Last Friday, January 20th, was a big day for the Qatar Athletic Federation (QAF) and Ooredoo as the Ooredoo marathon took place on Doha Corniche.
QAF commissioned Red Dot Films to provide live coverage of the event, which featured six different distances, including 42 km, 21 km, 10 km, 5 km, and 1 km.
The show’s real star was the 42 km race, the one broadcast live on Ooredoo’s YouTube account and on Ooredoo TV and screens set up around the Corniche for the public to enjoy.
Red Dot Films went all out to ensure top-notch coverage. They deployed four golf carts to follow the runners, with two camera operators filming the men’s race and another two capturing the women’s. Two golf carts were assigned to keep a close eye on the leading men and women throughout the race.
But that’s not all. Red Dot also provided a drone that followed the runners and occasionally captured stunning beauty shots of Doha. It also fixed a pan-tilt-zoom camera (PTZ) on the finish line to capture dramatic finishes.
To ensure the highest-quality coverage, all cameras were attached to an outdoor broadcast van rented from Taswer Media Production and connected to TVU transmitters and receivers.
Shadab Khan, the managing director of Red Dot, and Ahmed Al-Sada, the television director, were behind the preparations for covering the event.
With over 15 years of experience directing live events, Al-Sada is no stranger to this coverage. He’s even the director of the camel race, which takes place weekly in Al-Shahaniya and is shown on Al-Rayyan TV.
Al-Sada said, “I am used to this kind of live coverage, and surprisingly, the federation relied on broadcasting the event on YouTube with the quality of the television coverage.”
“The federation and Ooredoo’s officials used to enter the OB van and express their gratitude. Thankfully, I could fulfil what they were hoping for.”, Al-Sada added.
The president of QAF, Mohammed Al-Fadala, said, “We were determined to bring the excitement of the marathon to everyone, even if the TV coverage was a bit out of our budget. So, we got creative and decided to broadcast the coverage via YouTube. And let me tell you, it was a game-changer!”
It’s clear that the Ooredoo marathon was a huge success. Thanks to Red Dot Films’ expert coverage, everyone, no matter where they were, got to experience the excitement and thrill of the event.
Red Dot Films went above and beyond, covering the event. They also created three training tips videos featuring Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim and triathlon coach Abdullah Al Kaabi. These videos were a massive hit with the participants and helped them prepare for the race.
It’s the tenth year that Ooredoo has organised the Doha Marathon, and the event keeps getting bigger and better. This year, more than 8,000 runners registered for the six different distances, making it one of the most popular marathons.
