If we can define the Camera of the Year, then the Sony VENICE would be a very solid candidate. This camera shot the top-grossing movies of 2022, which are: Top Gun: Maverick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and of course Avatar: The Way of Water. The most interesting fact is, that each Director and DP have used the VENICE in various configurations, making this high-end technology masterpiece, an ultra-versatile tool for filmmakers.
The Sony VENICE shot 2022’s top-grossing movies
As stated by Tanya Lyon from the Sony Cine Marketing Division: “What a time to be a part of Sony! Five years after the launch of the Sony VENICE, our high-end digital cinema camera, it’s been used on three of the year’s top-grossing movies: Top Gun: Maverick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and, of course, Avatar: The Way of Water. Yesterday, we invited select members of the production and cinema community for a screening of Avatar in 3D IMAX at the historic Graumann’s Chinese Theater. On hand to speak about his experience shooting Avatar and the VENICE was Oscar award-winning cinematographer Russell Carpenter ASC, whom you may know from Titanic, producer Jon Landau, Chief Lighting Engineer Len Levine, and 3D Systems Engineer Patrick Campbell”. Indeed, the VENICE has left a mark as one of the most adaptable cinema cameras that filmmakers utilized in the past years.
One of the most versatile high-end cinema camera
We wrote tons of articles about the utilization of the VENICE in Top Gun: Maverick. The ability of the camera to detach the sensor block from the body transforms the bulky design of a cinema camera to a much more compact form factor, which is ideal for shooting in tight spaces, as it was implemented inside the fight-jet cockpit. Visually speaking, this solution evaluates dramatically the adrenaline rush when watching Top Gun: Maverick on the big screen, since the cockpit shots were composed of six Sony VENICE cameras shooting various angles and fields of view. Hence, VENICE was the technology star behind that movie.
Avatar 2: Above and under the water
On Avatar: The Way of Water, the Sony VENICE was rigged to a specially made 3D stereoscopic beam splitter system, again utilizing the Rialto extension unit. The system was called Sony CineAlta VENICE 3D. This mechanical solution was used by Cameron himself to shoot some scenes in Avatar 2. For the ocean sequences, an underwater rig was built from a 3D Beam Splitter called DeepX 3D which was developed by inventor and cinematographer Pawel Achtel. The VENICE was paired with Nikonos 15mm lenses, which are special old lenses developed by Nikon for underwater photography. This combination was assembled in order to grant clean, distortion-free 3D IMAX underwater imagery, in a convenient and smart structure.
Main strength: Rialto
The uniqueness of the Sony VENICE is its Rialto. The ability to disconnect a very capable sensor out of the camera can be a decent advantage in some cinematography scenarios. As for Top Gun: Maverick, and Avatar 2, it’s hard to think of a better solution, especially when shooting in tight and restricted places, and incorporating a cinema camera in a compact underwater 3D rig. And still, have zero compromises regarding the image quality which the big screen deserves. And that is the main strength of the VENICE.
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