Sony and Lega Serie A collaborate to make the Beautiful Game more beautiful at the Coppa Italia Final

Basingstoke, 24 May 2023 – Lega Serie A is set to use cutting edge Sony cameras and technology systems for Italy’s biggest football event of the year, the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa final, with equipment which bring the drama and emotion of the stadium to life in a way never seen before.

The 2023 Coppa Italia Frecciarossa Final will decide the winners of the 2022–23 Coppa Italia Frecciarossa, the 76th season of Italy’s premier football Cup, the Coppa Italia, between Fiorentina and Inter. It takes place on May 24^th at 9 pm in Rome’s legendary Stadio Olimpico.

Having worked together on last year’s Coppa Italia Frecciarossa Final, Sony and Lega Serie A have forged a strong relationship and have a common drive to use innovation to bring the best coverage to sports fans and make the beautiful game more beautiful.

For this year’s final, the partnership has grown into a large-scale filming operation, using three new and innovative pieces of technology to highlight the drama, improve on-screen detail, and capture the emotions of high-stakes moments.

Highlight technologies being employed there are:

• Using a Sony HDC-F5500 as the main camera with a Fujifilm HKZ-25-1000mm lens to broadcast in better than 4K quality
• Adding a new variable ND filter to Sony HDC-3500s to produce the highest quality image, create the freedom to alter depth of field, and to allow slick transitions between different types of shots without compromising image quality
• Capturing the drama and emotion in the player’s tunnel with an FR7-Sony’s full-frame, interchangeable lens PTZ camera

HDC-F5500 – bringing both clarity of broadcast and cinematic, emotional storytelling.

The Sony HDC-F5500 is being used in combination with a Fujifilm HKZ-25-1000mm lens as ‘camera 1’ for the final, meaning it’s the principal camera, delivering the wide shot of the pitch and will be used to broadcast a significant amount of the match.

The camera maintains a broadcast look while delivering clarity and realism to live sports coverage. By using a UHD S35mm CMOS sensor with global shutter technology, the HDC-F5500 delivers a stunning clarity alongside the new PL mount HZK lens from Fujifilm to maximize the quality of the most important camera filming the match. From the words on player’s shirts to the texture of the grass on the pitch, viewers will be able to see more of the game than ever before.

In addition, the HDC-F5500 and HZK lens slot into existing workflows easily, creating a seamless operational experience for operators.

Optical Variable ND Filter with HDC-3500s for Improved Shading

The HDC-3500 cameras being used to film the final are fitted with an optical variable ND filter, offering a new way of shading during image capture. This technology, which is part of Sony’s Virtual Iris function, produces the best picture quality and means vision engineers no longer need to worry about image quality changing due to shading alterations when used in dynamic lighting conditions.

Thanks to the depth of field control capability with variable ND, vision engineers can freely change depth of field without constraint due to the lighting conditions. With this, one camera can perform multiple roles, which is beneficial for media production companies. A single camera with a single operator can switch between two depths of field with minimal effort, perfect for sports broadcasts working in limited space, as well as multiple fast-changing environments to film in a short time period.

Both the HDC-F5500 and HDC-3500s being used at the game are fitted with one of Sony’s latest full HD OLED viewfinders, the HDVE-EL760. By combining full HD resolution with OLED, a quick response, high brightness viewfinder has been created-perfect for a fast-moving sporting environment.

ILME-FR7 – Capturing emotions in the Player’s Tunnel

A Sony FR7 will be used to capture the players’ expressions and emotions in the tunnel of the Stadio Olimpico throughout the night of the final, documenting the players’ reactions as the game unfolds. By using a full framed PTZ camera, viewers will see how the players are feeling up close without background distractions, thanks to the FR7’s shallow depth of field. The pan, tilt, zoom features of the camera will also make it easy to capture players’ emotions remotely in the stadium tunnel, an intimate space not usually fully accessible to cameras.

Elsewhere, Sony is also providing HDC-4800 cameras to film slow motion footage of the game, and FX6 and FX3 cameras to film the buildup to the big final, from the journey of the trophy to the stadium to behind the scenes of the match entertainment.

“Sony has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, so it’s great to welcome their knowledge, experience, and equipment to the Coppa Italia Frecciarossa Final” says Luisella Fusco – Media Operations & Broadcast Director, from Coppa Italia Frecciarossa Organiser, Lega Serie A. “The Coppa Italia Frecciarossa is always packed with action, and with people watching worldwide on screens, it is very important that we get as much of that drama across as we can. Thanks to the Sony team and innovative imaging technology, we are transforming sports content by using techniques normally used in entertainment formats.”

“The Coppa Italia Frecciarossa is one of Europe’s biggest football events so it’s really exciting to get involved with bringing the action to fans across the world and working with the Serie A and their partners has been a real pleasure.” says Koji Andachi, Head of Media Solutions Marketing at Sony. “We are constantly pushing technological boundaries to create the best viewer experience ahead of the final, and hope that this set up really brings across the excitement, drama, and beauty of the beautiful game”.