Vinten AutoCam SP-2000/X-Y, Operation Installation And Maintenance

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SP-2000/X-Y Safety & Introduction
1-14 User Manual
AutoCam Philosophy
The underlying goal of AutoCam is to build on the proven operating practices of
today’s studios. Immense amounts of time and effort have gone into optimizing
these procedures, and it would be a mistake to suggest any significant change for
the sake of automation. Instead, camera automation should blend into and
enhance the present studio environment, offering its substantial operating econ-
omies. On news and similar sets, one operator typically can control all of the
cameras and often the CCU functions as well; and has no difficulty staying well
ahead of the shots.
From the outset, AutoCam was a top-down design, culminating years of discus-
sions with network, affiliate, independent, and EFP visionaries. It was engi-
neered to be expandable to accommodate the largest installations, such as 8-
camera robotic-dolly studios on multiple floors, controlled from multiple loca-
tions. Yet it is also scaleable to the simplest single-camera EFP assignments.
The identical system architecture is employed across this entire range of instal-
lations. Software configuration screens on the console are used to configure
each installation; as opposed to customized hardware. This stable architecture
philosophy has many benefits: easy system expansion or upgrading, better fac-
tory support, and higher reliability.
Seamless Integration Into The Studio
Successful camera automation should be as transparent as possible to the studio
staff, and particularly to the director. He or she should expect the same commu-
nications with the camera console operator, as with multiple camera operators in
a traditional studio. As before, a named shot from the run-down list is relayed
over the headsets. But the operator now no longer needs to continually re-frame
those shots. They only need to be taught once at the console, and given the same
names that the director uses. Then, when each camera and shot is called over,
the operator touches that name on the touch screen, sending the specified cam-
era to that shot. AutoCam is also flexible and intuitive, and changes in the run-
down are easily accommodated. Stories may readily be dropped or stretched or
reordered as studio events unfold in a dynamic manner.
“Like Being Behind A Camera”
Effective camera automation should also be as transparent as possible to the
camera operator. In designing the console, a great deal of effort was devoted to
presenting essentially the same controls that are present at the camera: a pan/tilt
“bar”, and zoom, focus, pedestal, and dolly controls. Further, considerable engi-
neering went into making the controls smooth and responsive, so that they have
a quality feel like the controls on a camera. This allows both fast and reflexive
operation, and superior on-air movement quality. To complete the “behind-the-
camera” analogy, a color monitor at the console reproduces the viewfinder. The