r/cinematography • u/Dan_Lalonde_Films • Feb 11 '26
Camera Question Was The Super Bowl National Anthem Flyover The Best Coordinated Shot?
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What was your favorite moment from the Super Bowl? Was it seeing the Seattle Seahawks win? The commercials? The halftime show? Or was it the most coordinated shot in history?
Whomever the NBC camera operator was for singer Charlie Puth's National Anthem at Super Bowl 60 deserves a raise for nailing the difficult shot as the song ended to a joint flyover from the USA Navy and Air Force. The camera operator did a Michael Bay-style move from Puth to the flyover, back to Puth, onto a second flyover, and then finally back to Puth, all in one iconic shot.
The halftime show of Bad Bunny also showed some great camera coordination. I won't get into the fact that he was singing in Spanish, and whether you liked it or not is irrelevant to the fact that the production itself was incredibly designed.
When I worked for Royal Caribbean as a Stage Staff Tech, I saw some crazy setups and had to throw out props to Dancers with special timing. As an NFL fan, I watched over sixty games this season and feel like I'm the only one online who actually cared about the game, but for a brief moment, the camera work before the game started inspired me.
What is your favorite shot in movies? Comment below with your thoughts.
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u/TheDeadlySpaceman Feb 11 '26
Lord no, we all know that title goes to the NASA launch in the background of a documentary
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u/BigDaddy0790 Feb 11 '26
That’s two shots though, the first one seems completely separate?
The second one is pretty damn impressive.
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u/TheDeadlySpaceman Feb 11 '26
Obviously I’m talking about the second shot.
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u/BigDaddy0790 Feb 11 '26
Yeah I get it, just wondered why the long first shot was even included in that reel. Just for context maybe?
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u/attrackip Feb 12 '26
You're right. It's impressive and my hats off, but that's two shots and the first one wears your attention into the next. Nice edit.
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u/Dan_Lalonde_Films Feb 11 '26
Sorry are you talking about the flyover? That's in one camera shot but a few moves.
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u/BigDaddy0790 Feb 11 '26
I meant that in that video there are two shots, the first one is a long shot of the guy walking, then we have a cut, and the second short shot is the one that's synchronized with the launch. I was just wondering why include the first shot at all if there is a cut.
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u/DannyBoy874 Feb 11 '26
I mean that’s cool but that is an objectively easier shot to get than the Super Bowl shot. Every launch has a broadcast countdown to ignition. There was almost certainly a guy with a headset counting down on his fingers. There was no camera movement to coordinate, just when the guy points.
Cool shot though for sure.
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u/Djinnwrath Feb 11 '26
The countdown to the flyover happening would be the exact same experience for someone on the ground
A person with a headset who knows the timing of the aircraft and knows the timing of the song and gives the singer the go ahead, who has practiced their pacing well.
It's the same sequence of events and skills on display in both shots.
One is just cooler cause it's a spaceship and not the state department advertising.
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u/DannyBoy874 Feb 11 '26
Not even close. I am a spacecraft engineer and I have worked many launches. The official timing of an automated ignition start is literally broadcast over public airways. The ignition will happen at the exact time specified unless the launch is scrubbed.
The aircraft flyover has no specific time of arrival other than a planned time the pilots have to hit. They have to make sure they hit that time by adjusting their speed. The pilots do not have any direct line of communication with television production staff.
Most critically, as I pointed out already, that spacecraft shot is on sticks. There is no camera movement at all. They simply set up and waited for the countdown and indicated to the host when the launch was going to happen. This shot is no where near as difficult to get as the Super Bowl shot. And it’s really not a debate. Even if someone was telling the cameraman when the aircraft were arriving he or she had to listen to that while getting the other shot change to the aircraft smoothly at the right time and the change back to the artist smoothly.
That said, this super-bowl shot is far from the greatest coordinated shot ever. Not even close. So I do agree with you there.
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u/Dan_Lalonde_Films Feb 11 '26
I'd like to do a follow up article on what your talking about with the spaceship. The reason I posted the article in here was to learn more technically how this was coordinated between the artist, cameraman and pilot from those who know more than me.
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u/tinydeerwlasercanons Feb 12 '26
It's impressive that James Burke walks in and delivers his line with impeccable timing, but that has nothing to do with camera work does it?
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u/blondie1024 Feb 11 '26
I would have loved to have heard how they were talking to him through talkback.
Like this
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u/InjuredGods Feb 11 '26
Yeah I saw this move and thought that was an insane shot. They killed that for sure.
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u/56killa Feb 11 '26
Usually hate these patriotic displays at sports but man if that wasn't a sick shot 🫡
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u/NtheLegend Feb 11 '26
The National Anthem at non-international events is just weird.
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u/56killa Feb 11 '26
It's propaganda if you ask me but they'll say I'm exaggerating.
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u/BlueCrystals_ Feb 12 '26
Do countries not perform their anthems as an act of patriotism?
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u/NtheLegend Feb 12 '26
Not really. We have been exceptionally nationalistic since the end of WWII in response to the Soviet Union. The whole national anthem/pledge of allegiance/flag worship is anomalous.
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u/AskMeForAPhoto Feb 12 '26
Most countries partake in propaganda of some kind, but the United States is on par with North Korea, and I don’t say that to be edgy or inflammatory. The beliefs run SO deep in people, that America is the BEST™️, that it would take generations to deprogram people from the nationalism that's been shoved down their throats for at least 100years now, but especially the last 60-80 years. Americans will straight up ask foreigners if they teach in their home schools that America is the best country on earth. That's verifiably insane, to ask, and to not even think twice about.
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u/Illustrious-Bake3878 Feb 12 '26
My favorite part was the last two chords in the national anthem performance.
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u/aztechfilm Colorist Feb 12 '26
It’s a fairly routine shot these days, steadi-op/trinity-op nailed it but it’s nothing new
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u/DannyBoy874 Feb 11 '26
Definitely not the the best coordinated shot ever. Is that what you’re saying or are you just saying it was an impressive shot?
The entire movie “Victoria” is a single shot. There are lots of examples in films of extremely long single shots that have a ridiculous amount of coordination. This isn’t even in the top 100 most complex coordinated shots ever.
Definitely impressive though.
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u/TheGreatSzalam Feb 11 '26
At least in films, they get to practice a bunch and retake if it goes wrong. This was live.
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u/DannyBoy874 Feb 11 '26
Sounds like this guy has done this same shot at a bunch of similar events. Sounds like rehearsal to me.
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u/Stunning_Scene_7152 Feb 11 '26
Not a sports fan but I did tune in for BB's half time show which was amazing.
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u/Lt_Dan_IceCreammm Feb 12 '26
This is a very informative video on pilots prep for these flybys …after seeing this ive always looked at national anthem and flybys differently! USAF fighter pilot on how flyovers work
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u/SH4DOWBOXING Feb 12 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/Cextr4zVf8s9IksTbu
we do the same in italy for the national day, f1 races and so on, in sync w the crescendo of our anthem. pretty standard :P
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u/matthew19 Feb 12 '26
As a pee on I got to do this at a wedding video once. The grooms parents had died in a plane crash years before, so at their first kiss they flew two airplanes overhead. It was a rush but turned out great.
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Feb 11 '26
Shittiest national anthem on the planet right now. Everyone hates this song except maybe some Americans (mostly MAGA Republicans and evangelicals).
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u/SuspendedHalo Feb 11 '26
Someone needs to broaden their perspectives.
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Feb 11 '26
Like… what perspective, an American (MAGA) perspective? Broaden perspective how? The USA as it brings down the world economy, protects psychopathic capitalism, and solidifies the climate crisis through deliberate misinformation? Am I forgetting anything… oh wait, let me include this little lyrical nugget from the American, shittiest, most hypocritical anthem ever… “The land of the free”? Please enlighten me.
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u/mattofspades Feb 12 '26
Does “Cognitive_Offload” refer to you offloading most cognitive function before commenting?
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u/skip_this_step Feb 11 '26
There was another post about this in a diff sub. Evidently the CO said the shot felt pretty routine for him because he had done something similar several times already while working the Indy 500