Redefining Live TV with Cinema Cameras
The Eurovision Song Contest production on 24 ARRI ALEXA 35 Live cameras is a large-scale multi-camera production workflow where cinema-grade sensors, broadcast infrastructure, and real-time control systems combine to create a live broadcast that looks and feels like a feature film while still meeting the timing, reliability, and coordination demands of live television. For Eurovision’s 70th anniversary show, host broadcaster ORF set out to answer a direct question: what if live TV could look like cinema? ARRI, long dominant in feature filmmaking, brought its ALEXA 35 Live systems to a world traditionally ruled by Grass Valley and Sony live broadcast cinema cameras. The documentary 12 Points follows this experiment from early camera prep to grand final, examining how cinema hardware, new workflows, and a motivated crew managed to serve an event watched by about 180 million viewers worldwide.
From Munich Metal Blocks to Live-Ready ALEXA 35 Live Systems
The Eurovision journey for each ARRI ALEXA 35 Live began in Munich, where cameras are milled from solid blocks of aluminum and titanium before sensors and electronics are installed by hand. Weeks ahead of the contest, ARRI’s teams built, tuned, and matched 24 units so they would behave as one coherent fleet under live control. Parallel to the camera builds, ARRI’s Vienna branch assembled and tested the LPS-1 Live Production System fiber adapters that turn the ALEXA 35 Live into a broadcast-friendly head with return video, tally, intercom, and remote shading access. According to ARRI Managing Director David Bermbach, “all the cameras and everything we use here is produced just four hours by train away in Munich,” underscoring how the project played out almost on home turf. This tight geographic loop helped compress testing, iteration, and troubleshooting into a demanding six-week ramp-up.
Integrating Cinema Cameras into a Broadcast Truck
Once built, the challenge was to drop 24 cinema cameras into an outside broadcast truck designed for standard systems. NEP’s OB van, originally set up for Grass Valley gear, received eight ARRI camera control units, alongside cable cams, cranes, and wireless rigs tied together over Riedel MediorNet. Hardware changes were minimal: a compact interface adapter handled intercom and tally protocols, while the rest depended on careful signal routing, intercom mapping, and tele-return planning. Inside the truck, each shader handled six to eight cameras under intense time pressure, creating what ARRI called coordinated chaos as they matched exposure and color live. Veteran Engineer-in-Charge Erhard Thüringer reported that shading the ARRI ALEXA 35 Live felt “completely identical to standard broadcast cameras,” a crucial endorsement for a system stepping into established Eurovision production techniques.
Shading, Looks, and LiveEdit: Controlling 24 Cinematic Feeds
For a live contest where every performance changes lighting, color, and pace, central control over 24 ARRI ALEXA 35 Live feeds was essential. Shaders needed tools that felt familiar, so ARRI mapped traditional broadcast-style paint controls onto the LPS-1 units and camera menus. Custom looks for the show were prepared in advance, then tied into the LiveEdit rundown system so that predefined color pipelines could be cued in sync with each act. This allowed director and vision mixer to switch between cameras knowing that contrast, saturation, and skin tones would track a consistent aesthetic. The shaders’ role became both technical and creative: balancing the demands of exposure and white balance while preserving the “cinematographic look” that ORF’s directing team wanted. With 27 total streams monitored in the ARRI container, coordination between LiveEdit, truck, and stage had to be exact.
What the Larger Sensor Changed On Screen
The visual differences came from physics as much as from workflow. The Super 35 sensor in the ARRI ALEXA 35 Live is larger than typical broadcast sensors, yielding higher dynamic range and cleaner handling of complex stage environments. Under intense LED walls and moving lights, highlights stayed controlled instead of clipping, and the larger photosites helped eliminate moiré on fine LED patterns. Fire and pyrotechnic effects kept natural detail and color where conventional cameras often lose definition. Skin tones held up under fast-changing colored light, preserving a cinematic feel across performances. Colorist Florian Rettich used this headroom to design looks that kept fire “as natural as possible, still maintaining a certain brightness.” For viewers, the result was a live broadcast that felt closer to a movie than a TV show—without sacrificing the timing and reliability Eurovision demands.
