moving almost as fast as the racecars. We used more than 80 cameras, including 48 in-car systems on a dozen cars. Our team produced the first-ever HD broadcast of the race the very next year. We were the first to use “Batcam,” a flying cabled camera above the track that can reach speeds close to 100mph so viewers can see the pits, front-stretch and all the fans in the stands and infield. Instead of switching to shots from those onboard cameras, we created dual-path technology that allowed viewers to see simultaneous live feeds from
multiple angles on IndyCars as they sped around the speedway
Last year for the 99th running of the race, we pulled off another motorsports first when we introduced live, on-screen, real-time human biometrics. From the cockpit, we could measure drivers heart rate, respiration and body temperature for all 200 laps. As broadcasters, we can document events
and tell stories in such detail, in ways that I would never have dreamed possible back in my high school A/V Club. I also think back to those Memorial Day backyard barbecues, when I had to run back into the house to watch the 500. These days, race fans reap the benefits of technology in so many ways, especially convenience. They can pretty much see whatever they want not just on their TVs, but their computer, tablets and cell phones too… which brings me back to those eyeballs.
Today, my career has come full-circle and I will get to see the Indy 500 in a whole new light. I’m still in awe every time I pass the track on my way to work and frankly, it’s just crazy that I can look out my office window and there it is. At the end of the month, I will be spending yet another Memorial Day weekend inside the giant oval, but this year will be even more special with the 100th running. I know it will become part of my Indy 500 DNA, just like those races I watched and was so impressed with back in New Jersey, before I even could imagine what the future would hold.
Rich Feinberg is the Vice President & Executive Producer of IMS Productions (www.imsproductionstv.com), a premier, multi- faceted, multimedia production company.
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