Camera Operator Deena Sheldon Relies on Cartoni MAGNUM to Capture Super Bowl LII, Halftime Show

When the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles took the field for Super Bowl LII, Deena Sheldon found herself in a familiar position: on the side-lines, ready to capture all the thrilling action with a camera rig that included Cartoni’s MAGNUM broadcast fluid head from Manios Digital & Film. A top broadcast camera operator for 36 years, Sheldon is a member of the NBC Sunday Night Football Crew assigned to capture the game.
Sheldon has previously worked on 11 Super Bowls and seven inaugurations. She has been a producer on eight 3D feature films and earned nine Emmy Awards alongside dozens of nominations.

In 2015, during rehearsals for the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show, Sheldon was asked to perform a critical move involving a diagonal tilt, going from one performer to another. She recalls wondering if there was a better pan head that could assist her in making that move.

It took Sheldon three years, but she found the head she was looking for: the Cartoni MAGNUM. Cartoni’s highest capacity fluid head, MAGNUM is designed for studio and outside broadcast camera packages weighing from 55 to 210 pounds. MAGNUM’s patented counterbalance system provides a smooth feel, making it ideal for sports and entertainment, where operators can offer shots with precision or wide, sweeping moves.

This year, when Justin Timberlake took the field at halftime and launched into a stirring performance of his hits, Sheldon was ready.

“The MAGNUM head was silky smooth to operate,” Sheldon says. “I could achieve the slightest pans and tilts with confidence and precision. The performance of the pan head was always an unknown variable. Cartoni eliminated that concern.”

Sheldon, who used the MAGNUM head throughout the past season of NBC’s Sunday Night Football as well as the network’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, insists on quality, performance and reliability in her gear.

“I was given an incredible camera and lens, along with many state-of-the-art Canon controls, and I placed it all on Cartoni’s MAGNUM fluid head,” Sheldon says.