Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

The ALEXA 35 feels like a truly new-generation camera

10/11/2022

You created the video clip for British singer-songwriter Grace Davies' latest lead single Breathe. What were your goals for the visual style of this project?

Adam Young: We wanted the music video to look how the song sounded. Starting out with a blacked-out shot, gradually introducing a solitary spotlight, eventually bringing in a whole visual firework display of lights and colors as the music grows in intensity. The plan was to create a visual journey that builds in energy and momentum moment-to-moment, so we reach a well-earned sense of catharsis and empowerment at the very end. By the time we arrive at the final chorus, we wanted the lights to feel as though the imagery is too bright to contain and have as much of that illumination bursting out of the frame.

Did you encounter any challenges during the shoot?

Adam Young: It was a fast turnaround and a one-day shoot, so we had to work fast and efficiently. Like every project we've ever worked on, the shot list and plans are out of the window once the realities of the production and all the setbacks kick in, forcing you to improvise and find results through other methods. Originally, we wanted every shot to be locked on and handled via a dolly track to create a sense of control and stability, a reference to what the song's message is: Being empowered and standing strong! But we were quickly running out of time and decided to pop the camera off the sticks and put it on Jamie's shoulder. We realized that we were moving through our shots much quicker and the handheld aesthetic lent a raw kind of energy that really suited the intensity of the music along with Grace's performance.

The video clip for Breathe is a visual journey that builds in energy and momentum

Why did you choose the ALEXA 35 for this project and how was the performance of the camera?

Jamie Haigherty: Well, music videos are a great way to try out new cameras! We knew we were shooting with anamorphic lenses, so shooting with the ALEXA 35's 6:5 was a perfect choice. It's a seamless transition for anyone used to the ARRI ecosystem and allows the crew to maintain similar workflows on set. Everything is in the right place and with a logical menu setup that makes it a breeze to use, even for those new to the camera system. As expected from ARRI: it just works!

What's your opinion in terms of the image quality, color accuracy and sensitivity of the ALEXA 35?

Jamie Haigherty: Beautiful image quality, vivid colors, and noticeably improved sensitivity, setting the bar high as the industry standard. With many cameras uprising a dual based ISO, the Enhanced Sensitivity Mode is a huge improvement and welcomed feature when the camera needs to be pushed. The ALEXA 35 feels like a truly new-generation camera!

DP Haigherty's first impressions of the ALEXA 35: beautiful image quality, vivid colors, and improved sensitivity

How was the experience in color timing having those strong lights in frame? What was the scene contrast?

Jamie Haigherty: Latitude, roll-off, and detail in the shadows are top of the game. Incredible dynamic range with highlights retaining so much information even with our super bright in-frame lights, which were pretty hard to clip. There is so much depth in the files that its amazing to see how much it can be pushed and pulled in color grading, if needed or desired for a look

Adam Young: which is what made the ALEXA 35 perfect for the kind of video we were shooting. The lights and colors were so prominent in every sequence.

Skin tones are an important factor in the video. How did you manage to achieve the desired result?

Jamie Haigherty: The ALEXA skin tones have always been beautiful, and we expected nothing different with the new ALEXA 35. We instantly noticed how the new sensor renders all colors in such a naturally flattering way.

Adam Young: During the grading we wanted the opening shot to have this somewhat ethereal and jazzy quality, where Grace's skin tones are glowing off the screen. The footage gave Paul, our color grader, a lot of room to play around. In the end, we got those tones, colors, and textures exactly the way we wanted them for those first 30 seconds that linger entirely on Grace's face throughout.

Lights and colors were prominent in every sequence of the music video

What were your goals in terms of lighting? How was the lighting setup?

Adam Young: This project was about creating a performance-based music video and the lights were essential to the whole visual tapestry, almost replicating a live gig whilst being reminiscent to Grace's history with the TV show The X Factor. We weren't trying to conceal or hide them; they were very much in-frame and serving as the production design.

Jamie Haigherty: The lighting setup had to be fairly simple with a modest budget and lighting crew, so we needed to get lights set up swiftly and hook everything up to a lighting desk. We opted for a row of mini brutes that would give a vintage glow when dimmed down and then fill the frame with white light on the highs. They were then topped with a row of LED Source 4's set to a blue purple, after discussing with Grace and her team what color palette they wanted to go for. We knew the artist and label team would have comments on the colors of light, so we went with a couple of SkyPanel S60-C lights and an ARRI Orbiter to give us the flexibility to change up quickly.

The Breathe clip was illuminated with ARRI Orbiters and SkyPanels

How did the ARRI Orbiter support your work?

Adam Young: I wanted the opening shot to offer almost a jazz bar, film noir, femme-fatale kind of vibe, where Grace is simply by herself and isolated by a spotlight that gradually burns brighter as the camera orbits her as she sings. The Orbiter (no pun intended) served that detail up perfectly and was just what the
LINK: https://www.arri.com/news-en/the-alexa-35-feels-like-a-truly-new-gener...
See more stories from arri

Most recent headlines

19/11/2025

Sphere Sound Kicks Up Its Heels at Radio City Music Hall

Sphere Sound Kicks Up Its Heels at Radio City Music HallUltra-immersive system from the singular Las Vegas venue is also ready for sportsBy Dan Daley, Audio Edi...

19/11/2025

The Future of Stadium and Arena Video Control Rooms: Tech Leaders Talk 4K, IP, and More

The Future of Stadium and Arena Video Control Rooms: Tech Leaders Talk 4K, IP, a...

19/11/2025

One Year at Intuit Dome: Walking Through the Stunning Arena's Advanced Video Production Layout with the LA Clippers

One Year at Intuit Dome: Walking Through the Stunning Arena's Advanced Video...

19/11/2025

SVG Sit-Down: IMG's Francois Westcombe Goes Inside IMG's Annual Digital Trends Report

SVG Sit-Down: IMG's Francois Westcombe Goes Inside IMG's Annual Digital ...

19/11/2025

Inside Brighton & Hove Albion's Fan-First Media Machine

Inside Brighton & Hove Albion's fan-first media machine By George Bevir Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - 10:10 Print This Story Brighton & Hove Albion'...

19/11/2025

Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 1: Kansas Athletics Brings New Production Power to Rebuilt David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium

Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 1: Kansas Athletics Brings New Production Power to Rebu...

19/11/2025

Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 2: A Pro's Guide to Kansas Athletics' New Video-Production Infrastructure

Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 2: A Pro's Guide to Kansas Athletics' New Video...

19/11/2025

MLB Media Rights Shakeup: NBC Inks Three-Year Deal for Sunday Night Baseball, Peacock Exclusive Game, and More

MLB Media Rights Shakeup: NBC Inks Three-Year Deal for Sunday Night Baseball, Pe...

19/11/2025

Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) Takes a Tender View on Queer Relationships

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade attends the premiere of Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Pa...

19/11/2025

Sundance Institute-Supported Seeds, Apocalypse in the Tropics, Selena y Los Dinos, and More Earn IDA Documentary Awards Nominations

Awards season is heating up, and the International Documentary Association just ...

19/11/2025

L3Harris Breaks Ground on Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities

Aerojet Rocketdyne President Ken Bedingfield and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders were joined by state and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking o...

19/11/2025

L3Harris and PentenAmio Team to Advance Sovereign Cryptographic Capability and Innovation in the UK, Australia and Canada

L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...

19/11/2025

Multi-year partnership for Calrec and Phoenix Broadcast Solutions

Calrec gives Phoenix Broadcast Solutions its full support in strategic multi-year enterprise partnership New Singapore OB company invests in Calrec technology f...

19/11/2025

The Gauge: Poland | October 2025

October brings a larger audience in front of TV screens. The cooler autumn weather and the continuation of new programming schedules brought increases in both t...

19/11/2025

Nexstar Urges FCC to Waive Ownership Rules, Quickly Approve Tegna Acquisition

IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...

19/11/2025

Vitec Buys Datapath, Expanding Product Portfolio, Engineering, Support

Vitec has acquired Datapath, a developer of real-time video processing for large-scale video walls, AVoIP content distribution and KVM control in mission-critic...

19/11/2025

Telestream Unveils ARGUS V2.3 With Live Look Stream Validation

NEVADA CITY, Calif. Telestream has introduced ARGUS Version 2.3, which introduces Live Look, a feature that lets operators inspect live and on-demand streams vi...

19/11/2025

Charter Taps AWS for Generative AI Solutions

STAMFORD, Conn. and NEW YORK Charter Communications, Inc. has announced a major deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that establishes AWS as one of Charters stra...

19/11/2025

Atomos Adds New Camera Control Features to Ninja TX

TOKYO Atomos has announced a major firmware update that brings integrated camera control to the Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX its new CFexpress-based monitor-recor...

19/11/2025

Berklee's Signature Series Reimagines the Musical and Visual Artistry of Coldplay

Berklee's Signature Series Reimagines the Musical and Visual Artistry of Col...

19/11/2025

PlayBox Neo Wraps NAB Show New York 2025 with Big Energy...

PlayBox Neo departed the NAB Show New York 2025 on a high note. The company's all-new PlayBox Neo Suite made a splash on the show floor, drawing strong inte...

19/11/2025

AAVBR Boosts Event Production Efficiency With Pliant Tech...

AAVBR (American Audio Visual Baton Rouge), a leading full-service event production company serving Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region, has enhanced its product...

19/11/2025

Calrec gives Phoenix Broadcast Solutions its full support...

In its mission to deliver live event services combining advanced engineering with a creative approach to captivating live sports and entertainment experiences, ...

19/11/2025

Popularity of Online Short-Form Content Moving Beyond Social Media

NEW YORK Short-form vertical video has exploded across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, but a new survey commissioned by Media.net, a provider of c...

19/11/2025

YES Network, CAMB.AI Strike AI Translation Partnership

NEW YORK YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, and CAMB.AI have struck a partnership they said will leverage ...

19/11/2025

FCC Releases New Filing Deadlines

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those fil...

19/11/2025

NFL's Popularity Advances TV Seasonal Viewership Growth

NEW YORK The popularity of NFL games is largely responsible for continued seasonal momentum in TV viewership into October (measured Sept. 29-Oct. 26), according...

19/11/2025

MyFree DirecTV Adds Seven New Channels

DirecTV has announced that its MyFree DirecTV streaming service has added seven new channels. Those include four sports services, NBA FAST, Red Bull TV, DAZN Ri...

19/11/2025

MRMC's Flair Bridge Simplifies Robot Control Across Any Platform

SURREY, U.K. Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has launched Flair Bridge, a compact device that transforms how operators control the company's motion-contr...

19/11/2025

FCC Sets Deadlines for 2022 Quadrennial Review

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission, which is continuing to rapidly ramp up its operations after the end of the federal government shutdown, has se...

19/11/2025

Nexstar Urges FCC to Waive Ownership Rules, Quickly Approve of Tegna Acquisition

IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...

19/11/2025

Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom to enable testing and validation of next-gen Wi-Fi 8 chipsets

Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom to enable testing and validation of n...

19/11/2025

Innato, starring Imanol Arias and Elena Anaya, arrives on Netflix in Spain on December 12

Back to All News Innato, starring Imanol Arias and Elena Anaya, arrives on Netf...

19/11/2025

Guillermo del Toro Sits Down With 'Troll 2' Director Roar Uthaug to Discuss Creatures and Folklore

Back to All News Guillermo del Toro Sits Down With Troll 2 Director Roar Uthaug...

19/11/2025

A Look Behind Luxembourg's Most Ambitious Broadcast

Some projects feel monumental from the moment the first phone call comes in. When BCE, the host broadcaster appointed to coordinate the national coverage, asked...

19/11/2025

Bay Area Host Committee And Dolby Partner To Deliver Immersive Fan Experiences

November 19 2025, 08:00 (PST) BAY AREA HOST COMMITTEE AND DOLBY PARTNER TO DELIVER IMMERSIVE FAN EXPERIENCES During the Week of Football's Biggest Game...

19/11/2025

New RT documentary on the life of former President Michael D. Higgins

Michael D. Higgins: Ireland's Ninth President features RT Archives footage and interviews across seven decades Watch Wednesday 19 November at 9:35pm on RT...

19/11/2025

November 18, 2025

Scripps Research scientists receive $1.1 million to advance AI modeling for HIV vaccine development New AI system helps scientists rapidly pinpoint the most pro...

18/11/2025

AGILE: Securing the Future of Independent Journalism

Independent media across Central America are operating under intensifying financial pressure, yet there is a clear appetite for models that can sustain both ind...

18/11/2025

NBA Debuts New Comms Infrastructure and Systems for Referees

NBA Debuts New Comms Infrastructure and Systems for RefereesTwo-phase rollout is intended to improve game flow, enhance officiating accuracyBy Dan Daley, Audio ...

18/11/2025

Platinum White Paper: How Aggreko Delivers Certainty for Broadcasters on the World Stage

Platinum White Paper: How Aggreko Delivers Certainty For Broadcasters On The Wor...

18/11/2025

Kiswe Extends DTC Products With Kiswe Core Cloud-Based Tool for Distributing Content to Any Platform

Kiswe Extends DTC Products With Kiswe Core Cloud-Based Tool for Distributing Con...

18/11/2025

Spanish Basketball Federation Partners with ScorePlay to Power Digital Transformation

Spanish Basketball Federation partners with ScorePlay to power digital transform...

18/11/2025

HBS Selects BBright Encoders and Decoders to Connect ST 2110 Live Production Workflows to the Cloud via SRT

HBS selects BBright encoders and decoders to connect ST 2110 live production wor...

18/11/2025

Ashes to Ashes: Inside TNT Sports' Hybrid and Maverick' Production Plan for Coverage of Cricket's Oldest Rivalry

Ashes to Ashes: Inside TNT Sports' hybrid and maverick' production plan...

18/11/2025

SVG All-Stars: Mimi Fotopoulos, Director, Talent and Production Operations, Tennis Channel

SVG All-Stars: Mimi Fotopoulos, Director, Talent and Production Operations, Tenn...

18/11/2025

Sports and Entertainment Convergence: Productions Share Tech, Infrastructure

SVG LIVE! Conference Explores the Tech Side of Sports and Entertainment ConvergenceLive sports and music productions increasingly share gear and infrastructureB...