Does anybody know what camera was used to shoot BBC's "Wonders of the Universe" ?

L

L1N3ARX

Well-known member
Does anybody know what camera was used to shoot BBC's "Wonders of the Universe" ?

It looks strikingly like Alexa footage, but I refuse to believe they hauled that camera everywhere they had to go in this series. It seems unlikely they would use such a high-end camera for a very travel-happy series, where it might be a little more run and gun based and in extreme locations / weather. That said, it looks stunning and I wish every documentary would be shot like this. Most of the time we see extremely high resolution 60fps footage and while great, the aesthetic here is pure eye candy.
 
Is that the one with Brian Cox? I've seen BTS footage that shows them with a DSLR rig (not 100% it was Wonders of the Universe, could have been one of his other series). Pretty sure it was a Canon, not sure what model. It's a small operation and I think he uses the same crew each time. I only saw a cameraman and sound guy, there's possibly a producer but if so didn't get in front of the camera.
 
BBC use Sony HD broadcast cameras almost exclusively... For Life and Planet Earth, they all used Sony HDC/HDW series...
 
simonpwood said:
BBC is PAL too, so I doubt they're shooting 60fps....
Click to expand...

Well of course not, I didn't say it looked like 60fps. There's nothing on IMDB technical details about the camera they used. I highly doubt it was a DSLR, I have a pretty good eye for that sort of thing and it certainly wasn't anything by Canon. It looked like Alexa footage though.
 
marvinhello said:
BBC use Sony HD broadcast cameras almost exclusively... For Life and Planet Earth, they all used Sony HDC/HDW series...
Click to expand...
That's not true. BBC may use Sony HD products, but they also use Varicams. Planet Earth's underwater stuff was Sony, but for the above-ground stuff that was Varicam. "The Great Rift" was Varicam. "The Great Flood" was Varicam. As far as "Life" goes, at least the "Fish" and "Reptiles And Amphibians" segments were Varicam (and some Super16 even). Most of "Frozen Planet" was Varicam.
 
Maybe it was a b-camera or for publicity stills. I remember where I saw it now, it was a BTS clip during a talk show where he was promoting the series about what's wrong with gravity. I think they used it for a timelapse in the clip. I only noticed it because I had been thinking about DSLR's a lot at the time, wondering if I should have got one instead of my HVX (after discovering how much accessories cost for a big camera - in the end decided I made the right choice).
 
As for "Wonders of the Universe", from what I can find, at least the aerials were shot on a Cineflex, and cinematographer Andrew Fleming was on it and he lists the cameras used as "HD P2". I would guess that means Varicam 2700 or Varicam 3700, but it could mean anything from an HVX200 on up I guess.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top