The perfect match. The recently announced Big Sky Cinema Camera was paired with the ARRI ALEXA 65 to shoot for the ultra giant screen, which is the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. That’s two big mighty medium format sensors to film “ Postcard from Earth”.

MSG Sphere: The IMAX of the IMAX

Everybody in Las Vegas knows it already 🙂 It can not be missed. As described by The Project: “The colossal, multi-billion dollar entertainment venue MSG Sphere is set to open in Las Vegas later this year, and it’s already causing traffic chaos due to its spectacular, continually changing, outside”. Basically, Sphere is a next-generation entertainment medium, powered by cutting-edge technologies to create extraordinary experiences that bring wonder to the world. What’s Sphere? Here are the highlights:

1. It’s the world’s largest spherical structure (516 feet wide, and 366 feet tall). Contains 17,600 seats, and 580,000 SQ FT of the fully programmable LED exterior.
2. A Fully-Immersive Visual Environment
3. 16K x 16K Resolution – The Highest Resolution LED Screen On Earth
4. 10,000 Immersive Seats With Infrasound Haptic System So Guests Can “Feel” The Experience
5. Delivers Crystal-Clear Audio To Every Guest, No Matter The Size or Type Of Event
6. World’s Largest Beamforming Audio System Creates Truly Customized Listening Experiences
7. Headphones Sound Without The Headphones (160,000 speakers)

It can be defined as the IMAX of the IMAX. Watch the video below to understand the buzz:

Big Sky Cinema Camera

In order to shoot for that gigantic medium, a dedicated cinema camera had to be invented, titled Big Sky (read all about it here). Big Sky is armed with a  316MP 3” x 3” sensor that shoots 18K resolution at 120FPS.  The camera was developed in-house at Sphere Studios’ research and development labs, and features these highlights:

1. A dedicated single-lens system that boasts the world’s sharpest cinematic lenses and achieves the extreme optical requirements necessary to match Sphere’s 16K x 16K immersive display plane from edge to edge.
2. Big Sky’s single sensor, a 316-megapixel, 3” x 3” HDR image sensor, is a 40X resolution increase over 4K cameras, and 160X over HD cameras.
3. Big Sky can capture content up to 120 frames per second in the 18K square format.

The first MSG Sphere film: ‘Postcard from Earth’

Academy Award-nominee Darren Aronofsky announced that he is directing Postcard from Earth, the first-of-its-kind production debuting at Sphere in Las Vegas this October. As stated in the press release: “Aronofsky is utilizing the Big Sky camera system to capture content for the immersive production, which will fully maximize Sphere’s 22nd-century technologies – including the world’s highest resolution LED screen, the world’s most advanced concert audio system, and atmospheric elements such as wind and scent – to transport audiences to places both real and imagined. Postcard from Earth will feature captivating scenes from every continent and take audiences on an extraordinary journey to unexpected places around our planet without ever leaving their seats in Las Vegas”.

Shot on the Big Sky and ALEXA 65

Aronofsky, which is the creator, director, and producer of Postcard from Earth, said: “At its best, cinema is an immersive medium that transports the audience out of their regular life, whether that’s into fantasy and escapism, another place and time, or another person’s subjective experience. The Sphere is an attempt to dial up that immersion. Every day we’ve taken out the camera we’ve gotten better at getting the best possible shots. It’s a learning process because the technology is new. And it’s the same with post. Delivering a half-petabyte movie – that’s 500,000 gigabytes – that utilizes more than 160,000 speakers is mind-boggling. But honestly, every film is always a learning experience. You are always in the process of discovering the language of the film and unearthing the story using the tools you’ve got at hand. Here it’s about how to make the beauty and fragility of our planet feel as potent as possible. The tools might be a little different in this film, but the task is the same”. Furthermore, Aronofsky utilized the huge sensor of the ARRI ALEXA 65, as mentioned by ARRI Rental: “Sneak peek of Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Postcard from Earth’, the first immersive MSG Sphere production. ARRIRental Los Angeles provided a portion of the production with the ALEX A65 and PrimeDNA lenses captured by Matthew Libatique ASC. Set to premiere on October 6th”.

Throwing this idea to Christopher Nolan

We’re still waiting for Madison Square Garden Entertainment to release more info about the Big Sky camera. Anyway, the match between Big Sky and ARRI 65 seems to be natural and logical. Indeed, the ARRI ALEXA 65 is considered the camera that delivered the best image quality overall, compared to other high-end digital cinema cameras. For instance, the ALEXA 65 is the best IMAX-certified camera to shoot for a huge canvas. However, IMAX film cameras still surpass it. As for the Big Sky, it was developed to a very specific purpose, and thus, can not be compared to other conventional cinema cameras. But first, we need to see the footage to discuss it, and how it plays against others. One thing is for sure: The Sphere is beyond the next-generation screening platform, and it’s a matter of time till its top-notch director will direct for this screen (Christoper Nolan anyone?).