DAZN was the host broadcaster for the epic rematch that was Chris Eubank Jr versus Conor Benn II at Tottenham Stadium on November 15. With Benn winning by a unanimous decision, he avenged his previous loss to Eubank Jr while also making fantastic TV viewing.

DAZN’s David Rees, head of outside broadcast, is responsible for planning and implementing the technical productions of some of the most high profile boxing events globally for the broadcaster. For this massive fight night he utilised drones and cinematic cameras, as well as marking the first time DAZN has broadcast boxing in 1080p HDR.

On the run up to Eubank v Benn II, DAZN produced five shows from the Tuesday to Friday prior to the big fight, including the third instalment of the Boxraw sparring club that gives amateur boxers the chance to get in the ring in front of a crowd and cameras. Over Exposed was the technical services provider.

On how he prepared the production for the big fight, which was supported by OB facilities provider Gravity Media, Rees says: “We looked at the first event and thought 65,000 people in Tottenham – it was huge – the atmosphere in there was amazing. Was there anything that we could do in the second event that we didn’t do in the first event? We looked across camera plans. Obviously we had a number of cinematic cameras [this time around,] as we did before. But we thought one thing perhaps that we could do to show the scale of the event is additional use of drones.”

Camera Plan

Drone spectacular

Batcam provided the drones for the production, as well as some cameras. Says Rees: “We had three drones from Batcam, as well as one Batcam Hold Cinematic camera: we had their Batcam Fly drone, which is the big two metre wide drone, up high and wide, which gives you the wonderful overhead views. [At Tottenham] they’ve got lights that fly around the roof of the stadiums as well so when you’re up [with the drone] and the ring walks are happening, it looks incredible.

“And then we use their Baby Bat, which almost a first person view (FPV) drone; it’s a smaller drone that can fly around people. So that’s getting exterior shots, that’s getting arrivals as people come in. But it can fly lower, it can fly closer.

“Then something we looked at was how do we get – other than a big high wide shot from a drone that’s flying 50 metres up in the air – how do we show the sense of the scale of the event? So we used the new the Batcam FPV.”

He continues: “The opening piece was a drone starting up at the big golden cockerel right at the top of the Tottenham stadium, flying down around the stadium and then ending up going into the ring to Ade [Oladipo, lead presenter for DAZN Boxing] who was doing his opening piece to camera there. It showed this massive stadium we were in.”

Rees adds: “Using the technology that is now available to be able to fly inside these venues to start the show with a bang and show the scale of where we are and do something that I personally hadn’t done before, is great.”

DAZN has been working on the cinematic look for the biggest boxing shows in its portfolio for the last 12 to 18 months. For this event, cinematic cameras once again brought every blow into a clearer depth for fans at home, with DAZN pushing the boundaries of what was possible with cinematic cameras to make the most of the fighters.

Cinematic cameras are a key component of DAZN’s creative view of boxing, says Rees. “One of the key things that we’re looking at right now for these biggest events is around the cinematic look of it, using cameras and lenses to try and achieve that cinematic look,” he explains.

On what is pushing DAZN along this cinematic perspective, Rees says: “It’s trying to push the boundaries of the biggest events and make the biggest events as engaging as possible. It is not something we would do on most events but those biggest events – you look at Eubank v Benn II which was probably one of the biggest fights this year – and it’s about making them stand out.

“I think also boxing is a sport where [cinematic cameras] works. It’s not something I want to do for the sake of doing it. If we were doing it and spending the extra money and actually looking at it and going, “that doesn’t make any difference,” then I wouldn’t do it.”

Keeping it fresh

For the big rematch, Rees continued to try new things. “We’re always keen to be trying to push the boundaries of new technology that’s available just to try and really make these shows look amazing and stand out from other boxing shows,” says Rees.

DAZN works closely with UK rental firm, Livewhire. “We do quite a lot of work with Livewhire. [I say to them] if you get anything, let me know what you’ve got and if we can make it work, we’ll make it work,” Rees notes.

“For the Eubank Benn II fight, we had four Sony F5500V’s. When we did Eubank v Benn I, we had the first one of those Sony F5500V’s with serial number one on that fight, and now Livewhire’s got four of them, so effectively it was the first time globally that four of those cameras were used together on an event.

“We had also two of the brand new Canon Novel UJ122 lenses to then augment that cinematic look and again, it was a global first for the use of both of those,” continues Rees. “We had a representative from Canon on site on the rig day and I was chatting to him and he said that it’s been used previously on shows but it’s never been used live. They’d had it as an alongside to see what it looked like, but we thought it looks great, so we’ll take the plunge and go with it.”

DAZN’s Eubank v Benn II production involved 26 cameras at Tottenham Stadium, which consisted of:

• 4 x Sony F5500V cameras (first time globally four used on one show) (supplied by Livewhire)
• 6 x Sony 3500V cameras (supplied by Livewhire)
• 2 x Canon Novel UJ122 lenses (first time globally these have been used on a live show) (supplied by Livewhire)
• Luna Falcon 4 point camera
• 3 x drones from Batcam: Batcam Fly for high and wide exteriors, Baby Bat for exterior low crowd shoes, Batcam FPV for the show’s opening link inside Tottenham Stadium.
• 1 x Batcam Hold Cinematic
• Pres GFX Offshoot Operations

Plus:

• AR GFX from Girraphic
• OB facilities Gravity Media

Teamed by:

• Director: Jordi Alfaro
• Producer: Jason McCarthy
• HDR Supervisor: Mike Davies

Rees has also worked with Arri on the development of its cinematics cameras, he says: “We’ve trialled stuff with Arri with their Alexa Live setup, and the shots you get from the cameras look amazing. They’ve got a little bit of work to do around super slow mo capability and things like that, so it is not quite there yet. When they do get there, I’ll be very interested to have another look because the shots and what comes out of those cameras looks amazing.” The Arri Alexa 35 Live Multicam System brings the cinematic Arri look along with HDR, and creative control to live productions in a dockable multi-camera setup.

1080p HDR first

Additionally, this fight and the following weekend on 22 November in Saudi Arabia, ‘The Ring IV: Night of the Champions’ where Anthony Yarde took on David Benavidez, were the first boxing events where DAZN has moved to 1080p HDR. Previously, DAZN produced boxing in 1080p SDR or 1080i.

Explains Rees: “Both of these events are the first boxing events we’ve produced in 1080p HDR. Obviously, 1080p HDR is not something new and as a business we’ve taken in feeds and we produce UCL in Germany and so on and so forth and we produce a bunch of HDR content, but for boxing, the last two events were the first two events we’ve produced in 1080p HDR.”

He says on why now: “Most broadcasters have one territory that they’re covering, and they will take a feed in and put it out onto their platform, whether it be streaming, whether it be linear.

Concludes Rees: “So again, we’re looking at those biggest events now, improving that picture quality, improving that experience, so for those who are able, that 1080p HDR becomes available for the biggest events.”

DAZN Ultimate is a new boxing subscription offered by the platform, which includes a minimum of 12 pay-per-view (PPV) fight nights per year. Chris Eubank Jr v Conor Benn II and Ring IV: Night of Champions were two PPV events exclusive to DAZN that were included in the subscription. The plan provides fans with more flexibility in how they buy and watch world class events, complementing DAZN’s existing offering