Multimedia Lecturer zooms in on winning post

Alice Springs resident Mikey Boyce’s day job is to teach aspiring Centralians at Charles Darwin University (CDU) the fine art of videography, but on Saturdays he puts his skills and knowledge to good use in another way.

Mikey is the man behind camera one at Pioneer Park Racecourse where he meticulously records each race for the Northern Territory Racing Commission and for a television audience in the tens of millions.

“It’s a great weekend job,” he said. “I’ve been doing it most Saturdays for the past four years – usually about five or six races at each meeting,” Mikey said.

“The footage is broadcast through Sky 1 and Sky 2 to subscribers throughout Australia and to a large audience in southeast Asia.”

Mikey said he liked to get to his post early on race days.

“To be prepared is half the victory. I clean the camera, check that everything is functioning, set it up and check-in with the guys in the studio.

“In terms of videography technique, it’s basically panning and zooming and ensuring the image is in focus.

“But you also have to stay mentally focussed. The job entails providing an excellent frame at all times and for that you have to stay alert.”

Mikey operates the camera from an elevated platform in the race caller’s box, which overlooks the finish line.

“It all starts with a shot of the starting barrier, then I follow the race, with a wide shot, before zooming in on the leaders as they approach the turn for home. I stay on the leaders down the home straight but hold steady on the winning post as the rest of the field crosses the line. And then I follow the winner back to the mounting yard.”

While race meetings continue to operate, COVID-19 protocols have placed a spectator ban at meetings, restricting attendance to essential personnel only.

“We’ve made similar adjustments to work practices at CDU, where all face-to-face activities have been postponed and delivery has moved to online learning mode.

“All my Multimedia students are working on their projects from home and I’m also working from home most of the time.”

Mikey said he had been overhauling many of the teaching resources in recent weeks.

“I’ve revised and updated some of the PowerPoint presentations, created content for instructional materials and generally worked towards providing a rich online experience for our students.”