This was outstanding, really great info into how we get to witness the race we love every year. I've been watching for over two decades and every year I see something new in the beautiful country of France. The amount of aircraft involved is incredible. It was cool to see the drone footage this year in the Nice TT.
Absolutely mind boggling! The TdF footage has got to be the best live event footage ever! Year on year fantastic almost cinematic. I've watched the TdF for years and years, right back to the early 90s, well before I actually got into road riding! One of the main draws was the fantastic footage of the beautiful scenery, something that still amazes me! In contrast the Tour of Britain is being broadcast over mobile 4g networks! Flat spot dropouts and all! 😂 They'll be using iPhones to film it too! 😂😂😂😂
Actually here in Australia, that happened. We would not have had a shot of the women's cadel Evans race one year, if Robbie mcewen hadn't filmed with his camera.
It's fascinating. I've been in the broadcasting business my entire career, and while I enjoy the race, I'm also enthralled by the production itself. Also, the two shots of the stadiums mentioned at the beginning are the football and baseball stadiums in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I live. So, I was surprised to see them used as examples in this video. I would love to hear more about the camera operators on the motorcycles. I ride motorcycles and am always blown away by the shots they deliver from the back of an accelerating, braking, bobbing, and weaving motorcycle. Those folks are very talented!!
Pilots of french TV motorcycle are highly regarded here in France. They usually are former gendarmes (army/police) motorcyclist. Also camera operator has a special seat at the back, that is more deep and adapted to ride backward.
I came across some of the camera men that rode with the cyclists during the final stage. The guys looked gruff and super experienced. They must be some of the most skilled camera men for these types of events in France
As a mediocre motorcyclist those camera bike pilots impress the hell out of me- particularly on those rapid mountain descents with the tight switchbacks. It's tricky enough riding roads like that but they've got to keep control of the bike with the camera operator on the back, always be aware of where cyclists, team cars, other motorbikes are around them and do all that while keeping the right target in view for the production team. Amazing!
There are 7 helicopters involved : 2 filmings + 1 relay as you said, 1 'spare filming' and 3 more for VIP transport. 'Helicoptères de France' provides also the helicopters for the filming of the 'Dakar' Race in a similar way
I would like to know more about the crew that rides on the motorcycle too. I see at minute 4.45 that the camera operator is just standing and not holding at anything; how can he do that for hours? How can the pilot do turns uphill at low speed with a guy standing behind him??
Think of the heli pilot who has to fly the chopper, constantly look around and check for obstacles and at the same time make sure that the chopper is positioned correctly for the cameras to capture the action below. Spectacular and fascinating. As someone who was riding a motorcycle and flying fixed wing plane, I find their work even more impressive. Production value of all Grand Tours is off the charts. Thanks for giving the production crew some "air time" GCN.
They really improved in signal reliability with this massive helicopter-airplane-basestation-relay system. Back in the late 90's when Jan Ullrich was wearing the yellow jersey especially on fast descents we frequently experienced signal drop outs and frozen images. But those always have been opportunities to quickly cut over to some scenery helicopter picking up random bystanders until the signal came back :D
I used to be a moto marshal for US Cycling (not anymore- thanks to Covid), and I can attest- it is a wildly organized chaotic endeavor. It's an absolute blast to be involved in the races!
As a keen motorcyclist, I’d be very interested in any info on the motorcycle camera crews, ie rules they have to follow regarding not impeding the cyclists, team cars etc, any special training the motorcyclist has to go through, how the filming is relayed, how the motorcycle is adapted to carry a pillion cameraman standing up for hours on end plus the extra equipment fitted to the bikes etc.
Great presentation. I'd love a Part 2 that goes into more detail about the policies and protocols for motos, aircraft, camera operators, reporters, and on-road support.
You forgot to mention motorbikes for live reporters. Several broadcasting channels have reporters on motorbikes that are literally reporting from within the race.
There were also some drone shots e.g. on the final stage TT - give a great sense of the real speed of the descents. Hopefully there are more of these next year & in other grand tours. Would be good if they could also filter out the drone noise but I guess this is technically demanding
Great look behind the scenes! You answered questions I’ve always had! That helicopter-helicopter-airplane-airplane-satellite dish relay is mind boggling. And then you have to get that flight path approved. Can you do another video showing how they choose which camera feed to use? Is there a massive control center? How much of a delay is there? Who makes the graphics? How many of the graphics are premade vs put together on the fly? Are stat sheets put together for every cyclist in the race? How much are commentators relying on their professional knowledge and pre-race research?
A lot of your questions are answered in this clip: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pH1uJTrc6Kk.html In short: A prodiction truck reccives all video feeds, selects which one to use at all times and add graphics. It would normally be placed at the finish line for the day, so that they can have additional cameras there to cover the final sprint.
Oh this was so fantastic! I never realized how big of a production the tour was but yeah, you are right Alex! The fact that the cameras and recording devices have to be moved to each new location just blows my mind! In fact, I was just thinking about for the day 21 time trial; for all the individuals going directly after each other, the camera motor bikes couldn't turn around from Nice and go all the way back to Monaco. They would have to have two cameras for EACH rider 😲😲
I’m so glad you did this video. What a great insight on the logistical complexity it takes to broadcast video to the world. And they do so in such a masterful and artistic way to not just show the race but also the beauty of where they are riding. How about a deep dive into each of the components-motos, helis, fixed wing AC, broadcast booths, etc.?
I've had the chance to see the grand final stage in person. I can tell you, there was an entire army of cameramen and motorcyclists, satellite dish trucks, and police officers. It's quite crazy. It's a very finely tuned operation and they are super well organized
Amazing all the parts involved to make sure that the signal is crisp and delivered live. I had wondered what they did in the most remote areas of the race. Very interesting!
Love this, very well done. I have often wondered how they get the signal from some of those remote locations, had no idea of the layers of aircraft. I wonder what the coverage was like before the year 2000. Perhaps this will evolve to drones and LEO satellites in the future, altho the airspace above the race is probably highly controlled.
Awesome video, GCN and Alex! You also forgot to mention that this year in addition to the moto cams and heli cams, small drones were used to cover the technical portions of the time trial courses. The drone footage from the mountain on stage 21 was some of the very best ever!
To be honest it is incredibly well filmed and produced footage. Kudos to Euromedia for consistently pulling this off so flawlessly. I miss watching it on GCN+ but it’s good that, at least in the UK, it is still available on ITV4.
We need to use more "on-board" footage. That's always the best and most exciting. I know it's difficult for live TV, but I also know it can be worked out. It is IMO the best way to see the most exciting parts of the race.
On board equipment adds weight. And in a sport where they are fighting to shave grams of their bikes, adding kilos of camera, transmission gear and batteries is not feasable!
A very well made and informative video. I watched TDF for 32 years and loved it. But always wondered about how They😊 filmed it and all the electronic etc. behind the scene. Thanks. Chapeau to the crew and staff in France for a very done job. We appreciate you hard work and efferts very much.🥰
Great video thanks guys! I'd love to see an extended deeper dive into all this stuff one day, judging by the comments I think others would too. Eg how the moto images get to broadcast, what happens when it goes wrong, what all the different sound effects are, what it was like in the old days, plans for the future, how the producers select what to show in the feed, etc etc
Wow, Extremely complicated but working like a charm every time year after year. Absolute delight to watch the sport thanks for the flawless working of the broad cast mechanism. I always wondered about this part of the tour. 👍👍👍. Super cool.
the airplanes circling over the route, and the additional helicopters and planes to transmit the signal further. Yes, yes, yes, .....please do more behind the scenes of inner working of races. These camera people don't get enough kudos for their profession.
Amazing video! Very informative. I would never have thought that planes would be involved! Such a big production just to film the best televised race on the planet. I have so much more appreciation on what I watch.
NO WAY ! I actually researched this and didn’t find too much on the stuff used and so on! Amazing! Edit - ok this was interesting but would have loved some more of a look at the bikes.
That was both well done and fascinating. The setup on those motorbikes is quite something. I had no idea how the footage was related to helicopter and then to plane though
This similar relay system where planes circle on top of the race is also used in WRC rally events, since the problem is very similar and the locations might be in the middle of nowhere. Signals do dropout though, since weather is an issue for that plane to get up and circle around. They also need to refuel, which might lead to drops in broadcast.
I’m simply too old to ever come close to riding the Tour de France, so it’s become my new goal to be part of the broadcast team. Started filming local sports events for a local broadcaster, but very little cycling to film here, so I don’t know what my next step would be from here. Certainly got the experience both on and off a bike, and the passion to go with it.
I feel pretty sure the ambient soundtrack has some sounds added to it from some sort of sound library. The shoot from the helicopter shows a bell tower an sure enough we hear a bell. Nevermind that the time is 14:13 and there's no way that the bell would be ringing. Same with cows on the field sounding out even though they're all clearly having their mouths closed. I don't know if they trying to be secret about doing it but I've never seen from the production talk about it
@@TarsoBsAs They do but there is no way the helicopters would pick that up over the engine noise. ALL the sound we hear when the heli camera is slected for broadcast is sound effects, including the engine noise itself. Notice that the heli noise never varies, same revs all the time. Also the church bells all soound exactly the same They even play a whistling wind sound effect when echelons form!
The most interesting part was the multiple layers of aerial signal relays. Had no idea! Always (20+ years) thought it was up to one helicopter and back down to a ground dish.
Been watching the Olympics and it doesn't even come close to the the tour de france coverages quality, accessibility and stability. Was far less blury cameras, footage cutting at key moments and was actually decent overly and apps to follow with. It was a joy to watch where so many of the races feel more like a chore, especially when join the race 100km in!
OK that was short and simple, thanks Can you do one specifically about the camera motorbikes? I want to see how the camera person stands and sits, etc!
Great video! But you don't actually mean "ground satellite", I think ground receiver station is a more appropriate term. It may have a sat dish, to receive the directional data beam from the airplane, but it is not a satellite. :)
He probably calls such a dish "a satellite" because he is familiar with it being used "for satellite TV". But indeed, it has nothing to do with a satellite in this case, it is a dish antenna.
Great explanation. I remember one climb of the Tourmalet in the early '90s when the signal was lost because the weather was so bad that the circling plane couldn't follow what was happening on the ground. BTW, thanks for pronouncing 'Tour de France' properly. Maybe you could teach Ollie. 😉
Don't know where you live but if it's in Australia find a bike race, a big one, like the Tour Down Under and volunteer to be a road marshall. Believe me, you'll soon find out how it works! You'll also have the privilege of being yelled at by irate motorists who can't wait 5 minutes.
For person who speaks french there is an interview of a camera operator. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RfsdAi_sUdc.htmlsi=Vervn8NG1OwXbAPe He explains that with the pilot he forms an inseparable couple and the camera operator must completely trust the pilot. It is the pilot who decides whether it is possible to film. In another video I learned that the bike received audio instructions from production and an “On air” signal.
I had to do a double take as the two stadiums shown around 0:40 are Finley Stadium, home of the Chattanooga Mocs (a mid-major University) Football and Chattanooga Football Club (a semi pro soccer team) and AT&T Feild - home of minor league baseball's Chattanooga Lookouts.
Cool stuff. FYI France TV shows the live streams for all the mobile cameras so you're not stuck viewing just the main world-feed. Also, some broadcast networks will crop certain shots to emphasize the action. I would love to see a deeper dive, interviews and bios about the motorcycle team and equipment. Those camerapeople are crazy good at what they do.
It would be interesting to see a similar video on one of the smaller races for comparison. During the season, there aren't many days when Eurosport won't have a live race to show (and often more than 1) - even if it is only the last 60K. So you might be watching a continental level Tour of Middle-of-Nowhere race and even then the TV coverage will be pretty good. Now presumably the TV rights cost for this will be small beer, so how did they do a reasonable job without spending the huge cost the TDF takes to film?
Possible other video, The Post TDF funk. Each year the build up is huge and then day 21 and puff, it is over. Seen a lot of post of people new to the sport talking about almost experiencing withdrawals.
Amazing video! Never thought of that part of cycling. I’ve been watching the TdF since the early 2000s and back then losing signal in mountain stages was normal. Now the quality is great. One thing though, mind blowing 🤯 the amount of pollution just the broadcast of the race produces. Now I feel kind of guilty about it. I wish they find a better way to transmit the race and drastically reduce CO2. I mean 3 helicopters and 2 planes + dozens of motorbikes and cars…
Great video, thanks. One (very) minor gripe: those big dishes on vans at the end of the stage are NOT satellites. (A satellite is an object that orbits a planet.) I guess they could be lazily called "satellite dishes" since they could be used to receive signals from communications satellites, but in this context they would be better described as microwave receiver dishes. Sorry, you did ask for comments! As I said, the video is otherwise really good. Informative and interesting ❤
I am relatively sure there is no such thing as a ground satellite. By definition a satellite needs to be in orbit. You can have a ground station. A ground array. A satellite Ground System, but not a ground satellite. Besides from the description provided there are no satellites used period. Which seems odd. Of course I could be wrong. I havent been an RTO in a while.
I was going to say the same thing but it felt a bit pedantic. He probably just got confused with the generic term "satellite dish" but I can also confirm ground satellites are not a thing.
NBC Sports has good highlights each day on their YT channel for the USA (approx 20-40 minutes, depending on stage) on their YT channel, and for me it's just the right amount of coverage --- just the highlights!
The filming system with all the aircraft and ground receivers is crazy! Could they not save a ton of time and money by putting a Starlink on each of the two filming helicopters and getting rid of the rest?
interesting. i hope GTN will do similar explanation how Ironman and UTMB coverage are done. for utmb, theres mtb cameraman and drones following leader athletes. Ironman, probably similar to tdf as theres motorbike cameraman (and referees to monitor draft distance/ slowly being replaced by RaceRanger sensors)
