Joe GallopMontreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland is set to become the first music festival outside of Japan to use Sony’s new HDC-F5500 camera system, for the 56th edition of the event this year.
The use of the camera system – the latest entry in Sony’s HDC camera series which will be available in Europe from this Spring – is part of Montreux’s digital strategy to future proof the Lake Geneva festival through audio-visual content.
Montreux’s creative strategy included a global streaming partnership with media platform Stingray to livestream the festival annually across the world and the launch of its original artist content series Spotlight.
To deliver the festival’s production needs, Montreux has partnered with RTS (Radio Television Suisse) to bring the camera system to the festival’s Stravinski 4,000-capacity auditorium in 2022.
The camera system’s super 35-mm 4k CMOS sensors will capture wide shots of the Lake Geneva shoreline and close-ups of the artists.
Montreux Media Ventures CEO Nick Bonard said, “Sony and the festival already worked together in the 2000s to deliver full HD AV productions and today’s partnership is just the continuation of this long tradition.”
Sony Professional Europe head of live production Norbert Paquet said, “We’re delighted to add this camera to our portfolio which answers the increased demand for a cinematic look in the European music market in particular.
“Sony cameras are recognised for their advanced technology and workflow with reliability and length of life, making them a good choice from a sustainability perspective, and this new addition will no doubt serve our customers for many years to come through its innovative features and adaptability.”
RTS head of production Yannick Dumartineix said, “We did our first UHD wide sensor live shot test in Montreux during the 2014 edition. Since the artistic direction of Montreux Jazz Festival has decided to handle a cinematic look at the Stravinsky auditorium we were planning to use f-55.
“As our OBs are equipped with HDC-5500, the release of the F-5500 is time sync for us to go wide sensor on a smart way as we only have to replace the camera head and maintain the rest of the chain.”
This year’s Montreux Jazz Festival will take place from 1-16 July. The programme will be announced on 13 April.