Triathlon
Also known as: tri, multisport race
A swim, a bike leg and a run in sequence, which gives three disciplines, three sets of conditions and one very long day of filming.
Updated
What it means
A triathlon is three sports with transitions between them. The swim, the bike and the run each need different positions and different equipment, and they happen in that order with no pause for anybody filming.
The transitions are the structure. Those two changeovers are where the day has its only natural edit points, and they are also the moments a spectator on foot can realistically reach.
The distances put the athlete out of reach for most of the race. A bike leg covers ground nobody on foot can follow, so coverage becomes a matter of choosing a small number of fixed points well.
How it works in practice
A fixed position at a known point beats following anybody. A corner, a hill or the transition area with a camera already running catches each passage, and three such points cover a whole race.
The swim needs its own arrangement. A housing or a Waterproof camera body from the water edge or a boat is the only way to get anything from the first leg beyond a distant crowd of caps.
A worn camera on the athlete fills the gaps. A Chest mount for the bike leg and a cap or strap mount for the run record the hours when nobody else is present at all.
What to watch out for
The day is far longer than any battery. A race of several hours against a camera that runs for one is the central logistical problem, and Spare battery planning rather than cleverness is what solves it.
Three disciplines means three lighting conditions. An early swim, a bright bike leg and a hot afternoon run do not match each other, so a Color matching pass is unavoidable rather than optional.
Most of the recorded time is uneventful. Steady running and steady cycling look the same for hours, and that Dead time is what any selection has to work its way through first.
How RawClip handles it
A race day produces hours of even effort with three clear phases, and the selection keeps the transitions, the finish and the passages where something changed. Clips from the swim, bike and run legs are brought into colour agreement so the day reads as one film.