Live coverage of Sprint Finishes: Head-on camera or Helicam shot?

[Ricco']

If they intend to do helishots, at least paint the distance to the finish with big letters on the tarmac.

 

[benzwire]

If they intend to do helishots, at least paint the distance to the finish with big letters on the tarmac.

They could easily just add a top (horizontal) card to the cards that are already on the sides of the road so that it's visible from overhead shot. I assume they don't want to paint the numbers on the road if they don't do it already (would be easier for the riders to see in full sprint, but may be a pain to remove once the race passes and not wanted by the city).
I prefer the head-on view myself as they always show the overhead after. Feels more "live" to me.

 

[jaylew]

I just look for whoever raises their hands and claims the win. Works most of the time

I think this is how both commentators and fans know who wins most of the time. If the camera is high enough from the front you can have a good idea of who's in the lead but that can change quickly and at that speed it's hard to process subtle changes in position amongst a group of fast moving objects in fractions of a second. The riders themselves almost always know who wins and let us know immediately.

 

[Sandisfan]

I was thinking about having the organizers trying for later evaluation, to mount a camera about (experiment to what distance is best) 30 meters behind the finish line and about 10 meters elevation(again experiment with different heights) so that the view is from the front but with some elevation to give a faux 3d view. It might not be the solution but it might be the best view, but won't know until tried, to see if it can make a better view of the finish.
P.S. The banner of course could interfere with the shot but I think if it was minimized in height then I don't think it would be too much of a distraction.

 

[RedheadDane]

Today, we were once again reminded of an important part of head-on filming:
Film the entire road.

 

[Didinho]

Today, we were once again reminded of an important part of head-on filming:
Film the entire road.

The heli shot in replay is always the best. The entire road, first 15 riders in shot. Hope they’re just keep on trying with a overhead shot from behind untill it’s finally easier to follow everyone with the finish in the background.