The Independent Rowing News

Bob Dave and Captured Speed Productions have been bringing rowing enthusiasts high-definition race footage since 2006. We caught up with Dave to learn about the company’s  journey, from its origins to the present critical stage in the company’s history.

What was the inspiration for Captured Speed?

The inspiration came at the Cal-Stanford dual race in 2006. Kent Mitchell was doing a live, two-camera webcast from Redwood Shores, Pat Hayes was doing the announcing, and John Duhring was operating one of the cameras. I was there as a guest, after being away from the sport for decades. The podcasting phenomenon was just taking off and after the race Pat, John, and I talked, asked each other “what if,” and decided to pursue the dream of trying to bring high-quality video coverage to competitive rowing.

Most of the key moments occurred in 2007. Steve Gladstone threw his full support behind the project and granted us almost unfettered access to Cal Crew to enable us to prove the concept. An unnamed “angel” gave us some money to support the project. Resolute Racing Shells kicked in some sponsorship money. Kern Trembath joined us as a founder. And we decided to go whole hog: seven cameras per race, a sophisticated editing software suite, and video graphics. In 2008 we went to 100 percent high definition cameras and high fidelity sound.

What happens behind the camera and behind the scenes to make your coverage possible?

We leave no stone unturned. We assemble our team, research the facts and stats for race coverage and interviews, walk the course, shoot sample footage to obtain the best angles, conduct dry runs with our crew, review their work, critique it, and then do it again. We prepare graphics in advance, obtain lineups and athlete photos when possible, set up onsite communications between our camera operators and commentator, and shoot the race with each camera assigned a disciplined task in an effort to provide perspective to the viewers. After the race, we ingest raw video into our computers, synchronize sound and images, and edit, a process that can take anywhere from 12-20 hours. We’ve pulled many an all-nighter to get the product online in a timely fashion.

Captured Speed is clearly still evolving What will the fully matured organization and product look like?

We are at a crossroads in our development. The founders have invested significant capital to get Captured Speed off the ground and now it is time to see if there is sufficient interest in the marketplace to not only keep us going, but to get it to the next level. For the first time in our brief history, we are charging for a portion of our video service: a DVD of the 2009 IRA. With support from the marketplace, a fully matured Captured Speed can, and will, bring viewers full men’s and women’s race coverage from around the United States virtually every week, from March through the IRA, and beyond.

By Topher Bordeau