… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1329: Sony a7R IV & DJI Gimbal Change Football

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Small package, with great portability and 4K source images.

This article, written by Daron James, first appeared in NofFlmSchool.com. This is a summary.

The Sony a7R IV is changing NFL broadcasts. As first reported by SVG, the Week 15 tilt between Seattle and Washington had the crew using what they dubbed as “The Megalodon,” according to a tweet by reporter Mike Garafolo, where a Sony a7R IV was paired with FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM lens and mounted to a DJI Ronin-S gimbal.

Camera operator Mike Smole called it the “poor man’s Steadicam,” and it was used to capture endzone celebrations to mix in with the broadcast.

Crews had already been using the Sony Alpha cameras to capture warm-up and arrivals shots, but Fox used the Sony Alpha as the 11th camera in the Seattle-Washington game.

The indie package was outfitted for live television with a field monitor and a wireless transmitter that would send a 1080p signal to the camera truck, where it was color corrected to match the broadcast cameras. In all, the rig costs about $10,000, which is pennies in comparison to a broadcast camera.

No Film School spoke with Mike Davies, SVP, technical and field operations at Fox Sports. He told us the feedback has been tremendous.

Read the entire article for more technical details and links.