I spent much of the weekend curled up on the couch with my family, hooked on the action from the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The speed, skill and courage of the athletes never fails to amaze, and this time around, the action is brought to armchair spectators from new and immersive angles, thanks to custom-made FPV drones.
By following luge – the fastest sport on ice – through narrow canals and hurtling down mountain sides in pursuit of alpine skiers topping 80 mph, the drones capture a sense of speed and drama like never before at the Winter Games.
What they also add – much to the chagrin of many viewers (and potentially athletes) – is an annoying buzz. Yes, FPV drones can certainly be loud, and they drown out the sounds of metal, fiberglass, and wood on the ice (and the bell) to become the soundtrack of the event.
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Drones at the Winter Olympics polarize spectators; “Drones can buzz,” says one; “Drone tracking camera at 90 mph downhill skiing was crazy! Best POV,” says another.
For me, this comment from the Reddit thread sums it up perfectly: “I try to ignore the sound as much as I can, but it’s worth it.” [sic] the incredible POV it offers. As long as the athletes don’t find it distracting, everything is fine.”
In general, the new camera angles that follow athletes are welcome; the noise of the technology capturing these shots, not so much.
And then there are the athletes: how do they deal with being around drones as they put in years of training in an effort to succeed on the big stage? Are they a distraction?
The big question already on everyone’s lips is therefore the following: is it possible to benefit from the advantages of images taken by drone, without the disadvantages linked to the equipment?
An evolution in Olympic Games coverage
The IOC was asked about how athletes respond to drones, and what steps are being taken to ensure drones do not affect their performance, during its daily briefing on February 9, available on YouTube.
Pierre Ducrey, IOC sports director, said: “When you prepare to broadcast a competition like this, you spend a lot of time training to test, including with some of the highest level athletes, to make sure the distances are correct, to make sure the noise level is correct, to make sure there is the minimum of disruption.
“It’s an evolution, of course – people aren’t used to seeing the shadows on the playing field, or hearing the noise – it’s different. But the integration of performance and that seems like something we can absolutely handle, and is delivering the results we saw this weekend, so we’re very happy with that.”
Indeed, the organizers of the Games claim to have received so far no complaints regarding drones from athletes.
For athletes, the noise of the drones, their close proximity (trusting the skills of those controlling the drones to fly them at a safe distance), and the potential shadows cast are things they will likely have to get used to throughout these and future Olympics.
In her work for the BBC, double Olympic gold medalist Lizzie Yarnold said: “I spoke to an American skeleton and luge coach and he said the athletes can’t hear it and aren’t affected by it, but I think if I was competing with a drone I would be very aware of it.” We have not yet had feedback from athletes in other disciplines, such as skiing.
For viewers, the question of the possibility of suppressing drone noise for live broadcasts is less clear. It might be possible to isolate frequencies to remove high-pitched hum, but likely at the expense of other authentic sounds, such as skis and boards carving ice.
The IOC said in its daily briefing that Yiannis Exarchos, chief executive officer (CEO) of Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS), will speak to the press on February 18, when we will likely learn more about the technical side of integrating tailor-made drones into live footage.
What do you think? Do you like drone footage? Is it worth the hassle of buzzing during live footage? Let me know in the comments below.
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