Rider Cam

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Originally taken from Screamscape (www.screamscape.com)

RiderCam - (12/29/04) RiderCam is a new on-ride camera technology being prepared for launch in Europe, possibly at several different parks in the near future. RiderCam is a set of battery powered wireless video cameras mounted all over a ride vehical (wet or dry) that can capture the video footage of a pair of riders at once. Once the ride is over, the wireless cameras download the footage from the train to a server where brief clips are on display for the riders to view as they exit. The entire set of footage can then be purchased on a DVD along with other pre-packaged footage of the ride, park and anything else they want to throw on the DVD. This has a huge potential and is sure to make on-ride still photos a thing of the past. Now if only they would launched it in the US as well. There is a bunch of demo footage online for viewing at their website, so check it out.

http://www.ridercam.de/ I'd love to see this technology come down under... imagine fitting this baby to say lethal, or superman?

[Gazza]

Yeah, sounds cool i reckon, they could also put it in the queue on TVs , so people waiting could watch the riders faces. Definitley a step up from your standard on ride photo.

[teki]

Yes Gazza I definatly agree.

[joz]

Am I the only one who thinks this is a terrible idea? I'm really not a big fan of the on-ride video stuff at Vomitron and Sling Shot, and having it on noraml rides would just be the worst possible add-on I can imagine.

[matty_o_911]

I don't think something like this will ever overtake the onride photo. Onride photos are simple to look at and show everyone what ride you went on. With a video on a cd or dvd or whatever would take too much effort for someone as lazy as me to put in a computer or something just too look at. But I agree that it would be good for showing on queue line TV's in preparation for the ride.

[Adam]

lol, I am half and half. Watching other people in the que would become boring very quickly, however if they employed a few more people with video cameras that followed you around the park then you wouldn't need to take your video camera. Out now on DVD: Your Day at Movie World (now with toilet cameras).

[Whombex]

I'm all for it! Good point Gazza. On-Ride camera linked back to the que. I recall seeing a VERY PRIMITIVE version in a video game arcade. There was a 2 person simulator with an "inside" camera there for, I guess, stopping people doing naughty things inside, but it was always watched by the riders' friends/family. Imagine a family visits a park, but some members are too old, or unable to ride. They usually stand around and watch the ride, but they could be watching a camera shot of their family on the ride! As I said, I'd like it, but as long as a "forwards" shot was included. For example, if it was sold to the rider post-ride on a DVD, one "camera" could be the riders, the other from the "front" or "nose" of the ride. That could be a generic, pre-recorded video they drop into all the buyers' DVDs. *rubs chin* This seems to be mentioned in the article, so cool! I'm going to Dreamworld in a few days, dammit I want a DVD of me on the Claw/TOT/Cyclone/Drop. My Park visit on one DVD. Awesome. I would take the reference numbers (as is currently done on rides) from all my rides to a shop and have a DVD burnt "one hour photo" like (or mailed to a home address).

[joz]

I don't like the idea of having a live feed from the ride into the queue, simply because you know there'd be people doing the middle finger and all that sort of stuff, which doesn't belong in a family theme park.

[scott]

Those things look terrible and it would be a waste of money in my opinion.

[T-bone]

Well scott, thats YOUR opinion.

[scott]

Yes,that's my opinion.And?

[Bussy]

Those things look terrible and it would be a waste of money in my opinion.

How can you say that? I have looked at the whole site and it doesn't show you what the camera looks like. For all we know it could be a small camera placed in front of each row of seats or it could be what Wonderland had for Demon, which was a fairly large bracket that was attached to the front carriage, that's what I think you are thinking of. Joz the on ride videos of Vomitron and Sling Shot are some of the funniest stuff I have ever seen. When the NRL footy show went on Vomitron I seriously fell off my chair because I was laughing so hard. "The Bus is now leaving for Smithfield Camera Trig, South Australia"

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

this sort of thing would be great, and i can forsee a $19.95 charge for the disc, i would be most happy to buy it. if they could do what was mentioned above and take ALL the rides you went on in one day and burn on to a single disc, i'd probably pay $40 or $50 for it. they do talk about "generic" footage of the ride with a forwards-facing camera, as well as ads, marketing, and other generic footage of the park itself. Universal sells a video in their parks which is predominantly the backlot tour video, and it sells well (i own two different versions over the years). There is nothing to say they can't print a still shot of you on the coaster in sheer terror on the cd case, and another personalised design on the disc itself. Parks spend thousands of dollars on on-ride photo equipment, printers as well as maintenance techs to keep them up to scratch (i recall Kodak was out at Demon Manor on an almost weekly basis to fiddle with the printers and whatnot)... The only problem i see which has arisen here that the manufacturers talk of, is some people here are saying the LIVE feed from the coaster be shown in the queue line. i don't think this is possible, as the wireless feed from the units would probably be very short range, so as to transmit a lot of data in the time it takes to load and unload the passengers. transmitting live, from a high-speed fast moving vehicle, wirelessly, over distances that vary as much as the heights do, the wireless transmission would screw up all over the place... but theres nothing to say they can't replay the version that has just been downloaded from the coasters, have it in the exit ramp as well as the queue line to encourage buyers... But I like the idea of having ONE shop, at the front of the park, and you just get a reference number, come in to the shop and get one burnt. the only hassle with that is- 1) people would forget to stop and view the video, because they are no longer caught up in the experience, and might miss it altogether (get back to the car - "oh we forgot to have a look at our video... oh well, maybe next time") 2) the amount of people who WOULD stop at that 5 minutes to five closing bell would mean they would be there for hours printing thousands of discs, rather than printing 6 or 7 every 5 minutes or so.

[Bussy]

The other thing they could do is has a multi-session DVD disc which you can buy at any gift shop or ride with the facility in the park. Every time you go on a ride you can give them the disc and get them to put your ride video on it. The disc would come pre-loaded with stock park footage. This facility could also be expanded so that any character photos can be added, parts of shows, etc. This is fantastic technology and will change they way parks do their photos, videos and shows. "The Bus is now leaving for Digitalis Tank, South Australia"

[T-bone]

They could also sell in-park shows on it too. (i know, bus already mentioned it).

[Adam]

Does anyone know of any parks that are using this technology at the moment? From the video it looks as though Silver Star from Europa Park is using it.

[Nebuchanezzar]

Iuno, if they stuck it in their rides without asking me I wouldn't mind, but if they asked me if they should fork out the extra cash for it, I'd probably say meh. I could live without it is what I'm trying to say.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Well, It was very strangely worded, for what you were trying to say, and I can't see Warner Village or Macquarie Leisure ringing you up personally to say "should we spend $xxxx on installing this into our new ride, mr Nebuchanezzar?"... i dont think so. The question you really should be answering Neb, is would you buy the disc, if it was for sale in the park? Im going to add a Poll to this thread... lets see the response we get...

[Gazza]

I probably would buy one, if it were reasonably priced, maybe no more than the price of a reguar DVD feature film. Hopefully it would come with a large stock footage section because then you get a nice video of the actual ride along with a fixed shot of you screaming your lungs out.

[scott]

How can you say that?  I have looked at the whole site and it doesn't show you what the camera looks like.  For all we know it could be a small camera placed in front of each row of seats or it could be what Wonderland had for Demon, which was a fairly large bracket that was attached to the front carriage, that's what I think you are thinking of.

I was talking about the dvd itself.All you see is your face either smiling,laughing,or screwed up in agony(Thunderbolt).

[Bussy]

Yet people buy their photos that show the same face. The video of people on Vomitron and the Bungy Pod thing sells. The SkyFlyer at Paramount Parks has video that also sells well. Personally I think that this will become very popular at parks around the world, providing they price it right and allow for more videos to be added as you go on rides. "The Bus is now leaving for Price Anchorage, Queensland"

[willsy]

I think it would work well with the overseas vistors. Allthough i wouldnt getone myself.

[scott]

There is a difference between an on-ride photo and this.I just don't see much point in buying it-it's just watching yourself on the coaster,I would never watch it.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

my sister has a video of herself on flycoaster. its done on the ground, by one of the operators, and its hilarious to watch. she has pulled it out on a number of occasions to show friends and family, and its a very popular 3 minute video. To be able to get a video of yourself on a ride, and take it home to show the family and friends who didn't go with them, would be worthwhile. I am pretty sure this would be something that would sell. you're not just getting a photo of yourself on a ride (for instance, since Dreamworld removed the "fake overlay" off the thunder river rapids, its a very crappy picture), you're capturing every moment of your ride, from the anticipation sitting in the station, to the anxiousness as you climb the lift hill (or the soiled-underwear look of flying out of the station on a launch) to the terror of the first drop, and the laughing and swaying of the rest of the coaster, it captures ALL of it. i just had another thought with this - self service kiosks - touch screens (like they have for digital cameras at kodak and the like) where you enter in a reference number you get when you get off the ride, locate your file, and can fully customise your DVD, without the need for a cast member to do it for you. like a 5 minute passport photo booth, you could select the information you want, customise it how you like it, and have the machine spit out a disc in a few minutes, or give you a ticket to present at the exit gate, where you can pick it up at blah blah time, and pay there. a vending machine, or a kiosk, it would work either way and not cost as much as employing staff to run it...

[Whombex]

This is a great thread! It's good to see people's creative juices flowing. Scott, it's good to see that there are some people who are nonplussed with the idea. I had to stop to consider reasons why it wouldn't be a good idea, and the few thoughts that came to my head were: - Acting up to the camera. - The feeling that the ride isn't as personal. Especially when you ride a new ride (or one you've never ridden before), the feeling you want (and get) is special. "Oh! A Twist!" "Look out for that tree!" "Look at the ride's view!". This said, these can also be good to review on a video, but there may be some people wanting that intimate "Just the ride and I" feeling. I can also see the negative in the "last minute rush" for videos as Alex mentioned. Self-serve might deal with that, or even additional services outside of the park may help (all recordings kept for 48 hrs?) Overall, it's a potential goldmine for parks. If they can charge $15 for a photo they can charge $40 for a DVD. (I voted $20-29.95 but didn't consider the photos' price. I'd revise it to the $40s. But want it at $19.95!! )