us exactly the
same speed on demand throughout,
meaning we can keep up with the
action and the players moving down
the touchline whenever the ball comes
to our quadrant at whatever point in
the match. "
" In a year when fans around the
world have limited stadium access,
AGITO Sports did a great job of giving
Timbers supporters a front row
seat, " comments Matt Smith, Vice
President of Broadcasting, Portland
Timbers. " Soccer is dynamic and
makes frequent use of the channels
along each sideline. AGITO Sports is
uniquely positioned to capture that
aspect of the game in way we have
not seen before. It not only showcased
the speed of the game, but enabled
us to track and capture the on-field
experience of a play developing. There
were times I truly felt like one of the
referees roaming the sideline. "
Following a new partnership formed
between Motion Impossible and
AbelCine to provide sales, training,
and technical support across North
America, the M-Series and AGITO
platforms are now available across the
USA and Canada.

Motion Impossible's
AGITO Sports
modular dolly system
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://motion-impossible.com/products/agito/ https://motion-impossible.com/products/agito/ https://motion-impossible.com/products/agito/
In Broadcast - January 2021

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