They say that necessity is the mother of invention and that was certainly the case when my husband, Mark Schulze, first invented the Helmet Cam. Rather than “reinvent the wheel,” so to speak, I will direct you now to the Wikipedia entry on “Helmet Camera.”


History

San Diego Director of Photography, Mark Schulze of New & Unique Videos, invented the helmet cam during the 1987 production of "The Great Mountain Biking Video," the first how-to mountain-bike video. He mounted the first available chip camera made by RCA, to a motorcycle helmet. The camera fed signal via cable to a VCR stuffed into a padded backpack. This unwieldy rig was worn by various mountain bikers and Trials riders to capture POV footage of mountain bike trails and Trials, including Trials Champions Ot Pi Isern and Kevin Norton, and mountain bike racers, Jeff Detweiler and Mark Schulze. Upon removing the rig after a particular ride, the wearer would inevitably exclaim, "This thing's HEAVY!" This pioneering hardware eventually gave way to button and lipstick cameras.


Mark Schulze wearing helmet cam invented for use in his mountain bike videos

Schulze used a helmet cam again, during the production of additional mountain-bike videos including "Ultimate Mountain Biking: Advanced Techniques and Winning Strategies," and "Battle At Durango: First-Ever World Mountain Bike Championships" which recently received the honor of a "Classic Telly." This new helmet-cam utilized a Toshiba one-inch C-MOS chip camera on one side of an Etto helmet, counter-balanced by a 12-volt battery on the opposite side, and this time hooked up to a 3/4" 12-pound Sony VO6800 deck in a backpack. Schulze also created additional POV mounts for the bike including under the seat post looking forward and under the bottom bracket to see the wheel and trail. It was during the production of "Battle" when Schulze revealed his invention to producers from the fledgling ESPN, who were there to broadcast the races. The helmet cam soon became a standard piece of equipment, worn by BMX riders, surfers, skiers, skydivers etc.

The last time when Schulze's helmet cam saw action was during the production of New & Unique Videos' final mountain-bike video called "Full Cycle: A World Odyssey" (1993 and 1994). This around-the-world mountain-bike travel adventure follows an intrepid young couple (Mark Schulze and his wife, Patty Mooney) to nine different countries including USA, Canada, Costa Rica, Wales, Greece, Switzerland, Tahiti, Australia and India.


This portrait of Mark Schulze was shot on the tiny helmet cam produced by GoPro, San Diego outback, 2010

With the advent of digital cameras, and smaller camera production, came advancement in the helmet camera field. Helmet cameras shrank in size to that of a marker and began recording to digital recorders with video displays.

In the 1990s, helmet cameras were briefly used to provide live player's-eye-view footage in professional American football. However, their use was discontinued after players complained of the extra weight, and TV networks became concerned about the aggressive behavior the cameras captured.

In the 1990s, helmet cameras were briefly used to provide live player's-eye-view footage in professional American football. However, their use was discontinued after players complained of the extra weight, and TV networks became concerned about the aggressive behavior the cameras captured.

The newest generation of helmet cameras offer features like on screen menus, and wireless transmitting to an offsite recording device.


Some of our friends have asked us why we never patented or trademarked Mark’s invention. “You could have been rich!” they exclaim. Well, maybe. But our focus at that time was to produce the best and most awesome mountain bike videos of their time. And that’s what we did. We left that technical engineering stuff to people like GoPro who have these teeny cameras that you can mount to a helmet, a car hood, a surfboard, a boat deck, well, you name it.

I have posted a couple of Helmet Cam videos at my Vimeo site. The first is a downhill blast down the Mammoth Mountain Kamikaze course in 1987. The second is a jaunt down a Southern California singletrack trail which features Olympian Cycling Champion, John Howard. Check them out and see how far technology has come in our beloved sport. I’d be interested in hearing if you think there’s any difference at all.

Mammoth Mountain Kamikaze Helmet Cam, 1987 - www.Vimeo.com/10711229

Southern California Singletrack Helmet Cam, 2010 - www.Vimeo.com/11909842

May the wind be always at your back,

Patty K Mooney




Patty Mooney and her husband, Mark Schulze, via their company, New & Unique Videos, produced the first-ever mountain bike videos (“The Great Mountain Biking Video,” “Ultimate Mountain Biking,” Battle At Durango: The First-Ever World Mountain Bike Championships,” and “Full Cycle: A World Odyssey.”) These award-winning and highly-acclaimed shows from the 80’s and 90’s are now considered classics. Visit New & Unique Videos at www.NewUniqueVideos.com. Follow Patty’s blog, “A Diary Left Open” at www.adiaryleftopen.