Rolling two cameras in different formats simultaneously—traditionally 35mm and 16mm. Covers exhibition requirements but doubles crew logistics.
You shoot in two different formats in parallel — while the 35mm camera is running, the 16mm is simultaneously recording, or today: 4K and 2K in sync. The advantage is obvious: after the shoot, you have two completely separate masters in different resolutions, without conversion, without quality loss from downscaling. This was standard in large productions for a long time, especially when cinema and TV were more clearly separated — cinema needed 35mm, television got the 16mm version, and nobody had to convert material.
The practical reality on set is more complex than expected. You need two calibrated cameras that run mechanically or electronically synchronized — a challenge, especially with film cameras. The lighting setups must work for both formats, which often means you need more light for the smaller camera or have to adjust the aperture. Your focus pullers have to operate both devices, and the spatial arrangement must be carefully planned so that both see the same framing. A camera crane, a motorized dolly — this immediately becomes more complex in coordination. The storage or the film material naturally doubles as well, concerning logistics and archiving.
Today, biformat setups are experiencing a quiet revival, but differently: no longer analog/digital hybrid, but digital dual-recording setups. An R5C + an FX30, both running simultaneously, or a higher-resolution and compressed variant in parallel — especially for streaming productions that are shot for both cinema and various platforms. Some DoPs prefer this over conversion because each format brings its own gamma curve, its own color space. A native 2K recording looks different from a downscaled 4K.
The catch: you have to buy both cameras, both lenses, keep both recorders in sync. With long shooting times, time synchronization drifts even with digital systems. And in post — when your editor has to handle both formats — it quickly becomes organizationally chaotic. Today, it's more of a niche strategy for high-end productions or when the distribution truly has two fundamentally different target formats. For most films, a high-quality master recording followed by conversion is sufficient.