
For the First Time, the Super Bowl Halftime Show Was Shot Using Cinema Cameras PRG's LIVE35! technology supported the massive show with sensor cameras By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 - 3:21 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
This year's Super Bowl Halftime Show, starring Grammy-winning artist The Weeknd, may forever be known as the performance that birthed a million memes, but, in live-video-production circles, it will also be remembered for taking significant steps in the evolution of live entertainment production.
The show, produced by Roc Nation and seen in more than 90 million U.S. homes, marked the first Super Bowl Halftime Show to deploy cinema cameras as part of its equipment arsenal.
Emmy Award-winning camera operator Tor Livia uses an ARRI AMIRA camera on a Steadicam to shoot The Weeknd during this year's Super Bowl Halftime Show in Tampa, Fl. (Photo: PRG)
With the help of production-facilities provider PRG, this year's Super Bowl Halftime Show featured a sharper, more film-quality look. Director Hamish Hamilton (handling his 12th Halftime Show) worked with PRG's 35Live! system, which replaced traditional multi-camera broadcast workflows and allowed internal transmission of digital 35mm cameras and lens/iris control needed to integrate the pictures seamlessly into the traditional broadcast infrastructure.
It was a perfect storm of a lot of things, says Morgan Kellum, VP, TV and Film, PRG, for whom this was his first Super Bowl Halftime. Hamish has always been a big proponent of cinema cameras, and we've done a large number of concerts and live comedy shows using this system. We tried to keep it as simple as possible, and it just worked out pretty well.
Inside the Arsenal PRG is no stranger to supporting the Super Bowl Halftime Show, having supplied lighting in past years, but this marked the first time the company delivered camera and broadcast tech as well. And it made quite a splash.
The LIVE35! technology allows a broadcaster to incorporate almost any super-35mm sensor camera or camcorder into a traditional multi-cam broadcast environment, using 35mm motion-picture cinema lenses along with traditional broadcast lens and iris control.
This offers such benefits as super-35 depth of field and the sophisticated colorimetry and image processing provided by newer 35mm camera sensors/camera systems.
The system is camera-agnostic. On this show, the lineup of cameras included two ARRI AMIRA units and seven ARRI ALEXA Minis. One of the AMIRAs was on a Steadicam operated by Emmy Award-winning camera operator Tor Livia; one of the ALEXA Minis, used by Emmy-winning camera operator Jofre Rosero to shoot the memorable Infinity Room, was fitted with an Ultra Prime 8R fisheye lens on a handheld mini jib. It was that camera that captured many of the close-up shots of The Weeknd that became fodder for many of the memes flooding social media.
Also deployed were two RailCams (commonly seen in sports gliding along the sideline of the court during the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four), managed by technicians Rick Compeau, Johnny Harkins, and Brian Sheid).
LIVE35! provides several fiber camera-back systems for the 35mm sensor cameras with base-station receivers at the other end of SMPTE or alternative fiber. It also incorporates traditional cinema lens control for a focus puller with wireless Focus/Iris/Zoom control.
Lead 1st AC Adam Kirschoffer played a critical role, working with the PRG engineering team to configure the lens control. Tech supervisor, cameras, Jakes Coker developed a customized, more than 500-ft.-long extension cable for the lens control.
The advantage of this setup, according to PRG's Kellum, is that the show crew is not tied to any one motion-camera manufacturer or model. He notes that the calibration process can be specific to the camera model, which is an advantage.
The technology behind the lens control was critical to the show's success. PRG has developed a lens-control system with cmotion technology, allowing use of traditional hardwired Canon or Fujinon focus and zoom controls with 35mm motion-picture lenses with motors on rods. This was seen at the Super Bowl Halftime Show through the use of a pedestal camera (operated by Allen Merriweather).
The show's equipment list included five MultiDyne 4K systems (for fiber) and four 4K AVS wireless systems (for wireless). The whole production was supported behind the scenes by a talented team of engineers, including Coker, Vince Warburton (camera engineer), Dave West (control room video engineer), and Don Burkhart (fiber specialist).
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
16/06/2026
Thomson's highly regarded expert-led online learning courses are now easier to access on the go via our new App.
Available now on Google Play Store, the J...
16/06/2026
Neumann.Berlin has released firmware version 2.0 for the MT 48 audio interface, adding plugin compatibility, expanded Dante networking options, broadcast encode...
16/06/2026
TVNewsCheck has announced that nominations are now open for its 2027 Women in Technology Awards, to be presented at NAB Show 2027 on Tuesday, April 6 in the Med...
16/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced Avalon, a 1RU IP intercom platform for broadcast, live events, and production environments. Designed for IP-only workflows, Avalon suppo...
16/06/2026
SNS has published a guide to remote video editing workflows using its EVO shared storage platform and companion tools, covering use cases ranging from home edit...
16/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, have deployed five Grass Valley LD...
16/06/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced the launch of the Official IPMX Training Series, a free online program covering the design, configurati...
16/06/2026
Swerve TV has announced distribution agreements with Fubo, Plex, Amazon Fire TV,...
16/06/2026
ATP and TikTok have announced an expansion of their global content partnership, extending the ATP's TikTok hub powered by TikTok GamePlan to cover all nine ...
16/06/2026
Network's LA facility serves as the heart of a sprawling operation built to ...
16/06/2026
At Pico, the network's media-management team is supporting a flood of HBS fe...
16/06/2026
The NHL will no longer air on CBC after the pulic broadcasters and national rights-holder Rogers Sportsnet were unable to come to agreement.
After a successfu...
16/06/2026
As live sports broadcasters continue to seek new ways to make complex action mor...
16/06/2026
Built with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in mind, these small but mighty IP-based tran...
16/06/2026
Boasts individual synths for each band
UVI's latest synth takes an interesting approach to synthesis, offering a trio of synth engines that each operate...
16/06/2026
New intelligent auto-fader plug-in unveiled
PSPaudioware's latest release offers automatic level adjustment and provides more detailed control than many...
16/06/2026
New performance-focused library announced
Crystal Pads is the latest addition to The Crow Hill Company's ever-growing product range, and according to th...
16/06/2026
Developed in partnership with Sequential
In recent years, GForce Software have branched into official emulations of classic hardware synths, delivering a ha...
16/06/2026
Designed specifically for live performance monitoring
beyerdynamic's latest announcement sees the company introduce an affordable in-ear monitoring syst...
16/06/2026
Official emulation celebrates iconic synth's 40th anniversary
Cherry Audio have just introduced Ensoniq ESQ-1, an official recreation of the 1986 polyph...
16/06/2026
Australians place growing trust in SBS News
16 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has been recognised as one of Australia's most trusted news providers, ran...
16/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz achieves highest number of GCF validated 3GPP NR NTN test cases ...
16/06/2026
Bydgoszcz to Become a Local Centre of Excellence for Advanced Rail Technologies....
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
87 Percent of Creators Who Use Creative AI Say It Is Growing Their Business and ...
16/06/2026
Historic Zhuque-3 Reusable Rocket Test Mission Captured with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton June 16, 2026
0 Comments
Apple Immersive Video puts view...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Rise WIB, the award-winning advocacy group championing gender diversity and career progression across the broadcast and media technology industry, today announc...
16/06/2026
Limecraft today announced the availability of Limecraft 2026.4, the fourth of eight planned platform releases this year. The update introduces Team-Based Access...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Free Program Supports IPMX Education from Foundational Concepts Through System and Network Design
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced t...
16/06/2026
Share your views on Screen Australia and the future of the industry 15 June 2026
Your feedback matters.
Following the instrumental insights provided in 2025,...
16/06/2026
Techtel Supports T-Motion RCCP-2A Controller Upgrade for Major Australian Broadc...
16/06/2026
Tuesday 16 June 2026
Record audiences tune in for opening weekend of ICC Women&...
16/06/2026
Every breakthrough AI model starts the same way: with a training run. The infrastructure running those training jobs shapes everything: how fast teams can itera...
15/06/2026
One of the more exciting internal video production divisions within a college at...
15/06/2026
The deal valued at $22 Billion is expected to close in the first half of 2027...
15/06/2026
Golf Channel and the Arnold Palmer Cup have announced a partnership to livestream the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup on Golf Channel Mobile and GolfChannel.com. The tou...
15/06/2026
TikTok and Panini have announced a partnership to bring a digital collectible ca...
15/06/2026
Cosm and Monster Energy have announced the debut of the first full-dome immersiv...
15/06/2026
Real American Freestyle (RAF) and Fox Nation have announced an exclusive streaming agreement for three RAF international events, beginning with RAF Georgia on J...
15/06/2026
FanConnect has announced a partnership with Extreme Networks integrating FanConn...
15/06/2026
Ten Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25 Will Start Fellowship Year at Ignite Lab from June 14-19
LOS ANGELES, CA, June 15, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institut...
15/06/2026
Innovative three-band soft synth introduced
UVI's latest synth takes an interesting approach to synthesis, offering a trio of synth engines that each op...
15/06/2026
Applications now open for 2026
The Oram Awards have returned for 2026 to celebrate the unusual, unique and unfiltered creative worlds of women and gender-di...