
ESPN Debuts On-Field Camera System for Monday Night Football With Sony FX-9 on ARRI Trinity Stabilizer System is MNF's more flexible answer to the shallow-depth-of-field craze By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, September 13, 2021 - 4:31 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Week 1 of the NFL season is nearly in the books, and, for those in the business of producing live football for television, a key conversation point is picking up right where it left off a season ago: what's with this on-field camera shooting in a shallow depth of field?
It's a trend that has swept the industry in 2021, and yesterday the shot was seen frequently across afternoon games on CBS and Fox.
With Monday Night Football returning this evening to kick off its 52nd season, ESPN is rolling out its own take on the new on-field camera, deploying a Sony FX-9 affixed to an ARRI Trinity camera-stabilization system.
Camera operator Clay Loveless (right) tinkers with the ARRI Trinity RF rig that he will operate this season on Monday Night Football for ESPN. (Photo: Gabriel Christus/ESPN Images)
The production crew expects the camera to serve many roles, from taking the place of the Steadicam to, when warranted, pulling in some of those popular cinematic looks.
It's basically a Steadicam Plus Plus, says Monday Night Football director Jimmy Platt, who is entering his third season at the helm of the iconic sports-TV property. It gives you the ability to have a jib and a Steadicam all in one system, essentially. Putting the shallow-depth-of-field camera on there is a plus, but we could have put any traditional broadcast camera on there.
The shallow-depth-of-field camera caught fire last December, which, Platt notes, was too late for the Monday Night Football crew to work anything like it into their rotation. They did, however, have a lengthy offseason to weigh the options. He loved the image, but, as for many, the struggle to keep the image in focus was a sticking point he was hoping to overcome before committing to a camera of its like.
The NFL permits broadcast partners - ESPN included - only one roving camera position that can come onto the field during a stoppage in game action. ESPN didn't want to sacrifice its valuable Steadicam without knowing that it would be logistically worth it. The ESPN operations team believes that this setup delivers the best of all worlds. The Sony FX-9 offers the strong autofocus needed to keep up with the goal of the shot, and the overall rig, which is connected to the truck via RF, offers more control over other elements of the image (such as aperture and color correction), making it a seamless and valuable addition to the broadcast.
That [shallow depth of field] has taken on a life of its own, which has been cool to see, says Platt. There have been various success rates. We've had the benefit of being able to sit back and watch the development while also doing some of our own R&D. The thing that's interesting with the shallow-depth-of-field craze is, there's a reason it works in film; the sports world is a bit different. But there are use cases where shallow depth of field is great, like when a quarterback walks out onto the field or there's a unique scene-setting shot.
But, in a touchdown celebration, he continues, in my opinion, the rest of the environment is important. Only one or two players might be in focus, and the other players are out of focus, or the crowd is out of focus. What we're going with gives us a really good use case in adjusting how much depth of field we have based on the situation at hand.
Director Jimmy Platt (left) and technical director Josh Miller rehearse at the front bench of ESPN Monday Night Football's primary onsite mobile production unit, NEP EN1. (Photo: Gabriel Christus/ESPN Images)
You have to look at this like a photographer, Platt continues, and actively choose when these types of shots will look great and when they will not. Can we get in and out of both looks within one system? I think this will help us do that well, which is what we saw when we tested it during the preseason. We'll only get better at dialing it in. There's still a lot of refinement that needs to be made that we'll make as we go throughout the season.
ESPN Senior Operations Producer Matthew Kwok says that the Monday Night Football team did extensive research over the summer in an attempt to vet the shallow-depth-of-field trend while simultaneously rethinking the on-field camera option as a whole. The team got its first look at the ARRI Trinity in action during a boxing event, and it caught their eye.
The camera, which will be operated on the field by veteran Monday Night Football Steadicam operator Clay Loveless, will present a new and significant challenge. Although a rig like this is used often in scripted film and television production, there's a quite a difference, as Platt points out, between operating this unit during a take on set and operating it live on the field during a three-hour game in a football stadium, where there's little control over the environment.
Another key decision in ESPN's work with this camera was to stick with autofocus over putting manual controls into the hands of the operator or someone else. The added role of a focus puller (or assistant camera operator) was not suited to live sports production, in the team's opinion.
It's hard for that focus puller to make refinements as the operator gets closer to the subject and vice versa, Platt points out. It ends up being a lot of hunting for the focus. With a normal broadcast camera, the Steadicam operator would be able to zoom and focus at the same time off of a grip switch. When you add in shallow depth of field, your room for error is minimal. They cannot zoom, get their
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
08/04/2026
The deadline to enter the 18th Annual SVG College Sports Media Awards in association with NACDA is rapidly approaching! Submit your entries to this year's c...
08/04/2026
The Pittsburgh product helps lead more than 100 annual ESPN broadcasts as part o...
08/04/2026
Dynamic ad insertion, AI-based technologies, programmatic advertising are some o...
08/04/2026
Seven Fellows Selected for Second Year of Residency in Honor of Social Justice L...
08/04/2026
On March 7, Bad Bunny made history with his first-ever performance in Asia, taki...
08/04/2026
El 7 de marzo, Bad Bunny hizo historia con su primera presentaci n en Asia, subi...
08/04/2026
New channel strip plug-in revealed
The latest plug-in to be added to the Fuse Audio Labs line-up emulates a selection of vintage hardware units, combining c...
08/04/2026
Guitar & bass multi-effects software overhauled
Blue Cat Audio's flagship guitar and bass multi-effects software has recently received a significant upd...
08/04/2026
PanNoir mixer integration, Dolby Atmos Renderer & more
Merging Technologies have just launched Pyramix 16, the latest major update to their renowned DAW sof...
08/04/2026
Applicable Products Part number Description
QUARTZ-22-LTE (EU) Dual Port Dual SIM LTE Router (EU)
QUARTZ-COMPACT-11-LTE (EU) Single Port Compact LTE ...
08/04/2026
The September 19, 2025 YEP Newsletter highlights a group visit to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, where participants explored exhibits showcasing the art...
08/04/2026
The L3Harris HBTSS satellite is proven on orbit, successfully demonstrating trac...
08/04/2026
Image Credit: NASA. Artist rendering of a space communications satellite in orbit, representative of the resilient, multiband infrastructure supporting mission ...
08/04/2026
Latest evaluation validates image quality, Inertial Navigation System performance and long-range tracking in operational flight conditions....
08/04/2026
New Gracenote study finds behavioral change well underway, but trust in AI-gener...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Integration eliminates ingest bottlenecks by ensuring content is immediately usable across cloud and hybrid editorial workflows. See it at NAB 2026.
Nevada Cit...
08/04/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the commercial availability of Dalia, its media-aware, agentic AI...
08/04/2026
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced Senza Ignite, a cloud-based platform that transforms existing connected devices through a single firmw...
08/04/2026
Modernised architecture increases operational control and agility, while reducing cost and simplifying nationwide media transport across affiliates and news bur...
08/04/2026
Company to Feature DMX Dual Relay, High-Density 48-Channel Relay Panels, and New Private Label Power Program
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of innovative ele...
08/04/2026
Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a European media technology and services partner, today announces a technology partnership with BCNEXXT, a Netherlands-based c...
08/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media today announced the expansion of its Master Control Room (MCR) facility in Riga, Latvia, establishing it as one of the most advanced and...
08/04/2026
Leading video solutions provider Synamedia is back at The 2026 NAB Show with innovations that connect tomorrows audiences today. On display will be a range of t...
08/04/2026
COW Jobs: Director Needed for WWII Indie Docudrama
Brie Clayton April 8, 2026
0 Comments
Director Needed for WWII Indie Docudrama
March 17, 2026COW ...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/04/2026
Marshall Electronics introduces its latest POV camera with the new CV376 Compact NDI |HX3 HDMI POV Camera at NAB 2026 (Booth C8339). Designed for versatile 4K c...
08/04/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, enables interoperable live video workflows across multi-vendor environments, helping broadcast...
08/04/2026
All episodes available on Thursday 30 April on Sky Atlantic and NOWWednesday 8 A...
08/04/2026
Back to All News
Agent from Above' Celebrates Divine Ascent to Global Rank...
08/04/2026
Back to All News
Official Poster Revealed for My Two Cents, the New Animated Se...
08/04/2026
ICG is gearing up for a busy day on 14th May in Manchester.
First up, we'll be joining the Northern Marketing Festival as one of the event's marketing ...
08/04/2026
The Teatro Col n in Buenos Aires is not a venue that tolerates compromise. Built in 1908 and routinely ranked among the worlds finest concert halls, it has an a...
08/04/2026
Young Forever: The Death of Ageing? airs Monday 13 April and 20 April on RT One and RT Player
Around the world, the race to beat ageing is on. From cutting ...
08/04/2026
Scripps Research scientists uncover new mechanism cancer cells use to survive DNA damage Discovery reshapes understanding of how tumor cells repair broken DNA, ...
07/04/2026
Ikegami USA will launch a refinement to the UHK-X700 and UHK-X750 3-CMOS -in. UHD cameras in the UNICAM XE series plus two new 7-in. viewfinders at NAB 2026 in...
07/04/2026
The NAB Leadership Foundation and NAB PILOT will host a career mixer for technology students at NAB Show 2026 on April 18, 5-6:30 p.m., North Hall, Room N225/22...
07/04/2026
Audinate Group Limited and Futuresource Consulting have published results from a...
07/04/2026
Eluvio has announced the commercial availability of its Content Fabric Bucharest...