European first for DAZN: Cloudbass on delivering the first ever full cinematic live boxing production in Europe for the Joshua v Dubios fight By Heather McLean
Monday, September 23, 2024 - 13:32
Print This Story
Working on behalf of DAZN for the Anthony Joshua versus Daniel Dubois match for the IBF world heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium, Cloudbass toed the line with a world first as the entire match was broadcast using cinematic cameras
Technical services provider Cloudbass took on the host broadcast of the Anthony Joshua versus Daniel Dubois match for the IBF world heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 21 September.
Working on behalf of DAZN for the pay-per-view fight, which was won by Dubois in the fifth round after he rocked Joshua repeatedly from the word go, Cloudbass toed the line with a European first as the entire match was broadcast using cinematic cameras.
This broadcast was the biggest use of Sony F5500 cameras in live boxing in Europe since a trial of a single F5500 camera during a fight in 2022, and it is also the first full cinematic production in boxing for the region.
Says Steve Knee, Cloudbass owner and managing director: The idea is actually doing the whole production to get this cinematic look. I think it's going to be quite disruptive in terms of the technology that people want to see. People will look at the broadcast and go, that looks amazing, we want that all the time . So that's a shift in technology that will drive consumer engagement.
Cloudbass provided the host facilities for the fight for DAZN at Wembley Stadium. It also provided presentation coverage for DAZN, and a separate music truck to cover the Liam Gallagher performance before the main fight. Also onsite taking Cloudbass' feeds was Timeline for Sky Sports, and EMG for TNT Sports.
Cloudbass used the Sony F5500 camera, and the Sony HDC-3500V cinematic cameras to fit the brief for the Anthony Joshua versus Daniel Dubois fight at Wembley
Cinematic ambitions
A major contributor to the event costs was Turki Al-Sheikh, the chair of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority which staged the fight, who requested that DAZN capture the fight with a cinematic look in UHD HDR. To fulfil that request, Cloudbass used the Sony F5500 camera, and the Sony HDC-3500V cinematic cameras to fit the brief.
The Sony HDC-F5500 Super 35mm 4K CMOS camera system launched in December 2021. Building on the success of Sony's popular HDC-5500, the HDC-F5500's Super 35mm 4K CMOS sensor delivers more clarity, realism and shallow depth of field with every scene, from wide beauty shots to tight close ups.
It was used by BT Sport with technical services provider EMG on 23 April 2022 at Wembley Stadium for the Tyson Fury versus Dillian Whyte fight. The camera was then used as Camera One out of a further 25 Sony HDC cameras. However last weekend eight HDC-F5500's were used, marking the biggest use of the F5500 camera in a live boxing broadcast in Europe.
Michael Beaumont, technical director of Cloudbass, says: This was trialled on the Fury fight three years ago, but we're the first on boxing going full live with it. We used the F5500 cinematic camera, and then also the 3500V to give that variable ND for the shallow depth of field, to get a nice cinematic look, but also allow us to use the 4 x superslow function for replays.
Additionally, seven Sony HDC-3500V cameras first announced at NAB 2023 - were used, which have a built-in optical variable ND filter that allows the user to adjust the brightness of an image without changing the iris value. This gives the user more control over the camera's depth of field and allows for smooth exposure adjustments without affecting the image quality.
Cameras and kit used at Wembley by Cloudbass
HDC-F5500 x 8
HDC-3500V x 7
RF Cameras x 2
Sony FR7 PTZ for the overhead truss shot
Plus a whole host of wirecams, Batcams and minicams
EVS Via servers for replay x 7
Adds Beaumont: We used 18 cameras for the fight truck, five cameras for the presentation truck, and another nine cameras for the music truck giving us a total of 32 cameras. The F5500 camera was used for all the main camera shots, including three in the studio for that cinematic look.
At Wembley the Camera One and Camera Two were a very long way from the ring, so we chose the Fuji HZK Duvo 25-1000m Lens, which is the largest box-type zoom lens available for the super 35mm sensor of the F5500. This worked well and gave stunning images especially over such a long distance.
We also used a F5500 on the jib, and on the Steadicam for the walk-ons using a Fuji HZK DUVO 14-100mm Lens, which gave a stunning shallow depth of field for the walk-on shots. The 3500V cameras were used mostly on the ringside cameras where we also needed superslow capabilities, continues Beaumont.
The TV compound at Wembley for the Anthony Joshua versus Daniel Dubois match was tight, with Cloudbass, EMG and Timeline TV all taking up space
Toeing the line
One stumbling block that the Cloudbass team faced was the lenses required for the cinematic cameras, which posed a challenge for the camera operators. Beaumont explains: Picking the lenses for the F5500 was a challenge because they use different types of lenses to what we're used to, working in live sport. They have much more cinematic focus ranges, and not such large zoom lengths.
To get the shallow depth of field did add a challenge for our camera operators with focus, but they quickly got the hang of it as they're professionals, and the end result was pretty amazing actually, continues Beaumont.
Knee adds an additional challenge in tandem with the cinematic cameras was the need to provide the feeds in UHD HDR. It's not just the cinematic, it's the UHD, it's the HDR. It's bringing it all together in one thi
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
European first for DAZN: Cloudbass on delivering the first ever full cinematic live boxing production in Europe for the Joshua v Dubios fight By Heather McLean 
