Inside Red Bull Dance Your Style: How Screencraft built its live production workflow

In live production, there are no second takes.

When Screencraft was tasked with capturing the Red Bull Dance Your Style national finals in Sydney, the challenge was to deliver an immersive, broadcast-quality production from a fast-moving live event in front of 4,000 people, with every camera ready to perform from the moment the music started.

Summary

Screencraft built a nine-camera Canon setup combining Cinema EOS and PTZ cameras within a centrally controlled live production workflow. Here’s how the team approached the production, from camera placement and XC Protocol to wireless operation and managing the venue’s challenging lighting conditions.

Watch the film to see the production in action, or scroll for the full breakdown.

EOS C400

From floor cameras and gimbal rigs to wireless roving setups, the EOS C400 played a central role in capturing every moment of the Red Bull Dance Your Style Australian national finals.

View the EOS C400

What is Red Bull Dance Your Style?

Red Bull Dance Your Style is a global freestyle dance competition where dancers go head-to-head and the crowd decides who progresses.

At the Australian national finals in Sydney, 16 dancers competed in front of a crowd of 4,000.

For the production team, the format presented a unique challenge. Freestyle dance is fast and unpredictable. The stage-in-the-round environment required coverage from multiple directions, while the venue combined bright lighting and LED screens with areas of deep shadow.

There was no opportunity to repeat a moment if a camera missed it.

What were the live production challenges?

Cinematographer, producer-director, and Screencraft founder Michael Fardell ACS and his team were tasked with capturing the energy of the room while delivering a reliable multi-camera production.

“We can't afford for anything to go wrong. Red Bull has pretty high expectations for us. Having the Canon gear has really helped to do the heavy lifting for us.”

Michael Fardell , accredited Australian Cinematographers Society member (ACS), Screencraft

For Fardell, the production came down to two fundamental requirements: reliability and image quality.

“Two basic tenets of live production are reliability and good pictures. When you plug it in, it comes up and it works, whether it’s rain or shine.”

The production team also needed to make audiences feel immersed in an event unfolding in front of thousands of people.

Achieving that meant carefully considering where each camera was positioned, how fixed and roving cameras could work together, and how the entire system could be controlled consistently throughout the show.

What Canon cameras were used at Red Bull Dance Your Style?

Screencraft deployed nine Canon cameras, with each position chosen to serve a specific role in the production.

How did Screencraft control nine Canon cameras with XC Protocol?

At the centre of Screencraft’s setup was Canon XC Protocol.

XC Protocol enables compatible Canon cameras to communicate over an IP network, allowing camera functions to be controlled remotely as part of a networked production environment.

For Red Bull Dance Your Style, all nine cameras fed back to a central rack, allowing the team to manage picture and colour across the system from one control point.

“What surprised me about XC Protocol was the ability to have consistent control across all the cameras, no matter the model. That is really exciting.”

Michael Fardell ACS, Screencraft

This was particularly valuable in a live environment.

“All you simply need to do is have a data network and you can control every parameter on the camera from white balance through to tally.”

The production also bridged the director’s switcher with the Canon interface. When the director selected a camera, tally could indicate to the camera operator that they were live.

Rather than requiring operators around the location to make colour adjustments themselves as the show progressed, those changes could be managed centrally.

For Screencraft’s roving EOS C80 and EOS C400  cameras, the workflow could extend wirelessly.

“Having this capability is such a game changer, especially with the EOS C80 and the EOS C400 on the roving cameras, because they're not tethered to anything.”

Michael Fardell ACS, Screencraft

This meant that the roving cameras could retain their freedom of movement while remaining part of the wider production workflow.

“We wouldn't be able to do this live production without that.”

How did the Canon cameras handle the venue’s changing light?

“In a concert venue like this, we're going to have really bright lighting and LED screens and then really dark shadows,” Fadel explains. “There's a huge contrast – and what we want to be able to do is not be riding the iris the whole time. We want to be able to let the camera do its thing.”

For Fardell, the cameras’ ability to handle that contrast was critical to the live workflow.

Dynamic range is really important in the camera, and the Canon range is handling the dynamic range really well.

What were the production results?

In front of 4,000 people, the nine-camera setup delivered the coverage Screencraft had planned, from dynamic gimbal tracking to the overwide wide shot capturing the scale of the venue.

For Fardell, the real measure of success was that the technology allowed the team to focus on the production itself.

“The cameras didn't get in the way of doing our job. They just enhanced what we were trying to do and captured all the atmosphere of the room. It just helped us do what we needed to do.”

Michael Fardell ACS, Screencraft

Canon Australia has been a proud partner of Red Bull Australia since 2024, providing imaging solutions to capture, produce and broadcast some of the region's most dynamic sporting and cultural events. Together, the partnership has brought events such as Red Bull Dance Your Style 2026, Red Bull Hardline 2026 and Red Bull Cliff Diving 2024 to life through world-class storytelling and high-quality visual content.