Behind the Scenes on September 5
Summer 1972 marked just the second time the Olympics were televised live across the globe. Little did anyone anticipate the unspeakable incident that what would unfold in Germany before the live cameras. During what we now call the Munich Massacre, terrorists from the Black September group broke into the Olympic village, taking multiple athletes hostage, with no one prepared for how the next 24 hours would unfold.
Undertaking this grim thriller director Tim Fehlbaum approached the story with cinematographer Markus F rderer, ASC, BVK. The filmmakers explore the events of September 1972 through the perspective of the ABC Sports News team who documented the unfolding tragedy live. An allegory for modern media's sometimes ethically ambiguous or sometimes downright detrimental effect on events, the film authentically recreates the chilling episode. In addition to shooting at historically preserved locations on a variety of formats from 16mm film to Red V-Raptor, F rderer relied on Astera to realize some of the film's trickiest lighting environments, especially ABC TV's 1970s era Munich studio.
Early in preproduction the decision was made to recreate as much of the historic event leading up to the September 5, 1972 terrorist attack as possible. Out of respect to the hostages, we decided not to use any actual footage of them, explains F rderer. (One notable exception however is the unforgettable journalism of TV host Jim McKay whose real-life telecast is retained from the actual broadcasts.) The cinematographer painstakingly reviewed original photographs and historical videos, critically studying the lighting. I take it as a compliment that many audiences cannot differentiate what is original footage from the actual archival materials, he adds.
At the heart of the ABC Munich studio was the control room which featured a wall of video screens displaying feeds from multiple cameras. My initial concept lighting-wise was inspired by that look of old CRT TV's which always flicker a bit as a light source. I decided to focus on this light flicker, F rderer explains. The production built a recreation of the ABC Control Room at Bavaria Studios, where the cinematographer would have complete control illuminating this core environment. We talked to people who used to work in the TV studio back in the day and from that decided to employ a fluorescent tube look.
There's a tactile and instantly recognizable quality to 1960-'70s fluorescents. But real fluorescent tubes are unreliable and don't offer the same versatile control as a modern LED, says F rderer. With a shooting schedule of 27 days, using original fluorescents would have been prohibitively time-consuming. F rderer's solution: Astera Tubes, fit into '70s housings. Comprised of 8 pixels which can be individually colored, flashed and programmed from the AsteraApp, the baton-shaped LED light was a highly controllable, look-a-like replacement for unpredictable fluorescents.
If you remember old fluorescent tubes, they are never perfect the ends tend to flicker. Since Astera tubes have 8 pixels, I knew we could program them to make the ends flicker that same way on set, says F rderer. Before prep for September 5 began, the cinematographer enlisted the help of lighting specialist, photographer, and his spouse Julie F rderer to create the effect. While working together on another show, the F rderers spent each weekend with a dimmer board and an Astera tube at their hotel, testing how far they could take a flickering effect. We could test different flicker frequencies and pre-program different colors to imitate that dirty green warmth of old lights. Thanks to this, when I arrived in Munich for this film, we could go into the sets which had already been rigged by my gaffer Uwe Greiner and his team based on our lighting plans and pick and choose from our effects to give each room its own character.
The filmmakers took this flicker approach beyond fluorescent look-a-likes, employing a variation to light the small edit room where the ABC producers would watch developed film on a Steenbeck flatbed editor. We had a real Steenbeck and we set an Astera HydraPanel a 25W LED fixture with 6 mappable RGBMA pixels equipped with a DoPchoice Snapbag, inside the Steenbeck to create a flickering light effect for the editing machine. F rderer's team used the same programming tricks on the HydraPanel. When working with a Steenbeck, it flickers a lot at first then becomes more stable as the film gets up to speed. We set the HydraPanel to change from 25Hz to 50Hz mimicking the effect. The lighting adds breathless tension to scenes where, just like the ABC reporters in the room, the viewer waits for what a new film reel will reveal.
These days, every light is in some ways a computer, says F rderer. But you need the time and the expertise of a great board operator to creatively program and make the most of your lights. September 5 owes its meticulous lighting to the ingenuity of the F rderers as well as the on set lighting technicians run by gaffer Greiner and board operator Matthias Linke. I wanted to give maximum freedom to our actors and cameras to move freely through the sets. Everything had to be lit in a way that enabled us to shoot 360 . The decision to employ Astera lights literally everywhere allowed us this flexibility and the speed to react creatively with the lighting to the needs of each scene. We could simply copy paste preprogrammed colors and effects to any lighting fixture and the light would always match.
Diligent creativity and Astera lights in nearly every scene helped recreate the chaos of the 1972 terrorist attack. Throughout the movie we only see what the journalists could see, concludes F rderer. We never take the perspective of the hostages. That&#
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
18/08/2026
SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...
18/08/2026
The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...
18/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/08/2026
The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...
18/08/2026
William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...
18/08/2026
DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...
18/08/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...
18/08/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...
18/08/2026
Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...
18/08/2026
Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...
Behind the Scenes on September 5 
