I definitely think that a system based around a particular resort is the way forward. From what I can deduce from comparing the two hypothetical scenarios option two will give way to a far more broad and meaningful user experience.

Here is a breakdown of the potential experience, with photos of my doodles - please exscuse my handwriting…

Option 1

This approach is perfect for those who are keen to produce their own films or for professionals who have the technical knowledge and want to perfect a particular move. However, for the majority of people it’s overly technical. Still, a system like this would allow for a very high degree of customisability and control over the shots and carries no cost beyond that of purchase and maintenance. The units are also not fixed so can be taken anywhere.

Option 2

This second approach allows for the end user to “board and forget” and just get on with what they want to do letting the system work in the background. By taking control of the post processing in-house we also allow for a multi-angled ‘aftercare’ approach; end users can view or share their footage from various sources (i.e: portable device, web browser, DVD, etc). A resort would also likely install multiple networked cameras to make full use of the system (although no reason a camera could not operate independently, say at the lip of a ramp) eliminating some of the limitations of a portable, personal device, such as battery life. The main issue (I can see just now) which will have to be addressed is that of multiple users using the system at any one time - at present the system would not be able to distinguish between two IR sources.

As I said earlier I am going to focus more on the slightly more exciting (from an interaction design process) resort based approach. By doing this I think I’ll be taking the product/industrial design ‘edge’ off slightly and force myself to use my keys skills as a web and interaction designer.