The Volvo Ocean Race 2008/09 will see a new dimension, with the addition of the Media Crew Member (MCM). The MCM has one of the hardest jobs onboard, Green Dragon’s MCM is GUO Chuan from China, he will be the reporter on the front line delivering all of the latest news from onboard. The training period is long and there is a huge amount to learn, Green Dragon’s Scott Millar filled us in on what the MCM’s can expect to face at sea....
Lights, Camera, Action…..It is hard to believe that the Media Crew member (MCM) on board the yachts during this year’s Volvo Ocean Race will be using these famous words connected with the glamorous world of TV and film as he goes through his daily routine but he will still be looking for the same outcome. They will be looking for the perfect shot or clip of video that captures the action and emotion of the Volvo Ocean Race, this will allow the public following the race to feel and experience what the sailors are going through day and night as they race through the world’s oceans.
The MCM is a development from the last race, in that edition a sailor was assigned with the role of collecting, editing and sending footage back to the race headquarters in the UK. Following feedback from both sailors and the media it was decided to add an 11th man to the team who will not be directly involved with sailing the boat and can concentrate on delivering the full story of what happens during one of the world’s toughest offshore race.
This new arrangement will allow all the sailors to concentrate on racing the boat at its full potential without worrying about the media rule requirements. During each leg of the race each boat must send a variety of media to the Volvo Ocean Race HQ, for the first leg between Alicante and Cape Town a total of 60minutes High Definition Video and 115 High Quality Digital Photos must be sent home. Over the 6500mile leg this works out at roughly 3 minutes of footage per day along with 6 still images, on top of this a 150 word ‘blog’ must be delivered.
To enable the media crew members to capture the footage a high-tech HD camera, editing, processing and mixing suite has been installed on every boat. All the equipment is controlled by a custom media desk and video control unit situated below decks between the hatch and navigation station. It total the system contains the follow equipment,
• 1 x Stern Mounted HD Camera with Infrared LED’s for night use.
• 1x Mast Mounted HD Camera
• 2x Spreader Cameras with full Pan, Tilt and Zoom control
• 2x Fixed Microphones on Deck (Mast and Hatch)
• 2x Handheld HD Cameras
• 2x Wireless Microphones
• 1x HD video deck
• 2x Apple Macbook Pro Laptops
• 3x Crash buttons with Time Delay recording
The control console situated on the media desk allows the MCM to selected which cameras and microphones they want to use to record onto the HD Video Deck. Footage can then be uploaded to a MacBook pro computer for editing before being stored and upload when the boat next contacts Race HQ. On land in a nice recording studio this process would be straightforward, add in 30ft waves, 50konts of breeze and a work environment where the deceleration as the boat ploughs into huge waves is enough to throw you off your feet it becomes one of the hardest jobs on the boat.
They MCM will be in constant contact with the Marcus Hutchinson (Volvo Ocean Race Communication Director) and his media team at HQ, from there the MCM’s will be asked to send certain footage, photos, arrange radio interviews and set up the live TV broadcasts that will take place during the race. It will be hard work dragging someone out of bed for an interview after a hard days sailing, and even harder to get a bunch of tough offshore sailors to share their thoughts and emotions on the race. These are all challenges that the MCM will learn to work around as the race goes on.
Alongside the reporting life on board they are allowed to cook, empty the bilges and move their body weight and equipment during manoeuvres, it is very clear within the rules that the MCM cannot help sail the boat in any way. As with previous editions of the race, each yacht must participate in an environmental experiment to help scientists research the remote oceans that the yachts will sail through.
Now that there is a non-sailing crew member on board they will take on the role of “scientist at sea”, though they will be swapping the white lab coats for three layers of thermals and offshore waterproof clothing. During this years race, the teams will carry equipment that can be used to sample the water once every three days and record the amount of bacteria in the ocean. This information will be collected by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics who are using the research to help promote the use of water filtration equipment in large cargo ships that travel the world carrying ballast water and bacteria from port to port.
Be under no illusion that the MCM’s role on the boat is only to cook and clean, they have been tasked with a job that requires the skill and eye of an artist yet the stomach and fearlessness of a hardened offshore sailor. It will all be worth it at the end for our sport if they can draw the public’s attention into this amazing adventure.
