The sensor demonstrator of ARRI’s next-generation digital camera system was recently put to use on its first professional production. Boasting a base sensitivity of 800 ASA and exceptional latitude, the 35-format CMOS sensor is named ALEV III and has been developed for three groundbreaking new ARRI digital cinematography cameras that will be released successively in 2010.

Shooting night exteriors: 1st AC Tommy Mann, Director/DP Ciro Cappellari (Photo by Fanes Film)

Ciro Cappellari, the acclaimed Argentinean-born director, cinematographer and writer, utilised the new ARRI sensor for selected sequences of Habemus Papam, his latest documentary feature. “We needed some representative shots of Rome, because our film explores the influence of the Vatican on the city,” says Cappellari. “For these shots we wanted a very high picture quality and a dramatic look, so we were filming at dawn and also at dusk. We did some shots of the sun coming through clouds onto St. Peter’s Basilica with at least ten stops of latitude and it was no problem for the ARRI camera. I had the feeling that I was working with a 35mm negative when I saw the pictures.”

Photo by Fanes Film

The sensitivity of the ARRI sensor demonstrator proved useful for interiors at the Sistine Chapel, where the production was forbidden from using any lights. “We were filming the architecture and the frescos,” continues Cappellari. “The light in the chapel was exactly the same as when those frescos were painted: a very low light that comes from windows at the top. It was beautiful to be able to film in that same light with the 800 ASA ARRI camera.”

No additional lighting was allowed (Photo by Fanes Film)

For Andreas Berkl, a support specialist from the ARRI Digital Workflow Team in Munich who provided on-set support, the shoot was an invaluable element of the exhaustive R&D work that ARRI is putting into the new digital cameras in advance of their launch next year.  “The system is still under development, so this was an excellent opportunity to test it in the field,” he says. “We were keen to use the demonstrator on a real production and we learned a lot.”

Photo by Fanes Film

The sensor’s unparalleled combination of sensitivity and image quality again proved useful for interiors at St. Peter’s Basilica. “It was important to have high resolution and sensitivity for some POV shots of the children in our story entering the basilica for the first time,” says Cappellari, who is currently editing the film. “Although we’re not editing in full resolution, I can already see the incredible quality of the pictures from the ARRI sensor.” Producer Norbert Preuss concludes that “it all went fantastically well. The images we got are absolutely great and the camera performed very well in extremely low light conditions.”