Sony has revealed details of its work to support 3Cat (TV3), the national Catalan broadcaster, in its coverage of the Papal visit to Barcelona.
Featuring Pope Leo XIV’s visit to the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, which marked the official inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ, the live HDR international broadcast utilised around 20 cameras from the Sony Cinema Line, including the VENICE 2, ILME-FR7 and ILME-FX6.
Facing significant challenges presented by the Basilica’s architecture and uneven natural lighting, the creative and production teams selected 10 Sony VENICE 2 cameras to deliver high quality images for the main shots, with the units’ “exceptional” low light response enabling the users to capture footage during the night artistic show, said the company.
Seven ILME-FR7s and three ILME-FX6s allowed coverage from hard-to-reach angles with compact form factors and mobility enabling the most dynamic shots. Additionally, Fujinon Duvo lenses and Sony E-mount lenses were deployed.
All three camera models share Sony’s colour science, simplifying the live production workflow and ensuring consistency throughout.
The Sony deployment was combined with PhotoCine’s OB3 mobile unit, integrated with the Sony XVS mixer and Sony PVM-X and BVM-HX reference monitors. Production for 3Cat was led by Pauli Subira with technical direction led by British broadcast consultant Hector Sole-Bradshaw Beltran alongside a team from the 3Cat (TV3) Technical Department (IDT).
Paulí Subirà Claramunt, director of photography at 3Cat, commented, “Catalonia’s national television broadcaster has always been at the forefront of audiovisual technology and, as such, on such a special occasion—the completion of a monument as iconic as the Sagrada Familia—we had to rise to the challenge. We had previously produced the musical Mar i Cel in the Broadcast Cinematography format, gaining experience with the tools and workflows; the big difference is that, with the Sagrada Familia, the live broadcast adds an extra layer of complexity. When we began to bring the creative narrative to the screen, we saw clearly that the technology used had to be adapted to tell the story properly.
“With its Cinema Line range of products, Sony is able to provide solutions for all the necessary segments of a project of this scale. For the main cameras, the cinematic heritage of the VENICE and the 3200 ISO sensitivity of the VENICE 2’s sensor makes them the perfect choice for a night-time spectacle where light takes centre stage.”
Sole-Bradshaw Beltran added: “The FR7 and FX6 complete the line-up in roles where compact size is essential, yet image quality and consistency are of the utmost importance. For quality control of the international UHD-HDR HLG signal, having the technology of the 4000 cd/m² Grade 1 mastering monitor, the BVM-HX3110, allows us to work in HLG1000ETX and 2000EXT, guaranteeing the quality of the image distributed worldwide.”
