The recent Bears and Saints game had a dramatic moment when Cordarrelle Patterson ran a kickoff back 102 yards for a touchdown, made all the more impressive by the expert operation of and unique perspective from the Skycam.
If you are not familiar with the Skycam, it’s a camera system that runs on cables strung over the field and can follow the action from a much closer position than any cameras on the sidelines, giving a much more intimate perspective. The camera is a complex system however, requiring a pilot to maneuver it in three-dimensional space, following world-class athletes running and darting unexpectedly. It also requires a camera operator, who controls the tilt, pan, zoom, and focus of the device. Though the system has been in use since 1984, it started to gain more popularity as the primary angle in the NFL after a 2017 game had such intense fog that sideline cameras couldn’t see the players effectively.
While the system isn’t without drawbacks, it does provide some uniquely exciting shots that no other perspective could, and perhaps nowhere was that more on display than this kickoff return, which used the Skycam for the entire sequence and shows a real mastery by the pilot and camera operator:
Are you a football fan? What do you think of the Skycam?