Once again, a group of 12 Sony VENICE cinema cameras were utilized to bring the cinematic look of feature films to the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Check out the BTS below.
12 Sony VENICE to shoot Halftime Show
This is the fourth year in a row that the Sony VENICE is being utilized to shoot the Super Bowl Halftime Show. With over 112 million viewers and a live crowd of 80,000, the VENICE cameras were chosen to capture the show in richer cinematic images, a wider color palette, and a shallow depth of field. This year was no different. We wrote before about the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show which was shot with an array of 12 Sony VENICE 6K full-frame cameras some of them were paired with the Fujinon Cinema Box lenses to maximize and supercharge the cinematic look and feel of the event. The setup for the 2024 show was pretty much similar, but now the VENICE 2 8K was added to add even more resolution to this mega event.
Super complicated setup
Although the camera setup to shoot this mega event is complicated, Sony has vast experience in delivering especially the Halftime Show. For instance, in 2022 the halftime show relied on 12 Sony VENICE cameras, 2 Sony Skycams, and an FX6 for a super wide shot at mid-field. As for camera movements, they utilized Moviebird 50 Technocrane, and of course, the mighty Fujinon Cinema Box lens. As explained, now Sony got the VENICE 2 which has joined the game. As stated by Sony Cine: “Sunday night’s big game was captured with nine VENICE 2 and three VENICE cameras for a spectacular halftime. It’s the fourth consecutive year that the production has chosen cinema cameras and the 3rd year using VENICE to bring audiences closer to the action”. Explore the video below published by the production company, Funicular Goats:
Fun Fact Friday: the Super Bowl Halftime show is separate of the game coverage. Although they take some camera feeds from the main broadcast, It takes an entire separate crew and equipment arsenal to put on the halftime performance. What happens in Vegas… Is seen by over 100 million people around the world! Shoutout to all of the camera and production staff that brought this idea to life.
Funicular Goats
VENICE + FUJINON 25-1000mm PL
The event was filmed by pairing the VENICE with its most chosen partner, the FUJINON 25-1000mm F2.8-5.0 PL. It seems that this boxy lens, which allows the highest combination of magnification and telephoto reach available for large cinema sensors, matches perfectly with the Sony VENICE. When paired with the VENICE the lens is being treated as a pure cinema lens rather than a broadcast-TV lens. BTW, most of the time you see these huge lenses, it’s always being paired with the VENICE, like this lens was developed for the VENICE. However, this super-heavy lens was used far from the stage. The lenses that were in the middle of the action, are smaller. Although we barely recognize the lens from the picture, we assume that this glass would be the 24-300 DUVO, which can also be perfectly paired with the VENICE. Watch the BTS below:
An iPhone?
Strangely, we found an iPhone in one of the BTS pictures. We don’t know its purpose, as it seems that the iPhone is not connected to the camera. Maybe it served as a screen mirroring what the camera sees? Or maybe it was attached by the camera operator just to take videos for personal use? It’s a cool setup though.
Sony dominates cinematic broadcasting
The Sony VENICE appears to be the most popular high-end cinema camera utilized for top-notch mega-live events. What makes the VENICE ideal for capturing live events, and be paired with cinema-broadcast PL ultra zoom cameras, like the FUJINON 25-1000mm? Is it the interface? Ease of use? Credibility or picture quality? Feel free to throw your answers in the comments section below.
Product List
Here are the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers.
- Sony VENICE 2 Digital Motion Picture Camera (8K)
- Sony VENICE 2 Digital Motion Picture Camera (6K)
Perhaps the iPhone was set up to capture 3D spatial video. The show was sponsored by Apple Music, so perhaps they’ll make some sort of spatial video feature for the Vision Pro.
The picture with the underline saying “Sony FX6 shooting on-stage – Super Bowl Halftime shot.” is an FX9, by the way – no FX6.
The 24-300 Duvo Lens by Fuji seems to be a dream lens for big sensor cameras nowdays… really impressive “cine broadcast” lens 🙂
> What makes the VENICE ideal […]
Nothing special indeed.
The key is not the camera, but the availability of a 40x S35 zoom lens – a nice “entry range” lens when we talk about typical broadcast setups.
And who really needs a 125x B4 lens (with ARIA Voodoo, advanced focus assist & iPhone charger)? Well, maybe you and you? And you over there?
> Is it the interface?
Sure. Both camera and CCU-operator need to feel “at home”. Meaning they operate “The Beast” just if it where a standard 2/3″ broadcast camera.
> Ease of use?
Sure, see above
> Credibility or picture quality?
What could that mean? We all know that nowadays it has become very hard to buy a bad camera for a handful of k$ …