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As part of an ongoing three-year deal with DAZN to host broadcast Riyadh Season boxing events in Saudi Arabia, local live production services powerhouse Alamiya Media introduced Arri’s Alexa 35 Live multicam system for the first time for Canelo vs Scull on 3 May.
“We provide all the technology and production support to Riyadh Season in Saudi, so all the OB vans, cameras, certain engineering roles and other key personnel including shaders,” says Miguel Caso, chief broadcast officer, Alamiya Media. “The aim is always to enhance the viewer experience, from the staging and lighting to the broadcast. We have the ultimate responsibility for communicating the Riyadh Season brand to fans.”
In search of higher quality, Alamiya introduced the Alexa 35 Live into its production of the most recent Riyadh Season event in which Mexico’s Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez defended his super middleweight title against Cuban-German William Scull over a 12 round one-sided contest.
Events during Fight Week such as grand arrivals and the weigh-in were covered with 9-10 cameras – all of them Alexa 35 Live – plus a drone.
Then for fight night, Alamiya covered with 15 x Sony 3500 and Sony 5500 cameras adding a pair of Alexa 35 Live to the mix, one near the ring and one below Camera One as a proof of concept.
“The aim was to compare the quality between the cameras,” Caso explains. “In Saudi Arabia as in the rest of the world consumers are starting to appreciate more and more the cinematic qualities of the live broadcast. Matching looks and colour across a channel’s content has gained importance for viewers now, who expect a more polished presentation across all screens.”
As with other cine cameras the Alexa 35 Live offers an attractive depth of field which conveys the drama of the action far more than systems cameras, Caso believes.
“The combination of the colours, the depth of field, and the definition I would call dramatic. When you go to the movies you see beautiful cinematography. Now we’re beginning to be able to appreciate similar quality during a live stream.”
Alamyia worked closely with Sydney-based producer and hire company The Helm on the tests. As an early adopter of the camera (and the first supplier in the world with rental stock) its “wealth of knowledge” proved very useful.
“We subcontracted them and they flew some teams in from Australia which made the integration of these cameras and the learning curve much simpler for us,” he adds.
The output for Canelo vs Scull was 1080p SDR but Caso says the master format varies depending on the event, with some matches in UHD and HDR. The camera has a Super 35-sized 4K sensor that captures 17 stops of dynamic range, important for working under extreme lighting situations in SDR and HDR.
“The process of installing the Alexa 35 Live into the full camera chain was very simple,” he testifies. “In terms of the operators, they’re operating a broadcast camera in the same way they are used to with all the familiar broadcast functionality – intercom, tally and connections. I would say that the key here is the CCU operators who are ultimately the ones that will be able to calibrate and maximise the quality, colour and matching of the cameras. The Alexa 35 Live has all the regular live production shading controls needed to incorporate camera shading into the live world (as well as a Look Library with 87 cinematic looks that control colour).”
Caso tested Canon CNs against Fujinon Duvo range and found the Fujinon with PL mount more to his liking when paired with the Alexa.
“I love Canon lenses but according to what I saw I think the combination of this cinematic camera with the Fuji gives you maybe a little bit more of dramatic effect – but this is very subjective. I’m pretty sure you will find someone else with another opinion. For me, the combination of the Fujis and Alexa is a very strong combination,” he says.
While Arri, in common with other cine-cam providers continues to develop super-slow motion capability for broadcast, Alamiya relied on the Sony 5500 for most replays while also trialling three times playback from the Alexa 35 Live fed through the algorithms of EVS’ XtraMotion.
This piece of kit used generative AI to create the ‘missing’ frames in content, so that there is then enough to create the replay. It is integrated into EVS’ LiveCeption replay and highlights solution, and operators can trigger the application of the effect directly from the LSM-VIA remote controller.
A cinematic effect can also simulate shallow depth-of-field without using a cinematic camera, though in this case it was unnecessary. Feeds from the Alexa 35 Live were fed to XtraMotion in the OB van and went out live.
Caso says the overall test was very successful and that he expects to introduce more Alexa 35 Live on future Riyadh Season events.
“We wanted to introduce this camera progressively, in phases,” he adds. “Usually when you introduce a new model to engineers that they’re not used to there can be a reluctance at the beginning. I think they saw that the integration of this camera into an OB van was no different than any other camera in the market.”
Alamiya supplied a truck with double production capabilities for Fight Night so DAZN could produce presentation from the same facility at Riyadh’s ANB Arena.
DAZN’s feedback was positive. “When you introduce a new technology it’s always a leap of faith, but the potential of this and the quality of the images was clear for all to see,” Caso says. “I spoke to the director of the show and he was very pleased with the result. If you like the cinematic effect then it allows a director to tell the story differently and in a very cinematic way. I would say from DAZN’s side the test was positive.”
Riyadh Season resumes in the KSA after the summer with the next major event for Alamiya being the FIBA Asia Cup staged in Jeddah during August. For that Alamiya is the host broadcaster and will also provide facilities for Nippon TV and TV Asahi from Japan.
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