NEW YORK—I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to work on the NBC television show “BlindSpot,” an action- thriller that includes dramatic fight scenes, as well as intense action and stunts. To capture these types of scenes, I use Blackmagic Design’s line of digital film cameras.
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5K is used to capture much of the action on “BlindSpot.”VARIETY OF USES
I use three Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5K cameras, which I strap to rigs on the actresses and actors in each scene. The grips love the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5Ks because they are so easy to rig to the actors, and the up close and POV shots that we get from the cameras look great, while at the same time are safe for the actors.
I also use Blackmagic Design’s Pocket Cinema Cameras to capture footage in high impact areas, i.e. car crashes, using the camera’s small size and high dynamic range to achieve high-quality footage. I set them up around cars, lock them in and just start to roll. I know they will get me the shots I need, and because of their size I can get really creative with angles; shots that I would never be able to with a bigger camera.
For the scenes I shoot with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5K cameras, I shoot in RAW, while scenes shot with the Pocket Cinema Cameras are captured in Pro-Res.
These cameras give us so much flexibility with both camera angles as well as shooting formats, and I love knowing no matter what I do the resulting footage is going to look amazing.
Something else that’s really fun about this show is that we get to explode stuff; I have never blown up so much in my life. We use the Blackmagic cameras like crazy to do all of these hugely complex shots. It is great to have small cameras that are also so much fun to use.
POST-PRODUCTION READY
More importantly, these cameras provide beautiful footage that not only looks great to the viewer, but also works really well in our post production workflow. Our post team loves these cameras because it is so easy to cut in with the other footage we have. As a DP today, you have to think about the post workflow, and these cameras are great for that.
David Tuttman, co-DP on “Blindspot” along with co-DP David Johnson, has worked a number of television shows, including “Law & Order,” “Damages,” “Royal Pains,” “Gossip Girl,” and “The Following.” He can be reached attutt@optonline.net.
For additional information, please visitwww.blackmagicdesign.comor call 408-954-0500.
