At first glance, everything seems a bit complex and technological. Around a background in the colours of the World Championships and the IJF, 15 cameras are lined up in a semi-circle, connected to each other on one side and to the two laptops on the other. However, you should not stop at this first impression of complexity because, in the end, everything is very simple.
'Take your place, smile, you are photographed,' but that's not all because you will receive the result free of charge by email: a video of your photo shoot, in three dimensions! Gulom Nazarov, the technician who operates the photo booth, says it best, "It's 'bullet time technology.’ The 15 cameras each take a picture at the same time, each one with a different angle. Each device is adjusted and calibrated individually and the balance of light is also managed very precisely. Then each image is injected into very clever software which, in a few seconds, delivers a video in which you see yourself frozen in time but with a possibility to revolve around the model."
So that's the technical part but, in the end, what interests the fans and the athletes first and foremost is the final result and it's at this precise moment that the smiles grow. This morning, within a few minutes, several people followed one another into the booth and Gulom didn't have a minute to himself. There was part of the Israeli team, led by Peter Paltchik (-100kg), then it was the turn of Assunta Scutto (ITA), bronze medallist on the first day of the World Championships, who displayed with pleasure her beautiful medal. Finally, in less than five minutes, there were young spectators who multiplied the poses.
"In fact, there is nothing difficult and everyone understands very quickly how it works because the most important thing is to have fun. Yesterday I worked all day without interruption and yet in the evening, I wasn't tired at all because I received crazy energy from it," Gulom explains, before returning to his post.
The IJF photo booth, with technology that is unique in Uzbekistan at this time, is not the only animation offered in Tashkent. Everyone has the opportunity to take selfies in the event frames provided, distributed in the many passageways of the arena.
Finally, as bringing back a souvenir of such an event is always important, especially for the youngest, but not only, for the first time, the IJF has set up a stand on which it is possible to acquire a t-shirt, a back number for children, phone cases or even the brand new comic book starring the heroes of judo. If this is the first operation of this kind, soon, an online store will also be opened.
In the meantime, smile as you are photographed, but you can also take a selfie as you watch judo from the stadium or from home and send it to the big screen at the Humo Arena.