TNDV Captures KIDZ BOP Live Concert Film

TNDV, an entertainment-focused mobile and REMI production company, has captured live concert footage for KIDZ BOP Live: The Concert Movie at the Honda Center in Anaheim, bringing the high-energy tour experience to cinemas across North America. The film was released theatrically on January 2.

The production marked TNDV's first motion picture shoot using its flagship Aspiration 35 digital cinema truck alongside an integrated ARRI ALEXA 35 Live multicamera workflow. TNDV is one of three divisions within Live Media Group, alongside Live Media and Gametime Productions.

The concert film was recorded during a single tour stop on August 30, 2025. While the KIDZ BOP team maintained its standard touring workflow, TNDV’s broadcast-grade infrastructure was deployed as a full cinematic control room. From inside Aspiration 35, producers and creatives were able to monitor all camera feeds live, communicate directly with operators and direct coverage in real time, while performances were recorded in-camera for post-production.

"This was truly cinema meets broadcast," said Dakota Russ, TNDV's engineer-in-charge for the production. "The tour kept its normal pace, but the truck gave the director and DP the ability to see everything, hear everything, and talk to everybody as fast as possible — with the reliability and speed you expect from broadcast."

The project represented a theatrical milestone for both Aspiration 35 and the ALEXA 35 Live system. While high-end cinema cameras are increasingly used for concert productions, many previous deployments have relied on external or complex integrations. Aspiration 35 was designed to support native camera control, shading, intercom and tally within the truck environment.

"The system is intuitive for people coming from either world," said Grant Townsend Moore, a professional camera freelancer who served as camera tech for the ALEXA 35 Live system on the production. "Broadcast operators can jump in and feel at home, and cinema crews can adapt seamlessly into a live environment. A lot of credit goes to ARRI for designing it that way."

The concert was captured using a large-scale 4K multicamera setup, including 12 ARRI ALEXA 35 Live cameras, supported by additional specialty and remote camera positions. With support from TNDV partner dbV Rentals, the configuration included multiple front-of-house cameras, a Technocrane, Steadicam, Movi rig, two Agito systems and robotic cameras, delivering a dynamic shooting style typically associated with feature-level concert films.

Despite the scale and complexity of the setup, the production required minimal preparation time. Aspiration 35 was already operating in California on an unrelated project and was able to roll directly into Anaheim ready for deployment.
Russ and JJ Hacker, who co-led TNDV's truck operations, managed signal flow, multiviewers, intercom routing, monitoring distribution and the overall production infrastructure. At the same time, the crew maintained cinema-style workflows, including dedicated focus pullers, assistants and utilities, creating what the team described as an ideal hybrid production environment.

While primary recordings were captured in-camera, TNDV also provided synchronization and reference support throughout the show. The truck distributed continuous timecode to all camera heads, ensuring system-wide sync without manual jamming. A reference recording of the multiviewer with burn-in timecode was also created, enabling post-production teams to quickly identify moments and compare camera angles.

"One of the biggest takeaways was how natural it felt," Russ added. "On the broadcast side, it was normal — switcher, comms, monitoring, safety coverage. On the cinema side, the ACs and operators were in their element. Each team could focus on what they do best."

The KIDZ BOP Live concert film marks the latest milestone for Aspiration 35, following its 2025 debut as the industry's first ARRI camera truck. That launch included a cinematic multicamera workflow for the Stand Up To Cancer® telecast, demonstrating the platform’s ability to scale from high-pressure broadcast environments to cinematic entertainment productions.

www.livemediagroup.com/tndv/