How the Golden Globes 2021 Were Shot Remotely

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by Jakub HanMarch 22^nd, 2021

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AbelCine provided remote camera kits and tech support for the 2021 Golden Globes. Each of the 14 kits for the nominees included a Canon 5D Mark IV camera with the Canon 24-70mm lens, Litepanels Astra 1X1 LED fixture, RØDE shotgun microphone, and a 27″ iMac.

Since the COVID-19 global pandemic started over a year ago, new challenges came up for all kinds of industries. When it comes to video & film productions, many of them started to use remote workflows.

Make sure to check our article on the topic – Is Remote the New Normal for Broadcast, Production, and Post?

Challenges and Opportunities

As always, new challenges come hand-in-hand with new opportunities. Apart from traditional camera manufacturers reacting to the new demand, we have also seen specialized products and services emerging to support high-quality remote productions. One example might be the so-called “Crew in a Box” that launched in June 2020.

Production and rental company AbelCine provided similar remote camera kits for this year’s Golden Globes – let’s take a short look at what they did.

Remote Camera Kits for the 2021 Golden Globes by AbelCine

It’s the new normal: when producing a live TV show, some participants just cannot come in person to the venue or studio due to travel restrictions or for safety reasons. When it comes to video conferencing, a standard Zoom call might be enough for smaller productions. For high-level productions, the audio and video quality is, however, insufficient. One solution is to build remotely-operated camera kits and ship them to the participants’ locations. Last year in September, AbelCine already provided very similar camera kits for the 2020 Emmy Broadcast.

The Assembly

The camera kits for the 2021 Golden Globe Awards again included the proven Canon 5D Mark IV cameras equipped with the Canon 24-70mm lenses. As the AbelCine team wrote in their blog post, the 5D Mark IV was chosen thanks to its image quality and robust remote control functionality via the EOS Utility software.

Each kit further included one Litepanels Astra 1X1 LED fixture, RØDE shotgun microphone, and a 27″ iMac. In total, 14 kits were built and tested by the AbelCine team in their Brooklyn location.

The Deployment

After building and testing, the remote camera kits had to be packed and shipped all accross the USA. After arrival on location, members of the AbelCine team or some local ACs unpacked the kits and set them up. In total, AbelCine provided kits to 14 nominees including: John Boyega, Matthew Rhys, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne Murphy, Jim Parsons, Laura Linney, Julia Garner, Amanda Seyfried, Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Nixon, Darren Star, Bob Odenkirk, Ethan Hawke, and Glenn Close.

Locations ranged from large hotel rooms to tiny rental spaces or to the talent’s own residence. At times, the delivery and set up teams had to make set changes as required from the Globes producers (Dick Clark Productions).

Tech Support

Apart from the camera kits, the AbelCine provided also the Tech Support team for the 2021 Golden Globes. The team helped bring the cameras online, troubleshoot any connectivity issues, and occasionally walk the talent (or the talent’s assistant) through small tweaks of the camera or lighting setup. The support team worked from multiple locations in the Tri-State Area, as well as the “Control Room” in the AbelCine NYC office.

Below, you can watch the highlights videos from the 2021 Golden Globes awards. In some countries, such as Austria where our HQ is located, these are unfortunately blocked on Youtube.

I think we will see similar workflows in use more often even after the current pandemic is “gone”. Do you agree?

Did you watch the 2021 Golden Globes? How did you like the quality of the production? Do you use a similar workflow in your productions? Let us know in the comments section underneath the article.

Source: AbelCine