Cinematographer Christian Sprenger was busy this winter, shooting not one but two commercial spots that debuted during Super Bowl LIII. For TurboTax Live, he shot a series of commercials and a teaser leading up to RoboChild, which shows that robot A.I. isnt ready to replace live CPAs. And in the celebrity-filled Not Everything Makes the Cut for Amazons Alexa and its surrounding teasers, he shot a variety of situations where Amazon Alexa integration failed miserably. With so much on his plate, Sprenger turned to Panavision Hollywood as his one-stop camera shop.
What led you to choose Panavision's DXL2 for the TurboTax Live RoboChild spot?
Sprenger: The director was very insistent on shooting anamorphic, which I was super excited about. I also knew that there would be a lot of VFX and paint-outs. I felt like Panavisions Millennium DXL2 was the best option for shooting a visual-effects-heavy, anamorphic project. I hadnt done a DXL2-anamorphic job yet, and I thought this would be a great time to put it to the test. It proved to be the right choice!
What lenses did you pair with the DXL2?
Guy McVicker [Manager, Technical Marketing & Optics] at Panavision Hollywood suggested the G Series anamorphic primes because they had some interesting characteristics without too many lens aberrations so that visual effects wouldnt have problems matching properly. Because it was a longer job and we were filming with two cameras, Panavision ended up building us a combination of T Series and G Series to build the set out, which allowed me to share one lens set for two camera bodies.
How did the mix of T Series and G Series optically work for you?
The Ts are more modern and slightly sharper. There were times where wed put on a G and see a nice bit of softness and a little more blooming. But, in terms of flare color, skin tone, and edge-to-edge sharpness, I felt that they matched close enough that it wouldnt be a concern. Whats nice about Panavisions optics is the effort and pride they put into the different lens series. Even if the lenses are from different time periods, they still have that Panavision stamp, that consistency. They all fit together in the world of Panavision optics.
Did you shoot tests beforehand?
For TurboTax Live, we had very little prep time. I had a couple of phone calls with Guy at Panavision, and then we pulled the trigger and went for it with only a short day to get to know the camera system. Panavision did a great job of preparing everything for us. I think they built a hell of a camera, and we had really no problems with the DXLs whatsoever. They were rock-solid camera systems and rock-solid optics.
What look were you going for in terms of the look for the RoboChild spot?
The teaser leading up to the Super Bowl takes place at night its dark and moody, and I was working in low-light levels with a wide-open stop on the lens. The dynamic range of the DXL2 paired effortlessly with the anamorphic optics, resulting in a naturalistic and smooth image. For the Super Bowl spot, I wanted the daytime garage workshop to feel realistic and not over lit. I shot around an f2.8/4, which felt like the right sweet spot for the lenses optical performance, and because the DXL2s 8K VV sensor was larger than Super35, the depth of field appeared shallower than on a S35 sensor.
Did you take advantage of the DXL2 on-set workflow capabilities?
Our incredible DIT, Matthew Love, had a lot of previous DXL2 experience. We started out using the proxy setup the DXL2 has the ability to record proxies but Matt felt like his system was capable of just handling the RAW. So, we discarded the proxy workflow and just colored off the 8K RAW, using LiColor2 off the camera for viewing and lighting purposes and then importing the files into DaVinci Resolve. Matt and I used a modified version of the DXL color LUT. We would adjust color and create all our dailies on set. At the end of the night, wed hand off the drive. From my perspective as a cinematographer, it felt like a flawless workflow.
For the Amazon Alexa Not Everything Makes the Cut spot, you ironically switched to a Panavised ARRI ALEXA platform. Because you shot anamorphic, which lenses did you choose?
Just coincidental! The full-frame ALEXA LF shoots at 4.5K resolution in anamorphic [Open Gate mode]. Guy expanded the focal lengths of our anamorphic lenses to properly cover the full-frame sensor size. I really liked the G Series that I used on the TurboTax spot and chose them again. They have a perfect balance they are somewhat visually similar to the C Series but with modern upgrades and closer to the physical design of the T Series. The Gs can be customized, but the Cs cannot. Over a couple of weeks of testing, we came up with a really nice combination. Because the G Series only goes up to 100mm, we used a 135mm T Series for a few shots.
What were you wanting to achieve with the custom tuning?
We wanted to adjust the contrast and black levels to emulate filtration that I would use in front of the lens. When its baked into the lens optically, I feel it performs differently than having a piece of glass in front of the anamorphic front element. In addition to that, Guy made an adjustment, which produced blooming of the highlights and created some interesting optical irregularities. Guy also introduced me to their AFA, or Anamorphic Flare Attachment an additional external front element that can adjust or exaggerate the anamorphic effect when appropriate.
What sticks out for you in these spots?
For TurboTax Live, the coverage of RoboChild at night in the teaser, to me, was the result of the perfect camera and lens technology at work. The dynamic range of the DXL2 at such low-light levels paired effortlessly with the anamorphic optics in a very naturalistic and smooth way. For the Amazon Alexa spot, the scenes in space felt like such a great
Europe Stories
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...
07/05/2026
January 8, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), a leader in high-performance, on-s...
07/05/2026
February 9, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning pioneer i...
07/05/2026
March 20, 2024
NAB 2024, Las Vegas - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-awa...
07/05/2026
April 1, 2025
CINEMACON, APRIL 1, 2025 - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming syste...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), an Academy and Emmy Award-winning de...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront participated in the ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Summit on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Held at The Phenomena Experience, the event feat...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Passion and dedication will take you places. Come with us on a short trip to the heart of India, where Annapurna Studios is living-up to the inspi...
07/05/2026
July 3, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
September 1, 2025
IBC 2025, Amsterdam - Colorfront (colorfront.com) - the Acade...
07/05/2026
April 17, 2026
LOS ANGELES - April 17, 2026 - Colorfront today announced Colorf...
07/05/2026
April 23, 2026
NAB 2026, Las Vegas - the Academy and Emmy Award-winning develop...
07/05/2026
Well known Irish faces pushed to the edge in new series of
Uncharted with Ray G...
07/05/2026
RT will premiere A Traveller Family, a compelling new documentary exploring the...
06/05/2026
New pricing tiers for vocal/dialogue restoration tool
NoiseWorks Audio's AI-powered vocal and dialogue processing plug-in is now available in three diff...
06/05/2026
Popular mixing & routing software overhauled
Following a recent public beta test, RME have launched the final release version of the powerful mixing and rou...
06/05/2026
New SOS Video Feature
Focusrites ISA C8X is a milestone product that brings together the companys analogue heritage and their expertise in digital audio. Yo...
06/05/2026
06 May 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Authorized to Resell Starlink for Businesses & ...
06/05/2026
UKTV has secured the exclusive rights to the early back catalogue of iconic Australian drama series Neighbours, following a landmark content deal with Fremantle...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky commissions feature documentary to mark 10th anniversa...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky and Formula 1 agree long-term partnership across UK, Ireland and Italy
Sky in the UK & Ireland to remain the home of Formula 1 until ...
06/05/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign launches nationwide, supported by new...
06/05/2026
Wuppertal May 6, 2026
Riedel Expands Leadership Structure, Appoints Marc Engro...
06/05/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 6, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced its latest broadband innovations for ANGA COM 2026, highlighting its vision for a new e...
06/05/2026
Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus, Fox Corporation on Ted Turner&...
06/05/2026
Friday 8 May on RT One and RT Player
Meet the NSPCA team caring for and protecting animals in need in this six-part series
Fly on the wall, six-part series...
05/05/2026
Experts from the world of academia, tech, business, politics and media convened for a Thomson Talks at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit in April. It's th...
05/05/2026
Another year, and more proof that Asia continues to shape some of the world's most exciting new sounds. This year's RADAR artists draw from deep local r...
05/05/2026
The Austin City Limits Music Fest 2026 lineup just dropped, and this year, Spoti...
05/05/2026
New drum machine book campaign incoming
Bjooks have announced that during Superbooth 2026, they will be launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the product...
05/05/2026
Flagship all-in-one production bundle updated
The latest version of Native Instruments' flagship virtual instrument and plug-in bundle has just been ann...
05/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host RF Testing Innovations Forum 2026, helping design engine...
05/05/2026
The company grew by 7.6% in net revenue and 16.3% in EBITDA, achieving a 33% inc...
05/05/2026
FOX Sports, FOX One and Indeed Launch Nationwide Search for FOX One Chief World...
04/05/2026
just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026 are available to download!
More Details:At NAB 2026, ToolsOnAir showcased just:play pro 2026 and just:live pro 2026, ...
04/05/2026
just:in mac pro 2026 - The Next Level of Professional Recording on macOS
More Details:The headline innovation in just:in mac pro 2026 is the new Auto format si...
04/05/2026
Last week, guests gathered in New York City for On Air, In Style: An Evening with Spotify-a night of conversation, culture, and connection celebrating the inter...
04/05/2026
New music & post-production features added
Avid's latest DAW update delivers an array of helpful features aimed at both music and post-production users,...
03/05/2026
Polysynth now features Mutable Instruments' macro oscillators
Melbourne Instruments have just released a free firmware update that brings the engine beh...
02/05/2026
Versatile re-amping tool announced
Warm Audio are best known for their recreations of sought-after vintage studio gear, but their latest release brings a ne...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
Florals for spring? Groundbreaking. But a playlist that tells you which The Devi...
01/05/2026
One of the world's biggest popstars is headed to El Cl sico. Later this mont...
01/05/2026
Limited-edition model celebrates 15th anniversary
Heritage Audio's range of monitor controllers has just gained a new member, the Baby RAM Black Edition...
01/05/2026
Dumble recreation now available as UAD plug-in
Along with their renowned processing plug-ins, Universal Audio have been steadily introducing emulations of c...
Cinematographer Christian Sprenger was busy this winter, shooting not one but two commercial spots that debuted during Super Bowl LIII. For TurboTax Live, he shot a series of commercials and a teaser leading up to RoboChild, which shows that robot A.I. isnt ready to replace live CPAs. And in the celebrity-filled Not Everything Makes the Cut for Amazons Alexa and its surrounding teasers, he shot a variety of situations where Amazon Alexa integration failed miserably. With so much on his plate, Sprenger turned to Panavision Hollywood as his one-stop camera shop.
