London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Benavidez v Yarde in Saudi Arabia

Anthony Yarde took an unsuccessful third shot at a world title, this time against WBA and WBC champion David Benavidez, while DAZN went all out to create a televised spectacle on 22 November in Saudi Arabia

At the recent Riyadh Season ‘The Ring IV: Night of the Champions’ boxing card that saw British light-heavyweight Anthony Yarde taking an unsuccessful third shot at a world title, this time against WBA and WBC champion David Benavidez, DAZN went all out to create a televised spectacle.

On 22 November in Saudi Arabia, American Benavidez took control of the fight, while DAZN took control of the cinematic drama for the pay per view evening that saw four world title fights take place back to back.

Engaging audiences

Speaking to SVG Europe, DAZN’s head of outside broadcast, David Rees, comments on the production and how it compared to the previous weekend’s event where Chris Eubank Jr took on Conor Benn for a rematch at Tottenham Stadium.

“Obviously it was a massive fight. There were two key differences [between the Saudi fight and previous weekend’s fight]. Eubank v Benn II was very much a UK focus for us; that’s where the market was going to be for that fight. But then The Ring IV in Riyadh, even though there was an Englishman – Yarde – on the main event, was very much a US-focused fight for us. There were four main event fights on that card, all with big name fighters.

“So for us [the planning] was looking at how our US audience would engage with it,” continues Rees.

The fight took place at the ANB Arena in Riyadh. Says Rees: “We looked at how we’d done events in that arena before; it’s a much smaller arena than a football stadium with a capacity of around 6,000. We tried to look at it and go, “okay, it’s a huge fight, how do we try and create or recreate a stadium feel but in a much smaller space?”.

DAZN regularly works with several suppliers in Riyadh, with Batcam, a creator of innovative camera solutions, Luna Remote Systems that supplies specialised remote camera systems, as well as Girraphic for AR graphics and Offshoot Operations for pres graphics [Credit: Leigh Downey Photography]

DAZN regularly works with several suppliers in Riyadh, with Batcam, a creator of innovative camera solutions, Luna Remote Systems that supplies specialised remote camera systems, as well as Girraphic for AR graphics and Offshoot Operations for pres graphics.

Rees turned to Luna to bring in something special for the Yarde v Benavidez fight. “Luna have got a Falcon system that’s out in Saudi now full time, amongst some other things, so we work with them on that.” The Luna Falcon four-point wirecam is a state of the art camera system that can be used in stadiums or studios, indoors or outdoors, in 2D configuration or 3D.

Rees continues: “One of the key things we’ve done over the last couple of events is worked closely with the lighting team, the rigging team. What we now have in that venue with the Luna four point camera is we have full venue coverage to fly underneath the ring. You’ve got the centre hang truss and then the screens and the lights above the ring; that normally trims to about 12 metres, so it’s a very difficult position to get a four point that can fly the full venue and also fly underneath that ring.

“We’ve now done it in that venue; we did it in August for Moses Itauma v Dillian Whyte and we did it a second time again for Yarde v Benavidez, which just means that when we’re doing pres on the stage with a Steadicam, Jordi [Alfaro] the director can fly that four point camera in and effectively trick the viewer into thinking it’s a Steadicam, then suddenly fly out, which is what we did. On Saturday we did a link on that camera and then effectively turned it around and flew it out and went and joined commentary ringside as part of the same link.”

Rees adds: “So it is trying to look at what does the venue have, what can we do in that venue that perhaps hasn’t been seen before or hasn’t been seen very often before, or looks new? I always try and approach each event with the thought of “okay, what can we do here that is slightly different? “. We might use exactly the same equipment, but it’s just about trying to think of ways that that equipment can be used to achieve outstanding results.”

London to Riyadh

The cameras used the previous weekend for the Eubank Jr v Benn fight were sent from London to Riyadh. Says Rees: “We shifted the same cameras and lenses from Tottenham on Sunday to Riyadh to arrive on Monday or Tuesday, to then rig them in the truck on Wednesday.

“It is about consistency because we want to make sure that those big events have consistently high production values, regardless of where they are in the world. [We took]a very similar approach to Tottenham in Riyadh, with a slightly scaled back view because of the size of the venue, but also looking at how we could make the smaller venue really stand out.”

DAZN’s Ring IV production of Benavidez v Yarde in Riyadh involved 16 cameras, which consisted of the following which were shipped from London’s Eubank v Benn II the weekend before:

4 x Sony F5500V cameras (first time globally four used on one show) (supplied by Livewhire)
6 x Sony 3500V cameras (supplied by Livewhire)
Luna Falcon 4 point camera (rigged so it can fly full venue including over boxing ring)
As well as 2 x Batcam Hold Cinestyle

Plus:

AR GFX from Girraphic
OB facilities Alamiya Media
Pres GFX Offshoot Operations

Teamed by:

Director: Jordi Alfaro
Producer Garry Barfoot
HDR Supervisor: Will Austin

Cinematic cameras were once again a key feature of the production. Notes Rees: “We have a number of cameras in boxing that give you that shallow depth of field that makes it work really well. But the handhelds on ringside – cameras three and four – you’ve got the boxers right in front of you, so you have that immediate shallow depth of field.

“The Steadicam does the boxer walks. The way we do pres with the boxing is we rarely have a studio – we did have one for Eubank v Benn II, but we rarely have a studio – and 95 times out of a hundred, our Steadicam will be our pres camera on stage.

“This weekend in Riyadh we had Kate Scott alongside Malik Scott and Sergio Mora as our talent, and we had a Sony F5500V on the steadicam doing pres. So then you’ve got that shallow depth of field, because you’ve got the talent right in front of you and you’ve got big screens behind you.”

Rees says use of the various cinematic cameras and lenses it applies to boxing that, “it’s actually using it in the right place and in the right way, not just blindly going, “we want to do this because it’s a thing, people are talking about it so we must do it”.”

He adds: “It’s got to fit what we’re doing and enhance it, and ultimately it needs to make it better for our viewers. We want to offer the best value, the best content. And for me, putting those [cinematic cameras] on boxing is part of that.”

This fight was DAZN’s second boxing show broadcast in 1080p HDR, following the Eubank v Benn II fight the previous weekend. “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,” concludes Rees.

DAZN Ultimate is a new comprehensive 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