What ALEXA 35 Live Means for Large-Scale Live Production
ALEXA 35 Live cameras are cinema-grade Super 35 systems adapted for live broadcast production, combining film-style dynamic range and color science with the control, reliability, and multi-camera workflow that large-scale event coverage demands. For Eurovision 2026, the entire song contest was shot with 24 ALEXA 35 Live cameras, marking the first time the event relied fully on cinema cameras. ARRI, long dominant in narrative cinema, treated the show as a proving ground for bridging the gap between film and broadcast. Over more than six weeks embedded with the crew, CineD documented how these cameras went from bare metal in Munich to a live final watched by around 180 million viewers, tracking every step of camera build, configuration, and on-site integration.
From Aluminum Blocks to Show-Ready Camera Chains
The cinema camera deployment began weeks before the first rehearsal, with ALEXA 35 Live units hand-built at ARRI’s headquarters. Technicians started from milled blocks of aluminum and titanium, installing the sensor and electronics, then pairing each body with accessories tuned for live work. In parallel, ARRI’s Vienna team assembled and tested LPS-1 Live Production System units, the fiber camera adapters that give shaders and operators familiar broadcast-style control. This preparation phase focused on reliability: every camera chain was built, addressed, and matched in Munich before shipping to the venue. The goal was to arrive on site with 24 complete systems that could drop straight into an outside broadcast workflow without slowing down the tight Eurovision build schedule or changing established crew habits.
Integrating Cinema Cameras into a Broadcast Truck
The live broadcast production hinged on fitting cinema cameras into an infrastructure designed for traditional broadcast systems. Eight camera control units for ALEXA 35 Live were integrated into an NEP outside broadcast van originally built around Grass Valley cameras, while cable cams, cranes, and wireless rigs fed through Riedel’s MediorNet signal backbone. According to CineD’s behind-the-scenes report, “the only hardware conversion required was a small interface adapter handling intercom and tally protocols; everything else came down to signal routing, intercom paths, and tele-return.” Inside the truck, each shader managed six to eight cameras at once, grading and matching them on multi-view monitors. The ARRI team described this as coordinated chaos, but the familiar control philosophy helped broadcast engineers accept the new camera system quickly.
Shading Workflow, Predefined Looks, and Multi-Camera Coordination
To keep 24 ALEXA 35 Live cameras aligned through dozens of songs, rehearsals, and lighting changes, ARRI tied camera looks tightly to the production rundown. The LiveEdit rundown system connected predefined looks to each camera, so shaders could recall optimized settings for specific acts or lighting cues in seconds. NEP Engineer-in-Charge Erhard Thüringer, a veteran of many large shows, reported that shading the ALEXA 35 Live felt “completely identical to standard broadcast cameras,” a crucial point for reliability and speed. Multi-camera coordination meant routing 27 video streams through ARRI’s on-site container and the OB truck, keeping intercom, tally, and return feeds in sync. This workflow let the director treat the cinema cameras like any other broadcast chain while still benefiting from their extended latitude and color response.
On-Air Performance and Lessons for Future Events
On screen, the larger Super 35 sensor and ALEXA 35 Live image processing changed how the show looked. Higher dynamic range prevented highlight clipping under extreme stage lighting, and the sensor size helped avoid moiré on bright LED walls. Skin tones held under shifting colored light, while pyrotechnic and fire effects kept detail and natural color where standard broadcast cameras often fail. Florian Rettich, responsible for the custom looks, built profiles that kept fire bright yet believable across acts. Thüringer summed up the technical verdict by saying that if he had to choose cameras for such a production himself, he would select the ARRI systems. The main lessons for future large-scale event coverage: cinema cameras can integrate into existing trucks, shaders accept them when control stays familiar, and the visual payoff is clear to audiences.
