Hearst goes to extremes: POV cams, helicopter used to capture downhill bike race. (Hearst Broadcasting Productions, point-of-view cameras)(Brief Article)

Broadcasting & Cable, October, 1995 by Dickson, Glen

POV cams, helicopter used to capture downhill bike race Hearst Broadcasting Productions relied on miniature point-of-view cameras, a helicopter shot and some nifty digital compositing in its production of The Reebok Eliminator, an extreme mountain bike race now showing on ESPN and ESPN2. According to director Bill Lowell, Hearst used 16 cameras to capture the 3.5-mile downhill race that features 32 men and 16 women in head-to-head competition--at 55 to 60 mph.

"It's A covered very similarly to a downhill ski race," says Lowell. Ironically, the conditions at Mammoth Mountain, Calif., this past July were more suited to skiing than biking down the famous Kamikaze course, with 15 feet of snow on the mountain and huge drifts. After digging out a trail for...

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