Robots in Video

March 11, 2011Posted by csandy

Sometimes an event calls for automation – we have had clients that only have budget for a “one-man-band.” In other words, they only want labor costs for one operator, who typically switches video, operates the stream, mixes audio, and operates the camera. This is never an ideal situation and limits creative possibilities, but for more staid webcasts or conferences, you can provide adequate image acquisition by using a robot.

Pictured is one of our light professional robot heads. This mount can take a 15 pound camera. We have heads that can take a fully configured 30 pound ENG/EFP camera with nearly 100% range of motion and movement smooth enough to be webcast or broadcast live. Using a live camera person is most situations is ideal, but there are several advantages that robots have over humans.

First, robots can be put in hazardous or precarious locations. Robot cams can be mounted almost anywhere with the proper hardware. Second, robots don’t get bored or tired. Let’s admit it, some conferences are boring – even for the participants. Can you imagine the camera person taping you? Third, robots have precision that is repeatable. Professional mounts like the one shown above will go to the same location at the same speed every time without exception.

One of the big downsides (besides cost) of the professional robot cameras is that they can take a long time to set up. For corporate events where you have an insecure conference room and not a lot of lead time to set up, smaller webconferencing cameras are usually ideal. SAV uses these types of cameras as well as they can be set up in minutes and good low light performance.

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