Summary

HD VISION president Randall P. Dark led a crew to Waco, Texas over the Fourth of July weekend to shoot a 30-minute HDTV documentary on drag boat racing using three Sony HDW-700 camcorders. The self-financed production captured boats traveling up to 240 mph, with HDTV detail revealing air gaps beneath hulls and fiberglass flexing under speed.

Source document circa 1999 preserved as-is

 

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    • HD VISION Shoots Drag Boat Races in HDTV

      While the rest of the United States was eating Bar-B-Q and popping firecrackers this 4th of July, HD VISION was shooting for "Thunder On The Brazos", a thirty minute documentary about the sport of Drag Boat Racing. Director, Randall P. Dark, President & CEO of HD VISION, is always looking for new and exciting ways to show off HDTV technology. "Don't get me wrong, I love trees and birds and snakes, but I am tired of that being virtually the only way people are experimenting in HDTV. I want to push this equipment to its limits and have some fun!" Mr. Dark and his crew took three Sony HDW-700 Camcorders to Waco, Texas for the races and captured heart pounding images of these dragsters which go >from 0 to as high as 240 miles/hour in a quarter of a mile.

      "Following the action was a huge challenge because we were surprised by the incredible speed of the boats, but once we got the hang of it, we began to get creative with how we captured the images." Randall Dark. "We worked closely with the event's organizers (International Hot Boat Association) and enjoyed access to all areas of the race event. With the ease of access; we were able to capture details no spectator will ever see in person. For example, when the boats level off and begin accelerating, they are no longer touching the water. In HDTV, you can actually see the air between the top of the water and the bottom of the boat. When we slowed the action down, we were able to see the fiberglass body of the boats bend with the forces of motion on it." Producer, Kristen Cox.

      According to HD VISION engineer, Kevin Caddell, the equipment performed beautifully. "The temperature outside that day was in the 100's and there wasn't a cloud in sight. The camcorders handled 8 hours in the blazing Texas sun without problems."

      According to Dark, the project was financed entirely by HD VISION. "We plan to market the program in both HDTV and NTSC and make it available for purchase within the next few months."

      Randall P. Dark can be contacted via HD VISION's web site at www.hdvision.com or at phone number (972) 432-9630.

 

Copyright 1999

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