In the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick movie, you are going to experience what’s like to be a Top Gun pilot. The production has assembled a specialized camera system of six Sony VENICE 6K cinema cameras inside a fighter-jet cockpit. Read on.

The mission: Boosting the big-screen experience

No more Go-Pro cameras inside a cockpit. After Christopher Nolan used IMAX on a plane on ‘Dunkirk,’ now is the time for more cinematography out-of-the-box thinking and the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick movie is a useful reference for that kind of implementation.

In the film, director Joseph Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda have assembled, for the first time, a dedicated camera system inside a fighter-jet cockpit. The system contained an apparatus of six Sony VENICE cameras with their sensors separated. The goal was to enhance the immersion of the IMAX experience. It’s important to mention that the film has not been shot on IMAX cameras. However, the primary camera was VENICE, which is IMAX certified. That means it achieves the aspect ratio/resolution and demands of IMAX’s post-production facilities. The IMAX aspect ratio is 1.43:1, which is pretty close to the VENICE native Full Frame aspect ratio of 1.5:1. When shooting full-frame, you can use the full 6048-pixel width of the sensor for widescreen spherical 2.39:1, or large format scope. That can be adapted for IMAX usage. VENICE’s specs and configuration made it the most logical choice for that kind of cinematography execution.

Watch the screengrabs down below to explore the VENICE system inside the cockpit. All those screengrabs are taken from the BTS video at the end of the article. 

Sony VENICE 6K: Full modulation as the main advantage

VENICE has a fully modular design, and even the sensor block is interchangeable. VENICE users can expect the same image quality and integrity when using the robust Extension System, which enables VENICE to become highly mobile and discreet for many mounting setups and filming scenarios. Thus it seemed like the ideal solution for shooting high-resolution cinematic imagery inside tight space like a fighter-jet cockpit.

Watch the BTS video below:

Wrapping up

It’s always satisfying to explore more creative cinematic implementation to enhance the audience experience. Although the VENICE’s Extension System was utilized before for FPV cinematic experience and shooting in tight spaces, this is the first time this system was operated inside a jet. I can’t wait to see it in action on the (very) big screen.