Super Bowl special effects: New cameras power 'Matrix'-style replays - CNET

Now, the NFL and CBS (which owns CNET), are taking their cues from movies and video games to appeal to the estimated 110 million people who will watch Newton's Panthers take on the Denver Broncos this weekend.

A record 100 cameras will be used -- just 11 were used to capture the inaugural Super Bowl between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs -- to provide angles that put viewers on the field, as if they were playing a game from the Madden NFL franchise by Electronic Arts.

Aagaard's team will try to mimic that view Sunday with three dozen super-high-definition cameras placed along the top deck of Levi's Stadium. The so-called 5K cameras will allow the broadcast staff to zoom in and freeze the action on a replay.

The crew will be able to take the video captured from the field and rotate it the way you might manipulate a map on an iPhone. If you're struggling for a mental image, think of the kung fu scenes in "The Matrix," but with Denver quarterback Peyton Manning instead of Keanu Reeves.

The eight end zone pylons will also be part of the experience, with each containing two cameras. The foam posts will capture ground-level angles so that viewers will see game-changing events, like a player tiptoeing down the sideline after catching the ball.