The point of view camera company FirstV1sion made its English rugby debut during a Betfred Super League match Thursday when the Warrington Wolves’ Kurt Gidley wore the small chest-mounted camera to help give fans an up-close view of the action.
Gidley took to the field wearing the Barcelona-based startup’s ultra-small 1080p POV camera during his team’s 22-8 loss to the Leigh Centurions. Sky Sports used the footage to help supplement and enhance its Super League coverage. Warrington’s game was the first time a POV camera had ever been used in the Super League.
FirstV1sion fitted Gidley with its ultra-small POV camera and placed it under a tight, lightweight vest. The camera lens was only visible through a small circular cutout in his jersey. He tested the body camera technology during practice before it was able to make its official league debut.
Gidley’s POV camera produced a continuous live feed during the match that gave viewers a first-hand and close-up up look at some of the game’s biggest hits. His camera covered field-level tactical decisions, kick-off receptions and much more. Sky Sports then cut to small portions of Gidley’s POV feed during its coverage of the top-flight rugby game.
Amazing footage from the eyes of @kurt_gidley @wolvesrl Making history with @SkySportsRugby @TheRFL #onbodycam #wearables @LeighCenturions pic.twitter.com/UeNBSd6yjo
— FIRSTVISION (@FirstV1sion) March 17, 2017
WATCH: Kurt Gidley wore Playercam for Warrington’s @SuperLeague clash with Leigh: https://t.co/gGcLOrlMOo pic.twitter.com/fUnMba1Xwj
— Sky Sports RL
(@SkySportsRL) March 16, 2017
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“It is a big moment for both Sky and the RFL to be trialling playercam for the very first time,” Sky Sports Head of Rugby League Neville Smith said in a statement. “We are constantly working to deliver the very best coverage for our viewers and playercam will bring a brand new angle to our broadcast by showing the game from a player’s perspective. The RFL and Warrington Wolves have been hugely supportive in pushing the innovation through and creating a first for Rugby League.”
Despite previously testing the camera during practice, Gidley only wore the FirstV1sion camera for half of the game. The exact reason Gidley took off the POV camera halfway through the game is still unclear.
Sky Sports told its TV viewers that the camera had been removed because of “technical issues.” But before the game, Gidley said the camera “painted a target” on him.
“I don’t know if it had any effect on what he did, but the camera went at half-time,” Warrington Wolves coach Tony Smith told reporters. “Kurt wanted to get on with playing footy. I don’t think things were going great for Kurt at that stage. He needed to get it off and just get on with playing.”
A Sky Sports spokesperson told BBC: “We had a few technical issues with the camera which could not be resolved in the half-time break. Kurt was happy to continue wearing it and it was a decision made by our production team and Warrington, not his, to take it off. After we have reviewed the game and the camera we will certainly look to give it another go.”
Gidley is set to talk about his first-half POV footage during an upcoming Sky Sports match. “I hope they got some good footage from it,” Smith continued in his BBC interview. “I think it was done for all the right reasons to try and give people a perspective of rugby league from a different angle.”
FC Barcelona and Spanish soccer star Andres Iniesta invested in FirstV1sion early on. Serge Ibaka is also a Fist V1sion partner. Both Iniesta and Ibaka have been featured in FirstV1sion promotional videos. FirstV1sion made its major professional debut in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague in 2015.