Q+A CENTER

Fielding even the most portable high-speed camera still can present a challenge. Under contract to NBC Sports (New York), HJZ Productions, Inc., (Plattsburgh, NY) has broadcast video of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. At those venues, HJZ Productions depends on either Sony Electronics Inc.'s (Park Ridge NJ) D50 WS camera or a Thompson/Grass Valley (Cergy Pontolse, France) LDK 6200 HD system. "We are required to be entirely self-sufficient", says President Howard Zales. "To ensure we can cover the event with as much adaptability as possible, we must furnish power to the camera, ourselves, and send back video and audio, all over a single cable. In the past, we used triaxial cabling, but that tends to be limiting due to its fragility." Now, Zales' company is replacing triax with fiber, linking the camera head to their mobile production van and allowing high-speed videographers the degree of freedom previously enjoyed by Steadicam (Cinema Products Corporation, Los Angeles, CA) operators.