Volvo Ocean Race- New angles, amazing footage for next edition
by Volvo Ocean Race on 24 Nov 2012
ENGLAND, Hythe. 8th October 2012. Experts work with Green Marine on the new one-design Volvo 65. Ian Roman/Volvo Ocean Race
http://www.volvooceanrace.com
With the new one-design boat comes the opportunity to improve the media systems. We caught up with Rick Deppe, co-ordinator of the Media Crew Member programme and star of our Building the Boat videos, to talk about the possibilities.
Livewire's Tristan Wood setting up a new microphone and coaming cam on the mock-up at the Green Marine boatyard, UK. Rick Deppe / Volvo Ocean Race The new one-design boat media desk is taking shape at the Green Marine boatyard, UK. Rick Deppe /Volvo Ocean Race
'We should get some amazing footage of the guys working on the bow' - Rick Deppe
A full scale interior mock-up of the new Volvo Ocean 65 at the Green Marine boatyard in the UK is the perfect opportunity for race organisers to assess how different aspects of the design will work in practice.
So what will differ then from the previous boat, the third generation Volvo Open 70, in terms of media?
'We got rid of the previous hatch arrangement and in the new design there will be a coaming cam between the two doorways and under a protective bubble,' Deppe explains. 'That camera will turn and you will be able to get different angles, with shots of the trimmer or the helmsman.
'We will also have attached cameras around the boat, in the spreaders for example but also at the bow. We should get some amazing footage of the guys working on the bow.'
Deppe, himself an award winning MCM for PUMA Ocean Racing in 2008-09, stresses the need for improving the working conditions for these embedded reporters.
'The MCM used to work in really bad conditions at times – in some cases even sustaining injuries such as neck stresses because of poor ergonomics. Next race they will be able to work at a proper desk, just next to the navigator. We thought of a small window in the bulkhead separating them too, so that the MCM can easily interview the navigator.
'They will be able to work wirelessly, moving cameras around with a tablet, for example. Their work will be more software-based than before. All this should make the MCM job more efficient and subsequently give even better results.'
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