SYDNEY—“The Bachelor Australia” received a significant aesthetic makeover for Season 10 with the deployment of the Sony FX6 Cinema Line camera and its full-frame sensor.
The show, a franchised version of “The Bachelor,” which has aired since 2002 in the United States, is hosted by Osher Günsberg and is one of the most viewed programs on Network 10. Warner Bros. Discovery, produces the Australian spin of the popular show.
“As a worldwide brand, ‘The Bachelor’ looked to evolve and rejuvenate the format for Season 10. As the series director and alongside our DP Geoff Thomas, I was tasked with giving the series an overall visual with true cinematic qualities. The Sony FX6 was the perfect camera for this job,” said Warner Bros. Discovery director Dave Wallace.
Wallace wanted to use a full-frame camera capable of handling any situation and the volume of footage that must be shot—all with goal of maintaining the high production values the show has established.
“The FX6 body size allows our DP and operators to shoot off the shoulder [and] mount [the camera] on cars, a jib or Steadicam. The low light capabilities are incredible, which helps us approach the grade differently. The FX6 also slotted in perfectly from a production and post-production perspective,” said Wallace.
“Transitioning from the Sony F5 to the FX6 is seamless for the Warner Bros. post-production team," he continued. "Our camera department are very familiar with the Sony system so the FX6 was the perfect upgrade.”
While the FX6 offers a variety of features Wallace finds helpful in achieving the look he is going for, it is the camera’s full-frame sensor that really shines, he said.
“For me the FX6’s full-frame sensor combined with prime lenses is the superior look for broadcast. Put simply, this means when I’m at the monitors I’m always very confident we have hit the visual brief and that is a major plus,” he said.
At any given time on a daily basis, eight camera operators are shooting with the Sony FX6, which means a great amount of content is produced for the show. The post team regularly offers its feedback to express how impressed it is with the FX6 footage, he said.
“With up to eight camera operators rolling for up to ten hours a day the FX6 camera is a true workhorse. As a result, all of our principal photography is shot on the Sony FX6. The post team are amazed by the FX6’s ability to handle any lighting environment—whether it’s middle of the day sun or a scene lit only with streetlamps—and they love working with the footage. It’s a real win-win for everybody involved in the production,” he said.
Across the camera team, there are mix of zooms and prime lenses in use. Stylized frames with foreground and light flares along with 75fps portrait sequences help make up a typical day of shooting. “There is really no environment that is off limits, especially with the low light capability of the FX6,” he said.
The typical production workflow sees Wallace and the crew shooting 1920x1080 with the XAVC codec and in SLOG3 Cine. The frame rates are regularly 25fps as well as 50fps and 75fps when they are off-speed.
“The pictures the FX6 produces are beautiful. It’s also a robust and nimble camera which makes it perfect for multi-cam reality TV,” he said.
More information on the camera is available online.
