Cloudbass has engineered a proprietary cine-style camera platform called Cloudcam, answering broadcasters’ growing appetite for shallow depth-of-field visuals in live sports.
The outside broadcast specialist built the unit around a Sony A7 full-frame sensor paired with a DJI RS5 gimbal. A licence-free DJI transmission link feeds pictures back to the production truck, while a custom-built control system, currently in prototype form, manages camera operations remotely. Operators can add a servo for zoom control when a production demands it.
Managing director Steve Knee pointed to the company’s long-standing vertical integration strategy. Cloudbass already runs its own RF division, power, and graphics services, he noted. The firm moved motorsport onboard cameras to HD for ITV’s British Touring Car Championship back in 2014, following a tapeless transition three years earlier.
“Developing specialist camera systems ourselves is a natural extension of that approach,” Knee said.
The shallow-focus aesthetic has become standard in elite football coverage, including World Cups and European Championships, and has long featured in drama and entertainment programming. Cloudbass previously tested cinematic framing at the Joshua versus Dubois fight at Wembley, using Sony cameras and Fujinon lenses. Cloudcam could handle crowd shots, tunnel sequences, player close-ups, post-match interviews, and boxing ring walks.
A bespoke laptop application sits at the heart of the control architecture. Commands travel over Cloudbass’s own RF network to a Raspberry Pi mounted on the rig, which translates them into Sony’s control protocol. Because Cloudbass owns the entire signal chain, Knee explained, the system can evolve around specific production and operator needs.
Key advantage: controlling and racking the camera at the source rather than correcting colour after the signal reaches the truck. That delivers better consistency, particularly in HDR, Knee said.
Cloudbass evaluates RF conditions per production. The DJI link suits relatively clear spectrum environments, while licensed RF handles congested venues. The system already has a broadcast client and a football cup competition lined up, though Knee declined to name either.
He added that Cloudbass aims to fold more specialist OB compound functions into its own operation, cutting costs and improving integration. “Ultimately, that allows us to provide a more efficient service and, more importantly, a better service for our customers,” he said.
