Iconix Video said its camera system is going to capture bullfighting. The Iconix HD-RH1 camera system will be employed by ESPN for its new primetime news magazine, E:60, scheduled for the 7 p.m. ET slot on Tuesdays.
Iconix, based in Santa Barbara, Calif., said cameraman Bob Sloan put the HD-RH1 into battle with the bulls, capturing a charging beast for a segment intriguingly titled, “Baby Bullfighters.” The segment, shown on the series last night, followed a 14-year-old who traveled to Latin America to fight bulls because he’s too young to do so in his native country of Spain.
Iconix said Sloan mounted the HD-RH1 on the support bar of the matador’s cape.
“Instead of just seeing the bull rush the camera and then having it pass over the bull’s head, we were able to get a shot of the bull charging the camera and actually running right through it,” said Sloan, owner and president of Bob Sloan Productions. “No other high-def camera would have allowed us to do that.”
Sloan built a special housing for the camera so it wouldn’t get destroyed if the young matador’s prowess failed him.
“I’d never shot a charging bull before. It’s really exciting and gratifying to build a camera system based on a set of assumptions, and then have it all work flawlessly,” Sloan said.
