Sony is shooting and recording part of this week’s Wimbledon tennis championships in 4K, but it hasn’t confirmed whether its three-year production partnership with the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) will be renewed.
Sony is shooting and recording part of this week’s Wimbledon tennis championships in 4K, but it hasn’t confirmed whether its three-year production partnership with the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) will be renewed.
The previous two years, as this year, Sony has shot the tournament’s closing rounds and final in 3D with technical partner CAN Communicate. CAN has also provided technical facilities for the 4K test shoots at Wimbledon.
Sony said: “For the moment, we’re very much focused on the delivery of this year’s Championships and will be reviewing our partnership with the AELTC as part of future plans after the tournament has finished.”
Sony’s 4K footage was shot on Centre Court and Court Number One on Monday, the first day of the tournament, to test what the format can bring to the tennis experience.
Two of its F55 35mm 4K cameras and an NEX-FS700 were used to capture the action. All content was captured in RAW 4K using AXS-R5 recorders, linked directly to the F55’s or via the new HXR-IFR5 interface with the NEX-FS700.
Wimbledon 2013 will also see the last five days of the tournament, next week, including the men’s quarter finals, and the ladies and men’s semi-finals and finals matches, being broadcast live in 3D, which the BBC, Canal+ (Spain), ESPN (US), Nova (Greece) and Sky Italia plan to broadcast.
“Over the past two years, Sony and the AELTC have continued to push the production boundaries at Wimbledon and are excited to be able to raise the bar even further this year,” David Bush, director of marketing for Sony Europe, said.
“Sony’s 4K cameras allow us to shoot the tennis in fantastic detail and produce images that draw the viewer closer into the action on court more than ever before. Innovation is at the core of Sony’s mission, so having wowed TV and cinema audiences for the last two years with captivating 3D footage, we’re excited to see the benefits that 4K can bring to the sports world.”
Mick Desmond, commercial director of the AELTC added: “Having worked with Sony to bring the exhilaration of Wimbledon to the world in stunning 3D, we’re excited to be taking the production one step further this year, with both 3D broadcast and 4K shooting. We’re confident tennis fans the world over will be wowed with the most immersive viewing experience of Wimbledon to date and we look forward to pushing the boundaries once again.”
By Adrian Pennington
