When the Cameraman Can Run as Fast as the Sprinters…
Live side views of sprinters are usually shot using remote cameras on rails. But if you have a cameraman that’s as fit and fast as the athletes themselves, you can ditch the high-tech equipment and use just a gimbal stabilizer instead.
Here’s the shot Sawyers captured next to the footage of him sprinting:
Sawyers’ efforts earned him a shot out from The CrossFit Games when it posted the clip two years ago:
The viral clip is also strangely similar to this old Powerade commercial in which an Olympic cameraman wins gold:
“I started doing CrossFit media back in 2010 at a sectional event in Utah that @brookeence was competing at,” Sawyers writes after parting ways with CrossFit last month. “I was there to show support for my girlfriend but also try and get footy of her competing. Somehow I was introduced to @hebercannon – CrossFit’s first field producer. I ended up assisting Heber throughout that weekend and in return he put me in contact with the higher ups at HQ.
“With that said I’m more confident than ever in my abilities as a filmmaker/storyteller. CrossFit forced me to take on projects that seemed very daunting at first but very rewarding in the end.”
You can find more of Sawyers’ work on his Instagram.