The ARRI Multicam System setup was utilized to broadcast live football games with a cinematic look & feel. These powerful tools included the ARRI Amira cameras paired with the mighty FUJINON Duvo 25-1000 cinema box lenses.
Making live sports events more cinematic
SportsInnovation offers cinema companies to strengthen the ‘cinematic broadcasting’ capabilities of live sports events. Hosted by the DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga and in partnership with the National Football League (NFL), SportsInnovation 2024 offered exhibitors a unique platform to present their innovations and technologies through live games, showcases, panel discussions, exhibitions, and more. The main attractions of the two-day event were the Innovation Games which featured one American football game and three soccer matches right on the field at the Merkur Spiel-Arena. During these live competitions, the latest breakthroughs in sports technology from the industry’s top players were hard at work capturing, illuminating, and transmitting live production images that showcased their latest technology. This is where ARRI chimes in.
TRINITY on a Segway
As a part of the effort to capture sports events and enhance the cinematic experience, high-end gear was utilized. The ARRI equipment on the field consisted of a 12-camera ARRI Multicam System setup with the camera stabilizer systems TRINITY Live (on a Segway to capture hard-to-reach action shots), and 360 EVO. The captured footage was broadcasted to the highest Bundesliga standard, comparable to a UEFA Champions League format with a setup that included more than 25 cameras in UHD/HDR quality.
ARRI Amira and FUJINON Duvo 25-1000
The camera setup was based mainly on Super 35 cameras, paired with giant broadcast lenses developed for large sensors. In that case, the cameras were ARRI Amira, and the lenses were the powerful FUJINON Duvo 25-1000 ($250,000 lens). The Duvo 25-1000 cinema box lens is armed with a native PL-mount and achieves a zoom ratio of 40x and a telephoto focal length of 1000mm, which is the highest combination of magnification and telephoto reach available to date for large cinema sensors.
The ARRI setup at SportsInnovation 2024 proves that ARRI tools, including Super 35 cameras, are well-suited for sports and even enable a new kind of storytelling. By taking advantage of special settings that provide different depths of field, ARRI tools can play with various layers of the game. For example, the player can be placed more in focus and isolated from the rest of the image just by tweaking the depth of field, therefore producing a more unique and immersive experience for the audience.
Thomas Stoschek, Sales Manager and specialist for the live entertainment and broadcast markets at ARRI
High-quality imagery that assists with sideline advertising and game analysis
The goal was to capture the event and serve it like a movie rather than a ‘regular’ live sports event. Thomas Stoschek, Sales Manager and specialist for the live entertainment and broadcast markets at ARRI has commented: “The ARRI setup at SportsInnovation 2024 proves that ARRI tools, including Super 35 cameras, are well-suited for sports and even enable a new kind of storytelling. By taking advantage of special settings that provide different depths of field, ARRI tools can play with various layers of the game. For example, the player can be placed more in focus and isolated from the rest of the image just by tweaking the depth of field, therefore producing a more unique and immersive experience for the audience. Furthermore, ARRI cameras are well-known for their true-color image reproduction and high image dynamics. The ARRI look has already established itself at concerts, talk shows, comedy shows, and even sporting events. However, occasionally the idea persists that large-sensor cameras are unsuitable for sports due to their shallow depth of field. We are happy to have the opportunity to show the opposite and demonstrate live that Super 35 offers a highly compatible format in which to showcase not only the action on the field but also sideline advertising and game analysis”.
Wrapping up
Pairing large sensor cameras with the FUJINON Duvo 25-1000 in live events is not new. In that case, the Sony VENICE and the Duvo 25-1000 are like a long-term marriage. Anyway, it looks like ARRI is making an effort to penetrate even further into the live entertainment and broadcast markets with its Multicam System. It will be cool to see the new ALEXA 35 as an integral part of this setup.
