Arri releases Alexa 35 Live – Multicam System for live productions

Arri has introduced the Alexa 35 Live – Multicam System, making the cinematic image quality of its flagship Alexa 35 camera available to the world of live productions, including sports, concerts, esports, fashion, corporate, talk shows, game shows, house of worship and more.

The system integrates into existing live production environments, providing the full functionality of a system camera while retaining the flexibility of a dockable camera setup. It sits alongside Arri lenses, lights, stabilisers and custom solutions that collectively demonstrate the company’s commitment to the live entertainment sector.

Over the past decade, Arri equipment has been relied upon for a variety of live production applications due to its image quality and reliability. International concert tours including Ed Sheeran, Adele, Coldplay, the Rolling Stones album launch, and leading half time shows at major sporting events are only a sampling of performances that have been captured by Arri’s Multicam System.

The Alexa 35 Live – Multicam System combines the new Alexa 35 Live camera, the new live production system LPS-1 (comprising a fibre camera adapter and fibre base station), the Skaarhoj RCP, and a slew of bespoke accessories. These include the new Arri Touchdown base and receiver plates, an adjustable monitor yoke, an extra-long camera handle, a tally light with camera ID display, a rain cover, and a new, quick-fit Arri large lens adapter for rapid setup with box lenses.

The Alexa 35 Live camera offers the unique Arri look. Supporting a current trend in live productions, the Super 35-sized 4K sensor enables shallow depth of field. Capturing 17 stops of dynamic range – more than any other camera on the market – it handles extreme lighting situations for the best results in SDR and HDR. Colours are rendered accurately through Arri’s proprietary Reveal Color Science, from bright, saturated colours to the subtlest shades.

Full-quality ProRes can be recorded in-camera during live productions, providing flexibility in post. The in-camera recording also permits stand-alone operation of the camera, without the fibre camera adapter. The modular lens mount can be switched between LPL, PL, EF and B4, facilitating a wide choice of lenses for different applications. Alexa 35 Live owners can even upgrade to full Alexa 35 functionality via an optional Cine License.

The Alexa 35 Live – Multicam System provides all the common live production shading controls, but it goes further, with additional creative options that can quickly give any project a fresh look.

Firstly, Arri Look Files can define a unique image character through specially developed Multicam Looks. One of 87 pre-made looks from the built-in Arri Look Library can be activated at the push of a button, catering to a huge variety of shooting scenarios. Secondly, Arri Textures are a unique method to modify grain and contrast. The camera includes five multicam and eight cine-style Arri Textures.

The fibre camera adapter of the Alexa 35 Live – Multicam System attaches to the camera quickly and easily, while the fibre base station integrates seamlessly into the engineering room or OB vehicle, supporting multiple simultaneous outputs such as HD, UHD, progressive, or interlaced video.

Connecting them is a SMPTE 311 hybrid fibre cable that includes copper connections to supply up to 400W of power for the camera and accessories. The hybrid cable also allows uncompressed 4K video transmission over a distance of up to 2km. Tactical fibre cable lengths of up to 10km can be used if the camera is powered locally. An additional extra fibre tunnel and Ethernet tunnel increase the system’s flexibility.

Extensive connectivity options on the fibre base station include four return inputs and 15 simultaneous SDI outputs for 3G, 6G and 12G in single, dual, or quad link, as well as SMPTE 2110 IP. Reliable operation is assured through Arri’s build quality and stringent quality assurance criteria, including an operating temperature range of -20ºC to +45ºC (-4°F to +113°F). The fibre base station also supplies a redundant 2022-7 network and hot-swappable, redundant power supplies.

For fast setup and easy configuration, the fibre camera adapter and the fibre base station provide status display and allow on-the-spot adjustments, saving time and hassle. Dedicated web interfaces allow full remote control, configuration, diagnostics and software updates of the camera, fibre camera adapter, fibre base station, and skaarhoj rcp. 

While the system is open to support any number of established remote control panels, the recommended tool of choice is the Skaarhoj RCP Pro Arri V2B. It combines classical RCP handling with a fully customisable interface, making the most of Alexa 35 Live’s image quality and offering additional creative possibilities.

By using Arri’s Camera Access Protocol (CAP), the Skaarhoj RCP enables traditional live painting as well as full control over camera settings, including some not covered by other RCPs, such as frame rate; REC start/stop; playback; selection of looks, Arri Textures and setup files; and more.