SURREY, UK—Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC), a Nikon company will launch three new products focusing on sports and studio production in what it says will be its “largest-ever product lineup” at the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 15-19. 

New this year at the MRMC Stand in the Central Hall are Polymotion Relay, a sports circuit-based tracking solution, the Light Lift System and the AJS-2 autoJib for enhanced live content capture production. In addition, an enhanced version of the virtual production experience ‘Unreal Ride’ returns to the company’s Motion Control stand in the central lobby (L1) in partnership with VU.

Assaff Rawner, CEO of MRMC said: “We are excited to be part of the 100th NAB show with the biggest ever presence in our company’s history. Our broadcast solutions stand will be split into two key focus areas: Studios and Sports; with dozens of demonstrations and opportunities to network with our team of experts. We will be introducing Slidekamera by MRMC products for the first time to NAB audiences. We’re also delighted to see delegates playing at being a director by taking our virtual production experience Unreal Ride to the next level.”

From the broadcast studio side, MRMC will be highlighting two new broadcast products demonstrating superior PTZ enablement.

The AJS-2 Auto-Jib enhances live shots and can be deployed with either a PTZ or a robotic head and controlled manually, through 2 degrees of semi-automation or through full automation. It can be operated as a manual jib, or through a hybrid of manual and automation where the motion paths are defined but the head or PTZ can be controlled by an operator remotely or using presets. It captures smooth ’on-air’ movement and repeatable moves with a modular design that is extremely quick to set up and quiet and smooth to operate. MRMC says it is ideal for over-arching shots of crowds and live audiences or where you simply want some elevation or interesting movement.

The LLS-1 Light Lift System expands MRMC's PTZ enablement solutions by adding a vertical lift. For optimum flexibility, the LLS-1 has floor, wall or ceiling mounting options available. With a range of height configurations, the LLS-1 can comfortably capture sitting and standing shots using the floor-based option. Also on hand is the Studiobot XL, a 9-axis robotics system that offers what MRMC says is “superior visual creativity” to traditional dolly systems; and the AFC-100 robotic head which moves at up to 100° per second.

MRMC will also demo an advanced new feature of its MHC software that creates "virtual Teleportation." 

“If you have a talent that you want to interview as if you are on-site, but can’t get them to your location, you can teleport your pundit or your guest to them,” the company said. “It allows you to seamlessly bring remote talent into the shot or studio while maintaining camera motion, effectively creating one camera shot in two locations using IP-controlled robotics. The synchronized movement of the two cameras paired with the subjects being able to move naturally makes the illusion hyper-realistic.

Nikon USA will be part of the booth, showcasing the Z9 full-frame mirrorless camera and other camera models, lenses and accessories.

Targeting sports production, MRMC will mark the worldwide launch of Polymotion Relay, a cost-effective, single-operator, multi-camera control solution for circuit-based sports. Driven by a computer vision engine, Polymotion Relay makes multi-cam production and control simple, the company said. Set up to follow the layout of a track at a predefined speed, one operator can use Polymotion Relay to manage all camera angles, making adjustments where needed to speed and framing, while the system makes intelligent modifications on-the-fly.

Complementing Polymotion Relay is Polymotion Player, an automated camera-follow-camera control that allows the operator to remain focused on capturing key action shots through Camera One. Polymotion Player+ is an automated real-time Player Tracking software solution that uses powerful computer vision technology to dynamically adjust the framing of the subject and follows players on the field of play. MRMC will also be showing Polymotion Remote+ which allows for remote multi-camera control from a single interface.

Additionally, on the stand, visitors will be able to check out MRMC’s Pan Bars, PTA-1 and PTA2, Arc360 PTZ and Robotic pod which will house a Nikon Z-9 as well as the Robotic POD-M2 for broadcast cameras which has built-in climate control.

NAB 2023 will also provide the first opportunity for attendees to see Slidekamera’s innovative products integrated with MRMC solutions. The addition of Slidekamera into the MRMC fold offers producers and videographers an expansive world-beating range of motion robotics that permit creative high-precision shots with even simple robotic cameras, MRMC said. Visitors can meet the Slidekamera by MRMC team and see the Titan Slider, Atlas Slider, Curved rail, and our full range of robotics heads in action, such as the Heavy Bullhead that is capable of housing a 20kg payload camera.

Returning to the show this year is MRMC’s “Unreal Ride” interactive user experience, in which MRMC is teaming up again with Vū Studios for another “show-stopping virtual production activation,” MRMC said.

“The Unreal Ride 2023 takes the experience up another level by adding greater control. Guests will be able to make decisions that materially affect a ride’s scene,” the company said. “Building on the theme of 100 years of NAB, guests will be able to select the environment in which the ride takes place – 100 years into the past or the future. Based on their decisions, MRMC will combine the physical and the virtual worlds live and capture it all using motion control to create a unique video for guests to take away and share on their social channels. This video includes the final camera output and a BTS perspective of how it was captured. Unreal Ride 2023 will be captured by the high-speed cinema robot Bolt X Cinebot with moves programmed in the industry-standard Flair software integrated with Unreal Engine.”

MRMC will be in Booth C5325 in the Central Hall of the LVCC. 

To register for the 2023 NAB Show, visit nabshow.com/2023.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—The sheer number of possibilities today’s technology puts on the table for television production—especially high-profile ones where there is no dearth of money or people—makes it imperative that the way technology is applied enhances storytelling rather than getting in the way, says Michael Davies, senior vice president of field operations at Fox Sports.

“We are in a technological era where we are sort of in a dream—if you can dream it, you can do it,” says Davies, who this weekend will do his 13th Daytona 500 production. “That creates a lot of opportunities, but it can be a bit of slippery slope.”

This year’s Daytona 500 (Sunday, Feb. 17, starting at 2 p.m. EST on Fox and also livestreamed on the Fox Sports Go app) is a case in point. While Fox Sports will deploy all of the technology normally associated with the production of such a high-profile race, it also aims to enhance coverage with several tech goodies making their Daytona debut, including the high-speed Fox Sports Rail Cam, a body jib, enhanced data analytics and a new 3D virtual studio.

Pre-race, the challenge for Davies and Fox Sports producers and directors is separating the wheat from the chaff when considering technology.

“There certainly are many technologies out there that might seem cool on the surface, but in terms of an actual tool for what the producers and directors actually use and then finally what winds up on the screen, it’s a little bit more of a vetting process,” he says.

“A pretty good way to start [in determining what tech will enhance storytelling] is something called ‘the bar test,’” Davies explains. “The bar test is simply can a viewer understand what we are doing from a technology standpoint while sitting in a bar. And the other thing we determine is whether a technology will show the audience things they just otherwise can’t see.”

The rail cam, which Fox Sports first used at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., is a good example of the tests.

“It’s often quite difficult to convey on television how fast the cars are going,” says Davies. But the rail cam, the work of robotic dolly specialist Mega Trax, provides a dynamic shot that does the trick.

Positioned behind the inside wall of Turn 2, the camera can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about three seconds and reach speeds exceeding 90 mph along its 1,000-foot rail.

“Say the camera is going 80 mph and the cars coming out of that turn are going about 180 mph, the shot lets viewers see the foreground and background moving,” he explains.

Another approach is to go against traffic at 80 mph with the cars coming at the camera at 180 mph. “That’s a dynamic shot that looks great,” says Davies.

In terms of passing the tests, not only does the Fox Sports Rail Cam convey speed to the viewers, it also offers a solution for covering the backstretch. “One of the things we always struggle with is covering the backstretch in the most meaningful way,” says Davies.

“We’ll always get everything, but having a camera like this in a place where you don’t generally get a lot of good close-up shots is pretty cool, especially on the inside wall.”

The body jib, commercially branded the DigiBoom from Redrock Micro, is another new production element that passed the tests. At the Daytona 500, Fox Sports will position an operator wearing the body jib inside the pits to capture stabilized cameras shots.

“It’s like a Steadicam,” says Davies. “In fact, I have a Steadicam operator using it. But with this, you can get high—about 6 feet over [what’s being shot]. You can also go right down on the ground, which you can’t do with a Steadicam.”

The body jib and stabilized camera will be used to get a variety of shots providing a new perspective on the race, including shots of the pit boxes at eye-level with the crew chiefs looking on and shots over the wall showing cars coming at viewers as they go to their pit stalls, he says.

Yet another new production addition for this year’s race is a new touchscreen analysts in the booth will use to break down data in ways that have never before been seen in NASCAR, according to Fox Sports.

“The one great thing about NASCAR is you get more real-time data and real-time telemetry than any other sport,” says Davies.

At Daytona, Fox Sports will use loop data NASCAR captures at multiple point on the track to enable analysts to identify important race changes, such as when each driver is making up or losing positions. The touchscreen format will make it possible for Fox analysts to tell accurate stories about the race in near-real time.

The new 60-by-60-foot virtual studio Fox launched for the start of the 2019 NASCAR Cup series also will contribute mightily to the storytelling. The Charlotte, N.C.-based space enables 3D analysis of racetracks, cars and race shops, and will interact with live coverage of the Daytona 500. (Editor’s note: See “New NASCAR Studio Puts Fox Sports in VR, AR Driver Seat.”)

Of course, these new technologies are layered on a well-established complement of tested production technology, which includes seven main mobile production units, two satellite uplinks, 2MW of power independent of local sources, 12 production trucks, 20 manned cameras, three in-track Gopher Cameras, Super Slow Motion HD and 4K cameras, a 1,100-fps X-Mo camera at the start/finish line, 10 high-speed robotic cameras and 12 on-board in-car camera packages.

While Davies is a champion of the technology that will be used to produce the event, he is quick to acknowledge that it’s the people behind the production who ultimately are responsible for telling the best stories of the race.

“We were very lucky to have won a Sports Emmy for Technical Team Remote [in 2018],” says Davies. “What is different about this NASCAR crew is these men and women eat, breathe and sleep the sport. If you go there and start talking to people, it is like a living, breathing history of NASCAR among the people who work on the show.”