It’s been a while since the pixel count race was a big issue for broadcast production. As we head into the 2024 trade show season, then, thinking centers on what upcoming technology might make possible—on techniques, rather than specifications.

Take Blackmagic Design for example; the company’s foray into cloud contribution is talismanic of the changes which turned half of West Hall into a cloud computing village at last year’s show and demonstrated how the cloud and IP are impacting the camera’s role in new digital workflows.

“We introduced the [Blackmagic Camera] iPhone app a little while ago,” said Bob Caniglia, director of sales for the company in North America. “You can shoot with that phone, work with the cloud service, share proxies. The camera to Blackmagic cloud to Resolve workflow started with the camera app. The Ursa Broadcast G2 [camera] is now in beta for that software too. That's a good direction on where we're going.”

Bonded cellphone links are an established alternative to microwave or satellite links, although similar things with single 5G connections are more nascent. Still, regardless of the connection type, Caniglia points out that the benefits of cloud systems help with both cost and expediency. “People can directly link to a broadcaster's box. If someone's out in the field and they shot something, they can send it and get it on air faster than searching YouTube.”

Meanwhile, traditional broadcast configurations have become ever more accessible. “We have a lot in the education, house-of-worship and live event spaces,” Caniglia says. “One reason we've done so well is the cost-performance ratio and the nimbleness of the gear. It's not a rackful for a switcher. If you need a spare, buy a second one and that's the same price as an output card on some other thing. Broadcasters buy our stuff for smaller rooms or backups because they can.”

One caveat of skyrocketing capability is sheer operability, with feature sets bigger than any single human could operate. “There are tools that you can use to overcome a lot of that,” Caniglia reflects. “Even if you were doing it software-only, you could do switching on one, audio on another, moving graphics around on another and camera control on a fourth. With macros and other things you can do a lot more. We have an open API and people have been able to write all kinds of macro stuff.”

The Rise of PTZ
That sort of automation and remote control understandably boomed during the pandemic. Jim Jensen, Panasonic’s senior category owner for PTZ & remote systems, reports that, in terms of sales “we don't see record numbers like we did during Covid, but we do see steady growth. We sell a number of different features and price categories and we're finding demand for a good quality, flexible PTZ camera with flexible workflow, often replacing low end studio cameras.”

Here, flexibility often means vast connectivity. “We're seeing demand for SRT,” Jensen continues. “A couple of years ago there wasn't much. Some users use NDI [and] ST 2110 has become a big topic for some customers, with them using a higher-end PTZ in the studio, so we have an ST 2110 option in the AW-UE160. It’s one of the first in the industry to offer that because we listened to our customers.”

Demand for glossy images has pushed PTZ cameras to ever greater heights, but Jensen reflects that the push for pixels is about flexibility as much as quality. “On our one-inch sensors that are 4K, we're able to create three regions of interest which are 16:9 full HD images within that 4K,” he said. “Because it's a larger imager, it gives them the flexibility to output one of those plus the full raster 4K, so that particular PTZ now has two images coming out of it.”

Panasonic’s involvement in everything from acquisition to display is a boon, Jensen concludes. “[Customers] are looking for a manufacturer that can do glass to glass, capturing and moving that signal through, switching it, and being able to display that particular event or production in very different ways. We're finding more customers are asking about what we’re doing from a solution standpoint, and we've been able to provide something.”

HDR: An Antidote to the Pixel Race?
If there’s an overriding theme for imaging technology at the 2024 NAB Show though, it’s HDR, which is sufficiently so well established that clients often expect it with little tolerance for increased complexity. Klaus Weber, director of product marketing at Grass Valley, recalls when he supported the first ever live HDR production at an athletic championship in Europe in August 2014. “Since then I've been on maybe 50 HDR productions here and in the U.S.,” he said.

HDR, Weber muses, might be an antidote to the pixel count race.

“People have UHD sets at home in a size where UHD potentially makes sense—55- 65- or 75-inch displays,” he said. “But in typical viewing conditions, you hardly reach the point where you can see HD with the human eye. I have a 65-inch OLED at home and I was watching on-demand from the public broadcaster here in Germany. 

"For whatever reason the resolution was set to SD rather than to HD, but the up-conversion was so well done it took me a while to realize. I think at home, with typical screen sizes, more resolution is not required—but HDR makes a big difference, even on small screens.”

The perhaps-instinctive approach of shading in HDR, then downconverting for SDR is something Weber warns against. “The downconverter clips a large amount of the highlights which is not what you want,” he said. “If you shade in SDR and use all the highlights you can squeeze into the SDR signal, you will never clip anything on the HDR signal. So, as long as the SDR looks okay, HDR always looks better.”

Making that workflow practical demands innovation. “NBC has a workflow document which describes basically the same thing that we proposed around 2014,” Weber says, “but the look processing in the camera head is really new. It will be at NAB and we have developed that by request for certain parties including OBS for the Olympics.”

Even as common approaches emerge, complexities remain, says Robert Willox, director of production marketing for live solutions at Sony. “Everything that's coming into the truck you have to keep track of—even bumper tapes,” he said. "‘What LUT did you use?’ ‘Does it matter or is it OK that it looks different?’ You need to know the identity of every signal in the truck to avoid mixing from HDR to SDR.”

SDR broadcast is the moneymaker, according to Willox. “There's increasing outlets for 4K HDR but right now the sacrosanct image is the SDR. We've developed a Sony workflow where we shoot in HDR with one crew and one set of vision engineers but the SDR workflow takes care of the rest. I'm oversimplifying, but we've created a number of additions into CCUs and processing equipment… the crew can create the HDR broadcast with a perfect SDR broadcast side by side.”

“Some of the broadcasters come to us with [their shading approach] and say ‘this is what we need as a LUT in your cameras; we don't want to be using multiple layers of LUT boxes, we want something we can start with at the camera output.’” Willox adds. “They want a standard LUT in the CCU. In live entertainment, everyone wants to have their own look but from a broadcast standpoint I think there's going to be a lot of standardized LUTs… we're constantly developing new tools for this and at this NAB we’re going to introduce some new software for the HDR-C4000, our simulcast box.”

That Cinematic Look
Super-35mm cameras are discussed less than a few years ago, though perhaps because it is unremarkable rather than uncommon. Chase Hagen, ARRI’s technical sales representative and multicam expert, points out that the sensor is not the only crucial part of the chain.

“Our focus is on live productions that benefit from a sophisticated cinematic look,” Hagen said.

To that end, ARRI’s cameras include features more often seen in a CCU: “Our ALEXA 35 cameras deliver SDR and HDR simultaneously [and] the camera has a stock display reference transform that delivers images that are as similar as possible given the differences between the two formats,” he added. “With a recent firmware update, we now allow users to install their own display transforms for even more control.”

It’s tempting to assume lenses have infinite dynamic range, but Art Adams, product specialist for cinema lenses for ARRI, demurs. “Chromatic aberration and veiling glare can be extremely distracting in HDR,” he said. “It’s important to pair [the camera] with lenses that can deliver color and contrast information right up to the clipping point without compromising the rest of the image. ARRI Signature lenses were designed with that in mind… It’s a waste to make such a high-quality sensor if there’s no way to take advantage of it.”

All that picture information is useful for an industry which increasingly considers HDR the norm. Combined HDR-SDR workflows are, perhaps, the feature of the moment. For the future, long-distance IP networking, remote operation and 5G seem ascendant—but what’s clearest is that workflow innovations are increasingly limited mainly by the imagination of engineers. 

Register for the 2024 NAB Show, April 14-17 in Las Vegas at https://nabshow.com/2024/

FREMONT, Calfi.—Brooklyn, NY based production house The Family used several Blackmagic Design products for virtual production work on the sci fi romantic comedy “Molli and Max in the Future,” Blackmagic said today The film was recently premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film and TV Festival, using a combination of old school practical visual effects (VFX) and cutting edge virtual production technology, according to the company.

Starring Zosia Mamet and Aristotle Athari, “Molli and Max in the Future” is about a man and woman whose orbits repeatedly collide over the course of 12 years, four planets, three dimensions and one space cult. The Family’s Creative Director Steve Dabal was at the helm of the film’s virtual production workflow, collaborating closely with Director Michael Lukk Litwak and Cinematographer/VFX Supervisor Zach Stoltzfus.

“Michael had a strong vision for the world he wanted to build, which fit well with the technology driven storytelling we do at The Family,” said Dabal. “The virtual production and virtual art department allowed the team to hone in on the environments to make sure they reflected the characters, including how the main characters’ planets needed to look and feel, which was an essential story component. All the backgrounds and landscapes were built ahead of filming, so the look could be achieved without having a massive footprint on set.”

“We kept the URSA Mini Pros on stage throughout testing because their accessible UI allows anyone to easily R&D, whether that be Zach working on color science, Michael reviewing how his storyboards translate to filming in the volume, or Jesse seeing how different light sources will play in relation to the output from the LED panels.”

There were some prep days where Litwak was at wardrobe fittings and not able to be on stage, so The Family live streamed the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K in camera VFX feed via an ATEM Mini connected to Zoom. This allowed Litwak to give direct feedback and respond to how the visuals looked even while remote.

According to Dabal, the amount of practical and digital effects in “Molli and Max in the Future” is staggering, especially for a genre film. “It’s scary to embrace new technologies, so I'm very grateful that we were allowed to use our technical expertise to push boundaries,” he said. “For me, a film like ‘Molli and Max in the Future’ is a great example of how you can take a genre like romantic comedy and use technology elevate it. Not only is this a great differentiating factor for a project, but it is a fresh take for audiences. It shows how virtual production technology can be used beyond just big budget sci fi and fantasy action films.”

Dabal concluded, “Our goal is to partner closely with our filmmakers to help make their vision and specific style come to life, and no project exemplifies that more than ‘Molli and Max in the Future.’ Our Blackmagic Design powered pipeline gave us the flexibility and range to bring their beautiful universe to life. I am proud to have worked alongside a cast and crew that trusted us to be a part of this journey.”

For more on this story, click here.

Fremont, CA - August 26, 2019 - Blackmagic Design announced today Phillip Youmans’ Tribeca 2019 Founders Award winning ‘Burning Cane’ was shot using URSA Mini Pro 4.6K and Production Camera 4K, with color correction done using DaVinci Resolve Studio. At 19, Youmans is the youngest and first African-American filmmaker to ever win the prestigious award.

‘Burning Cane,’ which won for best narrative at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival, was Youmans’ first feature length film. Youmans is a New Orleans-born filmmaker currently living in New York City where he’s preparing the release of his upcoming short film ‘Nairobi’ which was executive produced by Solange Knowles’ creative agency Saint Heron. He’s also currently in post production on a documentary that follows Jon Batiste and the Stay Human Band during their six night run at the legendary Village Vanguard in NYC.

‘Burning Cane’ underscores the rigid religious convictions that govern rural life in Southeastern Louisiana. The film follows an aging, God fearing mother, her unemployed son and her dejected preacher. Youmans, who wrote, directed, photographed and co-edited the movie, used the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K as his main camera to capture the daily lives of his characters and the dramatic natural beauty of the town of Laurel Valley.

He shot the film with a mix of handheld and lightly rigged shooting styles. “Since my primary intention was to give a humanizing portrait of the characters that populate this town, I wanted ‘Burning Cane’ to feel almost documentarian; that’s why I made heavy usage of handheld camerawork and employed natural and practical lighting exclusively. Furthermore, there’s also a rawness to handheld camerawork that’s difficult to deny. So I definitely believe it serviced my vision with this film,” Youmans said.

One of the most surreal shots in the film is when Youmans and his crew shot the film’s title, an image of sugar cane fields burning, as part of the yearly preparation for growing new sugarcane crops. Shot at twilight, Youmans, along with Mose Mayer, producer and AD, Ojo Akinlana, producer and first AC, had very limited time to get the images needed.

“The URSA Mini Pro’s built in ND filters and RAW recording allowed us to fully bring out the reds, oranges, and yellows of the fire in the distance during post without compromising the tonal values of the image as a whole. And since we were trekking through deep cane fields, the camera was essential for effective handheld camerawork. And when I wanted a more visceral feel and didn’t want to use a stabilizer or shoulder rig, the light weight of the camera came in handy.”

For other shots, Youmans worked with a crew of up to a dozen shooting in a variety of small and large indoor and outdoor locations to capture up close emotional scenes as well as crowded, Sunday congregations.

“The Blackmagic cameras let me be as creative as I could be and know that I was going to get the highest quality images. Whether I was shooting a blues dancing scene, a close up phone call of one character being scolded over the phone, or a character picking oranges and walking through open, harvested cane fields, I knew the URSA Mini Pro would get me the image I wanted,” he said.

“The URSA Mini Pro allowed me to be able to capture the vision I had, and its design was perfect for both handheld and rigged shooting,” Youmans continued. “The image quality is fantastic and the dynamic range is on point, especially at higher ISOs. The camera’s malleable dynamic range proved to be incredibly useful given that many of the film’s setups were lowlight situations, again using natural and practical lighting exclusively.”

Footage was graded using DaVinci Resolve Studio at Fotokem New Orleans. Youmans was impressed with the software’s complete grading capabilities and also used DaVinci Resolve’s film grain options for adding a texture to images.

Youmans first learned to shoot on the URSA Mini Pro and Production Camera 4K, as well as handle post production using DaVinci Resolve Studio as a student at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts' Media Arts Program (NOCCA.) NOCCA uses the Blackmagic Design cameras and DaVinci Resolve Studio software as part of their film and broadcast curriculums.

Press Photography

Product photos of DaVinci Resolve Studio, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K, Production Camera 4K, Blackmagic RAW and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com

Fremont, CA - August 22, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that GlobeStream Media live streamed USA Softball’s GOLD National Championships using a variety of Blackmagic Design products, including URSA Broadcast cameras and an ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K live production switcher, to capture more than 500 hours of fiber channel broadcasts across nine softball fields.

Held at the Heritage Yards softball complex in Plano, Texas, the six day long tournament featured more than 70 softball teams from across the United States competing in both the 18 and under (18u) and 16 and under (16u) age divisions. GlobeStream Media, a Texas based global provider of broadcast live streaming production services, used a full range of Blackmagic Design products to live stream 247 softball games over the course of the tournament.

The complete Blackmagic Design workflow included URSA Broadcasts and Micro Studio Camera 4K; Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converters and Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converters; ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K and ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K; ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel and ATEM Camera Control Panel; Smart Videohub routers; HyperDeck Studio Mini and HyperDeck Studio Pro recorders; SmartScope Duo and SmartView 4K monitors; Teranex Mini Audio to SDI converters; Blackmagic Audio Monitor; MultiView 4; and DeckLink capture and playback cards, including DeckLink 8K Pro.

To stream individual games during pool play and early bracket rounds, GlobeStream Media relied on a Micro Studio Camera 4K mounted behind home plate. "When USA Softball and the City of Plano approached us about live streaming the tournament, one of the initial discussions was about where the cameras were going to be. On each of the nine softball fields at Heritage Yards, they wanted a single camera mounted on the backstop to provide an elevated wide shot of the field from behind home plate. We knew right away that the camera needed to be small and lightweight, yet still provide a high quality image, so our attention immediately turned to the Micro Studio Camera 4K,” explained President and Cofounder of GlobeStream Media Brett Casadonte.

For each division’s consolation and championship games, GlobeStream Media switched to a four camera setup, using three URSA Broadcasts with Camera Fiber Converters and Studio Fiber Converters to capture the action, along with the Micro Studio Camera 4K.

“We went with Blackmagic Design cameras because first and foremost, they produce a very good quality image. Equally import, however, is workflow. Using the Camera Fiber Converters and Studio Fiber Converters, we were able to take a standard SMPTE fiber cable and deliver camera control, tally and talkback, plus power and return program feed to our camera operators over a single cable,” noted Casadonte. “The time and cost savings in setup were tremendous and allowed us to easily convert a softball field setup for a single camera live stream in the morning to a four camera multi cam broadcast in the afternoon. If we had to run separate power cables, XLR cables for crew comms, tally cables and a pair of SDI cables for video in and out, the conversion simply wouldn’t have been possible.”

Temperatures were also top of mind for Casadonte, with Texas summers known for their heat. “Whatever cameras we used for this production quite literally had to be able to take the heat,” said Casadonte. “They had to run for 10 to 12 hours straight each day in 95ºF and above temperatures. The build quality and reliability of Blackmagic Design’s cameras gave us confidence that the Micro Studio Camera 4K could be the workhorse camera we needed and wouldn’t wilt in the hot Texas sun.”

For the rest of its live streaming setup, GlobeStream Media connected the Studio Fiber Converters to a Smart Videohub 20x20 that sent the camera feeds to an ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K for switching. The team also relied on a SmartView 4K, HyperDeck Studio Minis for recording primary and backup versions of the program, SmartScope Duo for signal monitoring, ATEM Camera Control Panel to manage color for the cameras, and several DeckLinks.

“ATEM switchers have been a main stay on all of our productions, and it’s not a stretch to say we’ve built our business on them. When the ATEM Camera Control Panel came out, it was a great addition that made outdoor live sporting events so much easier,” said Casadonte. “With it, we’re quickly able to fine tune color and exposure on our cameras so that the look is consistent and seamless across our production.”

With consolation and championship games for each age division taking place simultaneously on two fields, GlobeStream Media relied on an ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, Smart Videohub 40x40, SmartScope Duo, HyperDeck Studio Minis, HyperDeck Studio Pros, MultiView 4, Teranex Minis Audio to SDI and a Blackmagic Audio Monitor.

“What really sets Blackmagic Design apart from other solutions is its holistic approach to production. When you make the full range of products from cameras to switchers, you’re able to create solutions that are greater than the sum of their parts. Blackmagic Design has created an integrated production workflow that is not only straight forward, easy to setup and fun to work with, but more importantly, allows us to get the job done efficiently and cost effectively,” noted Casadonte.

“The Blackmagic Design broadcast ecosystem, with built in tally, talkback, and camera control capabilities; integrated standards conversion; and intuitive, easy to use software makes broadcast productions truly plug and play. That was critical for us during this tournament because we only had a few short hours on the last day of the tournament to convert a softball field from a single camera live stream for semifinal matches in the morning, to a multi cam broadcast setup for consolation games and the championships in the late afternoon. With Blackmagic Design, we were easily able to pull it off,” concluded Casadonte. “There are no do overs in live production, so you really need to have gear that is rock solid, reliable and that you trust to deliver time and time again.”

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Broadcast, Micro Studio Camera 4K, Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter, ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K, ATEM Camera Control Panel, ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, Smart Videohub 20x20, Smart Videohub 40x40, SmartView 4K, HyperDeck Studio Mini, HyperDeck Studio Pro, SmartScope Duo, DeckLink 8K Pro, MultiView 4, Teranex Mini Audio to SDI, Blackmagic Audio Monitor and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com

Fremont, CA - August 19, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that a multicamera SMPTE fiber solution, featuring the Blackmagic URSA Broadcast with ATEM Camera Control Panel, was deployed across the main stage at this year's Festival Beauregard, and delivered live coverage of performances by Fatboy Slim, Interpol, Disclosure and more. 

Set in the grounds of the Chateau de Beauregard, and in its eleventh year, the festival is an eclectic mix of homegrown French talent and international artists spanning pop, rock, punk and dance. The backend video system and camera packages were supplied by F & G Productions.

“We’ve been fans of Blackmagic live production hardware for a number of years now, but we made the choice this year to invest in cameras too, and were not disappointed,” begins Alexis Grandin, co-founder of F & G Productions. “Paired with the Blackmagic fiber solution, we now get all our video and comms down a single cable which is a big advantage for us.”

Screens stage left and right were 5m x 4m each, and the control room was located 100m away in a temporary gallery where an ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, with an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, was used for vision mixing.

“We also recorded some artists’ performances from the gallery for post event highlights packages using a series of HyperDeck Studio Minis,” Grandin adds. “Sometimes though, a group would just want a direct ISO recording from the jib camera, and thanks to the built-in SDHC slot, we were able to facilitate those requests.”

A bespoke solution built around DeckLink Duo 2 cards was used for graphics and VT playout while the ATEM software control allowed the team to incorporate fixed logos stored in the switcher’s media pool.

The video package incorporated URSA Broadcast cameras across five positions including one front of house, one on a jib crane and three cameras shoulder mounted, one of which was wireless. Grandin says, “The native support for B4 means that we’ve been able to use all of our existing Fujinon optics, which is a real bonus.

“We’ve also been impressed by the camera’s performance in low light,” he continues. “Even when we had to push the gain levels up to 12db we still didn’t see any noise creeping in after dark.”

To help color match the incoming camera signals, F & G Productions relied on the ATEM Camera Control Panel as well as the SmartScope Duo 4K’s built-in waveform monitoring.

“Another artist request was making the image on screen black and white. They thought it was a big ask, but we were able to do it straight away with the control panel and they were really happy with our responsiveness,” Grandin adds.

He concludes: “Historically we would have hired in cameras on a per event basis, but over time those accumulating costs were getting harder and harder to justify. We’ve been astonished by the quality to cost ratio of the URSA Broadcast solution, and we’re confident we’ll see a fast return on that investment within the year.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic URSA Broadcast, Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter, ATEM Camera Control Panel, ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, DeckLink Duo 2, SmartScope Duo 4K and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - August 15th, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced the new sci fi film “Quanta” was shot entirely on an URSA Mini Pro, while grading was done using DaVinci Resolve Studio. The film is one of the first globally distributed films by the new Melbourne based film production company and film collective Raygun, and will begin distribution in the United States and other countries in August.

“Quanta,” shot in Melbourne, tells the story of a weary physicist and an egotistical grad student who discover an immense source of information from an unknown signal in space, but face a clash of ideals with how to handle this unprecedented resource. The director on the film, Nathan Dalton, is an Australian filmmaker who has written and directed numerous award winning short films, music videos and corporate videos. Along with filmmakers Samuel Baulch, Jesse O’Brien, Christian D’Alessi, Sasha Dalton, Dalton founded Raygun Films, which has already completed a number of films using various Blackmagic Design products and DaVinci Resolve Studio software.

“Quanta” takes place in Melbourne, and Dalton used the URSA Mini Pro as the exclusive camera for the film. He wanted to capture the intense sense of foreboding coming from discovering a mysterious alien signal, as well as the vibrant life and city of Melbourne.

“For most of the film I wanted to create a sense of dark and moody. Images that made people think there is something out there just beyond sight. We used a lot of low lighting and we tried to bring in a lot of blues and greens with the LUT that we built in Resolve and used with the URSA Mini Pro,” Dalton said. “Also, we had to create high quality sci fi images, but at the same time on a low budget. The URSA Mini Pro let me do that without compromising on image quality.”

The film showed more than just dark and foreboding images. It was important for Dalton and his crew to capture the color and energy of Melbourne. This meant shooting in crowded venues that showcased a huge amount of different colors.

“There were two distinctly different scenes where the URSA Mini Pro’s color science and dynamic range stood out. In one scene, a main character was in a dark room where a computer signal was being put directly into a character's brain in front of a computer. At the other end of the spectrum we shot a scene with 20 to 30 extras in a pub during a trivia night party that had an amazing amount of different colors. The URSA Mini Pro let me capture all the details we needed even in low lighting, while bringing out the warmth of the lighting and skin tones at the trivia night. You just really appreciate the color science in the camera,” he said.

Color correction and LUT development on “Quanta” was completed using DaVinci Resolve Studio.

“When we were trying to dial in the look and feel of the film, we used Resolve to create an initial LUT and a finished grade that brought in the subtle blues and greens that we needed to create a sense of foreboding,” he continued. “And beyond that, the workflow between URSA Mini Pro and Resolve could not be simpler. There was no wasted time or money on transcoding because we were able to shoot in RAW and bring the footage right into Resolve.

"Many of Raygun’s other films and projects also use DaVinci Resolve. “Blackmagic Design as a company is a game changer. We are able to affordably shoot and handle post production without compromising on quality. We are creating Hollywood level films, and Blackmagic has been part of what has allowed us to make the jump into starting our own film production company,” Dalton said.

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro, DaVinci Resolve Studio and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - August 13, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that critically acclaimed television concert series “Front and Center” used a full Blackmagic Design Ultra HD live production workflow to produce several episodes of its ninth season, which were live streamed to Facebook Live and delivered in SDR for public television and HDR10 for DIRECTV. The episodes, which included virtuoso guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Gary Clark Jr., were shot using URSA Broadcasts, Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks and Micro Studio Camera 4Ks, and switched using an ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K live production switcher.

“Front and Center” highlights an eclectic mix of Grammy, Country Music Association, American Music and Academy of Country Music Award winners, rock icons and multi platinum sellers including Keith Urban, Carlos Santana, Steven Tyler, Miranda Lambert and more. Each hour long episode features a live performance shot in front of an audience, as well as a personal interview with the artist telling the stories behind their music.

The episodes using the Blackmagic Design workflow were produced by New York based creative agency and production company LCM247. Recorded live at The Village recording studio in Los Angeles, LCM247 shot Gary Clark Jr.’s performance with two URSA Broadcasts, with one handheld on stage and the other rigged on a 24 ft. jib, and eight Micro Studio Camera 4Ks that were situated around the venue and on the stage.

“When shooting live, the ergonomics of an URSA Broadcast with a good broadcast lens delivered better handheld shots in the fast paced environment,” said Patrick Heaphy, LCM247’s creative director, and producer and director of the episode. “The jib operator also needed a full broadcast zoom lens for the best results.”

“The Micro Studio Camera 4Ks’ size made it easy to put them on stage, as well as around the venue. We had one on the drum kit, one on the keys, a general wide shot of the whole stage, a couple locked off around the venue, and we even had a camera operator using one rigged with a Video Assist 4K monitor/recorder and a long lens as a backup shot,” he added. “Being able to dial them in remotely via the ATEM Camera Control Panel was especially useful since we had a limited crew and were also live streaming.”

An ATEM Camera Control Panel was located in the video village that also housed the ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K, HyperDeck Studio Pro, HyperDeck Studio 12G, HyperDeck Studio Mini recorders, Blackmagic Web Presenter and a SmartScope Duo 4K monitor. “We used the ATEM for live switching, and everything was ISO recorded to the HyperDecks, along with recording a clean feed and a program feed,” noted Heaphy. “We then used the Blackmagic Web Presenter to live stream the performance on Facebook Live.”

Prior to the performance, Heaphy and his team used three Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks to shoot the sit down interview with Gary Clark Jr. “It has a great form factor and the lowlight capability is great, not to mention the MFT mount compliments our arsenal of MFT lenses, and the XLR input makes the camera easier to work with than DSLRs,” he said. “The DaVinci Resolve Studio workflow also means you can really maximize the look.”

The episode was edited and graded in DaVinci Resolve Studio, and Heaphy also made use of the DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel citing its efficiency. “DaVinci Resolve Studio is really maturing as an editing platform, and that’s what made the transition for us easy,” he explained. “We already knew we were going to grade in DaVinci Resolve Studio, so we thought, ‘Why not try editing too?’ We utilized its multi camera editing capabilities and saved a lot of time by not having to do another color pass if we adjusted the edit. It was seamless to flip to the color tab, and the shot already had the grade on it, or our colorist Dario Bigi could adjust as needed.”

“We had multiple deliverables, so being able to use one tool for the SDR and HDR passes was also convenient,” concluded Heaphy. “The theme in post was definitely efficiency, and while there is always a learning curve with any new platform, DaVinci Resolve Studio is getting it right. It’s paying attention to what editors and colorists are looking for.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, URSA Broadcast, Micro Studio Camera 4K, Video Assist 4K, ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K, ATEM Camera Control Panel, Blackmagic Web Presenter, HyperDeck Studio Pro, HyperDeck Studio 12G, HyperDeck Studio Mini, SmartScope Duo 4K, DaVinci Resolve Studio, DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com

Fremont, CA - July 29, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that its URSA Mini Pro 4.6K digital film cameras and ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K were used as part of a live production workflow by The LED Shed on the UK and Ireland legs of Westlife’s The Twenty Tour.Opening at Belfast’s SSE Arena, the UK and Ireland tour has spanned 32 shows in total, with the finale being played out to more than 170,000 fans across two nights in Dublin’s Croke Park.A multicamera fiber workflow was deployed for acquisition and IMAG relay, with four long lenses front of house (FOH) and one in the pit on a tracking dolly. “It’s unusual to have four cameras FOH,” begins director Tom Levitt. “But this is due to the way the staging of the show was designed. There’s one for each band member that gave us a ‘head and shoulders’ mid shot for a picture in picture on the stage’s 20m x 7.5m LED backdrop.”

The URSA Mini Pro in the pit provided a simple relay feed for the two 6m x 3.5m IMAGs either side of the stage.Live video signals for the center LED were mixed with graphics and animations designed by America’s Got Talent’s Sila Sveta. “We also used real time rendered Notch effects on the camera signals themselves, such as pencil drawings or cartoons. That was all in an effort to make them look more integrated and less jarring with the pre rendered show content,” explains Levitt.Six Teranex Mini HDMI to SDI 12G converters were used to take the 4K animated content from the computer, while an ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, paired with the ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel, was used for vision mixing.

Two Blackmagic MultiView 16 provided previews for Levitt (on camera control) and the tour’s live director, Billy Robinson. Robinson adds, “We used the ATEM’s SuperSource to composite the four camera images from FOH, which were then taken out as an auxiliary output to get a quad view of the cameras.”Alongside the program feed of M/E 1 and M/E 2, the three auxiliaries then fed into multiple gx2 media servers, which combined all of the live camera visuals, that Robinson cut, with the show content.“It’s been great working with Westlife on their reunion tour, but it hasn’t been without its challenges particularly with venues and staging characteristics,” Levitt concludes. “So being able to trust that your equipment isn’t one of those headaches is invaluable.”

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro 4.6K, Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel, Blackmagic MultiView 16, Teranex Mini HDMI to SDI 12G and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - June 11, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that a multicam outside broadcast workflow, featuring URSA Broadcast and ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, is delivering a wide range of live streaming content for Poland’s national football association, Polski Zwiazek Pilki Noznej (PZPN).

Live production specialist, transmisjelive, produces all content for PZPN’s YouTube channel, Łączy nas piłka (The Ball Connects Us), including action from Poland’s national, women’s and youth teams, as well as matches from Poland’s second league. “Our cameras give fans exclusive access to information and insights that traditional broadcasters cannot deliver, and the huge subscriber numbers on YouTube reflect that,” explains Artur Kuszel, producer at transmisjelive.

For each event, transmisjelive deploys its Ultra HD OB system, which is built around an end to end Blackmagic Design workflow, including signal management through a Smart Videohub. Six URSA Broadcast camera signals are routed to an ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K switcher, where the team overlays graphics and adds slow motion replays into the program mix.

“PZPN’s content schedule is designed to showcase excellence at all levels of football, from league matches that help build communities at a club level, through to international fixtures with the national squad,” explains Artur.

To demonstrate PZPN’s continued commitment to improving access to all levels of football in Poland it was important that transmisjelive implemented a broadcast capable solution that was also capable of handling live streaming, according to Artur.

“The URSA Broadcast works perfectly for this scenario; as a system, it is adaptable and means we can set up a professional multicamera production, even if the stadiums themselves lack the necessary infrastructure and connectivity to support it. That is all thanks to the modular nature of the Blackmagic solution,” he said.

Another key focus of the channel is to promote future stars and so transmisjelive producers coverage of the Central Junior League, which features the U19 teams from Poland’s top flight Ekstraklasa and streams that to YouTube. “As well as providing full coverage of the games themselves, the setup also allows the youngsters to gain experience of being interviewed on camera from a much earlier age,” said Artur.

Content is streamed to YouTube via OBS onsite, however an additional layer of redundancy has been added with a second live PGM feed being sent back to transmisjelive’s remote production studio in Warsaw using a joint-SIM bonded LTE connection.

“We aim to provide PZPN with a stable livestream, regardless of weather conditions, internet connection strength or the location we’re working from,” concludes Artur. “The modular system we’ve implemented based on Blackmagic Design hardware has proven itself to be a robust and reliable setup, even in the most challenging of conditions, while the addition of our own independent streaming connection ensures uninterrupted coverage of matches.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic URSA Broadcast, ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, ATEM 1 M/E Broadcast Panel, Smart Videohub, ATEM Talkback Converter, Blackmagic Studio Viewfinder and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - June 4, 2019 - Blackmagic Design announced today that Showtime Networks’ “The Chi” incorporated a wide array of Blackmagic Design cameras, including URSA Mini Pros and Micro Studio Camera 4K, for Director of Photography Abraham Martinez’ naturalistic portrayal of Chicago’s south side.

“The Chi” portrays an average day for Chicago kids, prepping for school as their parents head off to work, young adults trying to make a living and the elders keeping an eye on things from their front porches. But in this tough neighborhood, real dangers threaten daily to squelch dreams, and the simplest decisions can have life or death consequences.

Martinez wanted this coming of age drama to feel grounded and realistic. “I wanted the camera to walk alongside our lead characters. I wanted to feel that we were in the middle of the ever evolving conditions of the city that pressed into our characters,” said Martinez. “So this meant, our cameras had to be flexible for the journey.”

Martinez used three Blackmagic URSA Mini Pros, one URSA Mini 4K and two Micro Studio Camera 4ks recording into Blackmagic Video Assists 4K. Martinez feels his Blackmagic cameras have become an important part of his kit.

“I find that using my URSA Mini Pros has become somewhat of a paint brush stroke technique of my personal work flow. I’m able to have a half a dozen Blackmagic Design cameras around for my palette to fit the ever flexible work and city conditions that require me to adapt quickly.

”Shooting on location in Chicago was a must for this urban drama, and the visuals represent a naturalism that contrasted home life and the street. “The Chi” team used the colors of the environment to drive the style as well. “We celebrated color in many ways, from wardrobe to the set design,” said Martinez. “Our drama has many facets of story; the intersection of home/neighborhood/street life which is in contrast to the institutional aspects of the city, namely the prison and police corrections stories. I was able to build these two worlds in look and feel as we bounced between the delicate and interwoven story lines.“

While “The Chi” focused on a gritty realism, the shoot itself was rigorous at times, forcing the cinematography crew to move quickly. The Blackmagic cameras helped Martinez capture high quality imagery even if on the go. “My Blackmagic Design arsenal is always what I call ready at hand. If I needed a lock off camera ready for an additional angle, we shot with one of them. If I needed an establishing shot popped off during a company move, my URSA Mini Pro was ready for the task, helping us knock out the day’s work. As for the Micro Studio Cameras, we used them extensively throughout our shoot to power artistic angles, helping drive story and save time. We even had an URSA Mini Pro built into a full time gimbal system always ready to go. We were always ready for gimbal mode.

”With such a wide array of cameras, and a focus on color, Martinez had no fear about matching images. Working with Light Iron’s Steven Bodner, they had no problems matching looks between cameras or manufacturers. “The Blackmagic Design camera’s color space complimented the look and the feel of other cameras wonderfully.”

But beyond color, Martinez valued the combination of high end quality and ease of use. “The camera systems held up in the rigorous location moves and demands of the city,” said Martinez. “Speed was essential and it required very little to get the Blackmagic camera systems up and running. Often just a lens, card and battery and we were good to go.”

Press Photography

Product photos of the URSA Mini Pro, URSA Mini 4.6K, Micro Studio Camera 4K, Video Assist 4K and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com

Fremont, CA - May 20th, 2019 - Blackmagic Design has today announced that “Zero,” a new science fiction short from acclaimed British writer director duo The Brothers Lynch, was shot on the URSA Mini Pro. Starring Game of Throne’s Bella Ramsey, “Zero” has premiered in New York as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival lineup and will have a European release at SciFi London.

Opting to reflect the post apocalyptic themes of the film through its camerawork, Keith and David Lynch collaborated with cinematographer Adam Etherington whose credits include “Gwen,” and “Poldark.”

“The URSA Mini Pro was the ideal choice,” says David. “Even on an indie budget, it meant we were able to to get the most out of our footage by shooting in raw. We had a lot of visual effects shots due to the nature of the genre, and shooting at the cameras full resolution allowed us to master them in 10 bit DPX for greater flexibility and accuracy in post production."

According to Adam, the URSA Mini Pro’s lightweight form factor enabled the team to meet the shooting demands of Zero’s unique set. “The short was mostly shot in this beautifully decrepit old house, which acts as both a haven and a prison to the characters,” he explains.

“We had initially discussed the film playing entirely on sliders and dollies, however moving around the house was prohibitive. Instead, we choose to shoot significant portions off the shoulder. We opted for a set of MK2 Zeiss Superspeeds which gave us a good range of focal lengths. At T1.3, the glass was nice and fast and gave us a much softer image that was more in keeping with our desire for the audience to feel close to the lead character.”

The team also primarily worked with a small package of 2.5k and 4k daylight HMI sources dotted around the exterior of the location. This was partly a creative choice, and also designed to play to the strengths of the camera’s sensor, based upon what they’d learned through testing.

“As we were shooting handheld, it was important to give the directors plenty of freedom to move without a great deal of relighting,” Adam continues. “We decided to diffuse the exterior of the windows and play the sources directly. This created a strong directional light and allowed the crew and cast freedom to move, while enhancing the sense of claustrophobia by eliminating the outside world from view.

We really pushed the URSA Mini Pro to its limits. Its latitude and dynamic range allowed us to exploit the fact we’d get a swift roll off in the highlights to hide the exterior world. We then also had the creative freedom to use negative fill within the space to wrap and shape the light.”

Sky as part of the DUST SciFi channel, the short is now being developed by the brothers into its own feature length film.

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - March 25, 2019- Blackmagic Design today announced that the YouTube series "Flunk," which also airs on Amazon Prime and Here TV, was shot entirely with Blackmagic Design cameras, including URSA Mini Pro, Blackmagic RAW and Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. DaVinci Resolve was used for color correction.

Filmed in Melbourne, Australia, “Flunk” has quickly amassed a global audience during its first sea-son, which includes eight half hour episodes airing on Amazon Prime as well as 40 shorter episodes on YouTube. Created by Director Ric Forster and Producer Melanie Rowland, the show is a new LGBT series exploring sexuality, drug and alcohol use, identity and consent and stars Jessica Li, Akasha Collins, Beaudene Perussich, Uisce Goriss-Dazeley, Caylen Forbes and Olivia Wright.

To film the show, Forster and Rowland chose to use the URSA Mini Pro as their primary camera, with the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K used for various tight or hard to reach shots in each episode.

“The show follows the lives of a number of teens, day and night. When shooting, there was a wide mix of low light, bright natural lighting and indoor nighttime shots where there was the potential for losing details in the shadows. So we had to plan for a huge number of different shooting sce-narios, all while having a small crew and tight budget,” said Forster. “The combination of the URSA Mini Pro and the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K freed us to be creative while knowing we were going to get the highest quality footage possible.”

“The cameras gave us a huge amount of dynamic range, and the footage looked great without a ton of artificial lighting. Instead of spending money on extra lighting, we could put our resources into getting exactly the shots we wanted and being as creative as possible. The cameras’, especially the Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks, dynamic ranges are amazing and gave us the leeway to shoot in low light and know nothing was going to be blown out or lost in the shadows. On top of that, the skin tone we got was beautiful,” he continued.

On a tight budget, Forster and Rowland decided to use Blackmagic RAW, which allowed him to save resources on storage. Blackmagic RAW is a new codec that gives stunning image quality and fast performance in an intelligent new file format, offering both the quality and benefits of RAW with the speed, ease of use and file sizes of traditional video formats.

“Blackmagic RAW is great. We can shoot all day and not have to change cards, and we could just bring all the RAW files directly into DaVinci Resolve, so the post production workflow was easy,” Forster said.

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro, Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Blackmagic RAW, DaVinci Resolve, and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk re-corders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereo-scopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engi-neers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more in-formation, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - March 12, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that broadcast services specialist, Timeline TV, has implemented a bespoke remote production solution to produce coverage of the Football Association’s (FA) Women’s Super League (WSL), built around the Blackmagic 3G-SDI Shield for Arduino and URSA Broadcast.

In order to meet the WSL’s requirements for live match coverage in the 2018/2019 season, its first as a full time professional league, the Timeline team needed to rethink how they’d approach a four multicamera OB, that could be deployed at any ground in the country while still delivering the level of quality expected by production partner, Whisper Films.

Timeline’s managing director, Dan McDonnell, explains that the URSA Broadcast was the ideal camera choice. “We pride ourselves on delivering broadcast quality output for our creative partners, and the URSA Broadcast, when paired with our B4 lenses, delivers excellent images, both on and off the pitch.”

When it came to controlling the URSA Broadcast, Timeline’s IP engineering team had to get creative. “Remote camera racking was essential and required a new approach to data transmission all while keeping the on site operation as simple as possible,” says Dan. “There was nothing else on the market that would afford us the flexibility, quality or control unless we deployed a full OB.”

IP transmission solution that resides in a backpack. It integrates a transmitter and the camera control interface systems needed for acquisition and live transmission back to the companies Ealing Studios’ headquarters, where each weekend’s coverage is produced.

“Essentially, we’ve eliminated the requirement for a full, static router, which normally is in place for a camera control unit to feed through. As well as the high resolution camera signals, an additional low res feed is sent carrying all the necessary camera settings,” according to Dan. “Working over IP channels provides reliable and consistent remote signal feeds from wherever we are around the country, and this, combined with Blackmagic’s open protocol has given us the flexibility to devise a high quality remote production solution that meets broadcasters’ strict standards for live sports coverage.”

Timeline will continue to provide all Women’s Super League footage with the remote solution, but its efficiency and technical capabilities could be easily transferred to other sporting leagues, tournaments and touring events.

“The ability to control an entire multicamera system via IP means that we can produce comprehensive coverage of high profile events from anywhere in the world, without having to send a huge amount of staff or equipment out to the venues,” Dan concludes. ”Once the operators are on site, it’s simply a matter of switching on the receivers and the cameras, and we’re ready to go. That balance of speed, flexibility and quality has only been possible at this price point thanks to Blackmagic Design.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic 3G-SDI Shield for Arduino, URSA Broadcast and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - March 7, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that YouTube channel Hashtag United is using the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K as part of a production package to document the club’s journey into the English national league system.

Vlogger Spencer Owen first set up Hashtag United as a YouTube Channel in 2016, playing exhibition-style games and friendlies that were filmed and posted online. This season (2018/19) Spencer has gone a step further and taken the football club semi pro.

“Before joining the national league system, training and games were on an ad hoc basis,” begins operations director Neil Smythe. “And scores were not reported live as they are now. Essentially meaning we had control over when and how the story was told.”

Now in the Eastern Senior League Division One South, Hashtag United is playing every Saturday, and a growing number of fans are coming down to the ground to support in real life. “Content production has had to speed up,” Smythe explains. “We need to be telling our story in real time, like any other football club would, or we’ll lose out.”

In order to maintain the high quality fans have come to expect, Hashtag United required a camera solution that would strike a good balance between image quality and more manageable file sizes.

“Both the URSA Mini Pro and Pocket Cinema Camera 4K fit our needs perfectly,” Smythe said. “We have a good choice of professional codecs, and the extended video mode means we can work with the images straight out of the camera with little or no post.”

“The improved low light sensitivity on the pocket camera is another huge bonus. It guarantees we can shoot practically anywhere, even a dimly lit changing room during the manager’s half time talk and rely on nothing more than the available light.”

According to Smythe, it’s shooting outdoors where the URSA Mini Pro really shines. “I use this camera to film training sessions and Spencer’s commentary, and the built-in ND filters are a life saver in the variable weather conditions!”

Highlights of the commentary go into the weekly match package, but the team also live stream that commentary to Twitter using a Blackmagic Web Presenter.

Smythe concludes: “Hashtag United is one of the most watched sides on YouTube, outperforming many of Europe’s footballing elite, which is amazing! But adjusting to non league life hasn’t been without its challenges. While we’ve barely scratched the surface of what these cameras can do, their addition has ensured that we don’t compromise on our core production values.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Blackmagic Web Presenter and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, California, USA - March 5, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, a second generation URSA Mini Pro camera featuring fully redesigned electronics and a new Super 35mm 4.6K image sensor with 15 stops of dynamic range that combine to support high frame rate shooting at up to 300 frames per second. In addition, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 supports Blackmagic RAW and features a new USB-C expansion port for direct recording to external disks.

URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 is available now for $5,995 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

The new URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 is a dramatic advancement over the original model as it now features entirely new electronics for higher speed processing. Also included is a new Super 35mm 4.6K image sensor that captures up to 4608 x 2592 pixels with 15 stops of latitude at up to 3200 ISO. This allows customers to record full sensor 4.6K images at up to 120 frames per second, windowed 4K DCI at up 150 frames per second, and windowed 1080 HD at an amazing 300 frames per second. That makes URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 ideal for capturing stylized fast action documentary work, nature photography, sports and more.

In addition, URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 can capture Blackmagic RAW images in both film and extended video modes, making it perfect for high end feature films, television shows, commercials, and indie films as well as broadcast news, studio and even live multi camera production.

Blackmagic RAW is a revolutionary, next generation codec that gives customers visually lossless images, extensive metadata support and highly optimized GPU and CPU accelerated processing. Blackmagic RAW combines the quality and workflow advantages of traditional RAW formats with the speed and ease of use of standard video codecs. With Blackmagic RAW, customers can choose compression levels up to 12:1 and still get stunning images that can be used for feature films, documentaries and broadcast programming. Blackmagic RAW settings such as 12:1 are important to allow customers to get the highest frame rates from the camera, and this means only Blackmagic RAW can allow high frame rates while retaining enough quality for professional results.

URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 also uses Blackmagic Design Generation 4 Color Science for superior imaging that results in extremely accurate skin tones and gorgeous, lifelike colors that rival those of cameras costing tens of thousands of dollars more. Blackmagic RAW images are encoded using a custom non-linear 12-bit space designed to provide the maximum amount of color data and dynamic range. These formats can be recorded onto CFast or SD cards, as well as direct to flash disks using the new USB-C expansion port.

URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 is designed to be extremely tough and fully featured. It includes everything customers need in a compact handheld magnesium alloy body that’s durable and light enough to use anywhere. There’s an external high visibility backlit LCD status display for viewing critical shooting information, a foldout touch screen for reviewing shots without needing an extra on-set monitor, professional connections such as 12G-SDI, XLR audio, built in high quality stereo microphones and more. Plus, every single control on the camera is redundant, including the power, so if anything should go wrong in the field, the camera can still be used.

URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 features neutral density (ND) filters with IR compensation for quickly reducing the amount of light that enters the camera. The 2, 4 and 6 stop filters are specifically designed to match the colorimetry of the camera and provide additional latitude, even under harsh lighting conditions. That means customers can use different combinations of aperture and shutter angle to achieve shallower depth of field, or specific levels of motion blur, in a wider range of situations. The IR filters evenly compensate for both far red and infrared wave lengths to eliminate IR contamination. The ND filters are true optical filters with a precision mechanism that quickly moves them into place when the ND filter dial is turned.

The broadcast camera design of URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 puts powerful external control buttons, switches, knobs and dials on the outside of the camera, giving customers direct access to the most important camera settings. The controls are laid out in a logical order that makes them easy to remember so cinematographers can operate the camera without having to look at the buttons, hunt through menus, or take their eye off of the action. URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 also features a high visibility status screen that displays important information such as timecode, shutter and lens settings, battery, recording status, and audio levels. The status display features a backlight and is designed to be clearly visible in both dimly lit studios and outside in direct sunlight.

URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 comes standard with an interchangeable EF lens mount for working high quality photographic lenses. If the camera is being used on a high end film or commercial shoot that calls for large cinematic lenses, simply remove the EF mount and replace it with the optional PL mount. There’s even a B4 broadcast lens mount for working with broadcast HD lenses. URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 also includes a standard 12 pin Hirose lens control connector.

Featuring both dual C-Fast 2.0 recorders and dual SD UHS-II card recorders, customers can choose the media that works best for their projects. C-Fast cards are ideal for full resolution Blackmagic RAW 12 bit recording, while UHS-II SD cards are inexpensive and commonly available, making them perfect for recording Blackmagic RAW 8:1 or 12:1 for Ultra HD and regular HD files. With dual slots for each media type, the camera never has to stop recording because when the first card is full, it automatically continues onto the next card. Full cards can be swapped for empty ones, all without stopping the camera.

URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 also includes a new and innovative high speed USB-C expansion port for adding accessories such as an SSD for external recording. That means customers can now record for even longer durations without stopping. Plus, they can record directly onto the same external disks they will use for editing and color correction.

URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 includes the full DaVinci Resolve Studio software, giving customers a complete post production solution. This powerful software combines professional nonlinear video editing with the world’s most advanced color corrector for importing, editing, color correcting, finishing and delivering projects shot on URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2. DaVinci Resolve Studio works natively with Blackmagic RAW files from the camera, so customers can take them directly into post production without having to convert or change them. Every single bit of quality is preserved because it is a true lossless workflow. Using DaVinci Resolve Studio is the fastest and highest quality way to work with Blackmagic RAW files from URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2.

“The original URSA Mini Pro has been an extremely successful and very popular camera,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 is exciting because it gives customers second generation electronics and an even higher performance image sensor so they can shoot at extremely high frame rates for crystal clear slow motion images. URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 is powerful enough to be used on high end feature films and television shows, versatile enough to be used for broadcast news and live multi camera event production, and affordable enough for indie filmmakers and even students! It’s like getting 3 cameras in one!”

Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 Key Features

• Digital film camera with 15 stops of dynamic range.
• Super 35mm 4.6K sensor with Blackmagic Design Generation 4 Color Science.
• Supports project frame rates up to 60 fps and off-speed slow motion recording up to 120 fps in 4.6K, 150 fps in 4K DCI and 300 fps in HD Blackmagic RAW.
• Interchangeable lens mount with EF mount included as standard. Optional PL, B4 and F lens mounts available separately.
• High quality 2, 4 and 6 stop neutral density (ND) filters with IR compensation designed to specifically match the colorimetry and color science of Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2.
• Fully redundant controls including external controls which allow direct access to the most important camera settings such as external power switch, ND filter wheel, ISO, shutter, white balance, record button, audio gain controls, lens and transport control, high frame rate button and more.
• Built in dual C-Fast 2.0 recorders and dual SD/UHS-II card recorders allow unlimited duration recording in high quality.
• High speed USB-C expansion port for recording directly to an external SSD or flash disk.
• Lightweight and durable magnesium alloy body.
• LCD status display for quickly checking timecode, shutter and lens settings, battery, recording status, and audio levels.
• Support for Blackmagic RAW files in Constant Bitrate 3:1, 5:1, 8:1 and 12:1 or Constant Quality Q0 and Q5 as well as ProRes 4444 XQ, ProRes 4444, ProRes 422 HQ, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 LT, ProRes 422 Proxy recording at 4.6K, 4K, Ultra HD and HD resolutions.
• Supports recording of up to 300 frames per second in HD, 150 frames per second in 4K DCI, and 120 frames per second at full frame 4.6K.
• Features all standard connections, including dual XLR mic/line audio inputs with phantom power, 12G-SDI output for monitoring with camera status graphic overlay and separate XLR 4 pin power output for viewfinder power, headphone jack, LANC remote control and standard 4 pin 12V DC power connection.
• Built in high quality stereo microphones for recording sound.
• 4 inch foldout touchscreen for on-set monitoring and menu settings.
• Includes full copy of DaVinci Resolve software color grading and editing software.

Availability and Price

URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 is available now from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide for US$5,995. Also available from resellers are the optional URSA Mini Pro PL lens mount for US$245, optional F lens mount for US$375 as well as the optional URSA Mini Pro B4 HD lens mount for US$385. URSA Mini Pro comes standard with an EF lens mount, and additional replacement mounts can also be purchased for US$175.

Blackmagic URSA Mini Accessories

The Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 is compatible with the full range of URSA Mini accessories available from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide:

• Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro PL, B4 and F lens mounts each sold separately.
• Additional Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro EF lens mounts also sold separately.
• Blackmagic URSA Mini Shoulder Kit features built in rosettes, rail mounts, viewfinder mount, integrated tripod quick lock release and top handle.
• Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder is a high resolution viewfinder that includes a full HD OLED display and true glass optics for perfect focus.
• Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder featuring 7” screen, variable tension mounting points, grab handles, external controls and more.
• URSA VLock Battery Plate provides a VLock compatible plate for attaching third party batteries.

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, and all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - February 25, 2019 - Blackmagic Design would like to congratulate the 2019 Oscar nominated films and the production professionals whose hard work and creativity helped bring them to life. Blackmagic Design is honored that its products, such as URSA Mini Pro, DaVinci Resolve Studio and Fusion Studio, were used on groundbreaking films including“A Star is Born,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Marvel Studios “Avengers: Infinity War.”

Oscar nominated films that used Blackmagic Design products include:

• Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” used DaVinci Resolve, UltraStudio, Smart Videohub 40x40, DeckLink Quad 2, DeckLink Mini Monitor and a variety of converters for on set work by DIT Kyle Spicer;
• “BlacKkKlansman” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Tom Poole at Company 3;
• “Bohemian Rhapsody” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Greg Fisher at Company 3;
• “The Favourite” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Rob Pizzey at Goldcrest Post;
• “Green Book” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio at FotoKem;
• “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Dave Francis of Technicolor PostWorks;
• “Minding the Gap” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Tyler Roth of Company 3;
• “A Quiet Place” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Stefan Sonnenfeld at Company 3;
• “RBG” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Ken Sirulnick of Glue Editing & Design, along with using Fusion Studio for stabilizing work;
• “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Natasha Leonnet at EFILM;
• "Solo: A Star Wars Story” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Joe Gawler of Harbor Picture Company;
• “A Star is Born” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio by Stefan Sonnenfeld at Company 3; and
• “Vice” graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio at FotoKem.

Press Photography

Product photos of DaVinci Resolve Studio, Fusion Studio, URSA Mini Pro, UltraStudio, Smart Videohub 40x40, DeckLink Quad 2, DeckLink Mini Monitor all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - February 18, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that Dubai based satellite channel, Citruss World of Shopping, has implemented a 4K production and live broadcast solution featuring the URSA Broadcast with ATEM Camera Control Panel, and ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K switcher.

To support continued growth and increase production capabilities, Citruss has relocated to larger facilities in Dubai Studio City. The 4K ready broadcast gallery, and two new studios, were built around a 12G-SDI network infrastructure with the help of systems integrator United Broadcast & Media (UBMS).

With daily spots on Nilesat, Arabsat and MBC4, Citruss typically films between eight and nine different product segments on any given day with the two studio spaces in constant rotation, and has now acquired eight URSA Broadcasts with Blackmagic Studio Viewfinders.

“As a shopping channel it is vital that our merchandise is accurately represented on screen whether that is ensuring colors are true to life, or our ability to demonstrate a product’s USPs,” begins Citruss’ head of television operations and production, Amr Moustafa. “After discussion with UBMS the URSA Broadcast was the obvious choice. We’ve been especially impressed with how user friendly the cameras are, and the level of detail we’re getting, balanced with the competitive price point.”

“We have five in Studio A and three more in Studio B, and we can easily transition between a variety of different setups whether that is to lock them off on a pedestal, shoulder mount or to use on a crane when demonstrating kitchen products for example.”

Signal management throughout the facility relies on a Smart Videohub 12G 40x40 while the broadcast gallery is based on the ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast 4K switcher for vision mixing. An ATEM Camera Control Panel provides hardware based remote camera control for shading.

“At Citruss we offer a unique, multichannel approach to selling,” explains Moustafa. “Our viewers have the option to simply send a screen grab via WhatsApp to make a purchase, buy using our app, or they can phone in. We need to clearly convey all of that information together with pricing and product details in overlays during each segment, and the switcher’s DVE, lower thirds and onscreen graphics display make it very simple to do.

“As a pioneer in the MENA shopping channel marketplace we found ourselves at a crossroad. Not only did we require more space, but we also needed to upgrade our existing SD workflow and future proof for 4K,” concludes Moustafa. “Thanks to Blackmagic Design and the guidance of UBMS, we’ve been able to redesign everything from the ground up and implement a solution that guarantees we’ll continue to provide our customers with the very best viewing experience possible.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic URSA Broadcast, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, ATEM Camera Control Panel, Smart Videohub 12G 40x40 and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - February 12, 2019 - Blackmagic Design announced today that it has formed a strategic partnership with the USC School of Cinematic Arts to provide Blackmagic hardware and software to the School over three years. The products will be used by USC students studying filmmaking and post production, while broadcast production students will now have the opportunity to work with UltraHD in the school’s television station, Trojan Vision.

Through the partnership, Blackmagic Design will provide URSA Broadcast cameras and URSA Mini Pro Cinema cameras, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K switchers, ATEM Camera Control Panels, HyperDeck Studio Pro recorders and Resolve Micro and Resolve Mini Panels.

“Blackmagic is known for providing high quality equipment that filmmakers and other content creators find accessible,” said Elizabeth Daley, Dean of the School of Cinematic Arts. “We are thrilled our students get to use Blackmagic Design tools because we know that means they will be better prepared for the work environments they will encounter after graduation.”

The partnership with Blackmagic Design will provide a major upgrade to the equipment used by USC students who create programming for Trojan Vision, the School of Cinematic Arts’ award-winning television station that airs to homes across Los Angeles, and online.

Greg Vannoy, who oversees Trojan Vision, said: “While we broadcast in HD, the upgrade gives us full Ultra HD capability, which we feel creates a better learning facility for our students.” The studio, which is located in the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, will now have URSA Broadcast cameras, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K switchers, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panels, ATEM Camera Control Panels, and a massive array of routing components, as well as HyperDeck Studio Pro recorders; transforming the facility into a modern teaching environment.

“We are thrilled that some of the media industry’s most talented young creators will be consistently learning on and using our products and we are excited to see what they end up creating,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design.

Beyond the broadcast equipment, the partnership provides DaVinci Resolve Micro Panels for students studying color grading. Students will have access to DaVinci Resolve Studio and instructors will have DaVinci Resolve Mini Panels for use in their classes. A number of URSA Mini Pro cinema cameras will be used for student productions.

“It’s important for our students to learn in an environment that closely resembles the industry,” said Meri Weingarten, Director of Digital Media & Technology at the School. “We know this will improve their skills,”

“We are excited to offer the URSA Mini Pro to our students. Blackmagic has done a great job creating a compact, multi-purpose camera that captures a beautiful image,” said Vannoy. “We are always interested in the newest and best tools the industry is using and we’re excited to see what our students do with the URSA Mini Pro.”

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K switchers, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panels, ATEM Camera Control Panels, DaVinci Resolve Studio, HyperDeck Studio Pro, DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com

About the USC School of Cinematic Arts

The University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts is one of the leading media schools in the world. Founded in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1929 over 86 years ago, the USC School of Cinematic Arts has fueled and mirrored the growth of entertainment as an industry and an art form. The School offers comprehensive programs in directing, producing, writing, cinema and media studies, animation and digital arts, production, interactive media and games, all backed by a broad liberal arts education and taught by leading practitioners in each field. Its more than 13,000 alumni are among the world’s most distinguished animators, scholars, teachers, writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, sound experts, video game designers and industry executives. Since 1973 not a year has passed without an alumnus or alumna being nominated for an Academy Award or an Emmy. https://cinema.usc.edu

Fremont, CA - February 5, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that acclaimed cinematographer Roy H. Wagner, ASC shot the upcoming musical drama “Stand!” using several URSA Mini Pro cameras for principal photography, along with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K for select shots.

Juliet” style love story set in the violent events of the era. Starring Gregg Henry (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Laura Wiggins (“Shameless”), Marshall Williams (“Glee”), and Hayley Sales (“Deadpool 2”). “Stand!” is slated for release in 2019.

Shot on location in Winnipeg, Roy knew he needed a reliable camera system that would withstand the rigors of location shooting, but also would be easy to use. “This is a camera I’ve done extensive tests with and have found it incredibly competitive with the most expensive camera systems. The camera crew had never used the camera and yet were able to pull a brand new camera out of its case and have it fully prepped within three days.”

The style of photography called for dynamic lighting contrast, deeply detailed shadows and brilliant highlights, requiring a camera with enormous exposure latitude. “What amazed me shooting with the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro,” said Adetuyi, “was that it allowed us to get into low light situations and still capture really thick, rich blacks. We went for a very aggressive style, and the images allowed us a lot of latitude for interpretation in post production.” Wagner was incredibly happy with the detail in the shadows. The resolution, the sharpness, they dynamic range will please any demanding cinematographer. We were filming with atmospheric smoke, filming through layers of lace and open weave material that would have caused aliasing with other cameras”

The project put a high demand on unique imagery, both for its period setting but also its musical style. Adetuyi knew Roy was up to the task. “It was a great challenge to capture 1919 in its fullness, yet tell a poignant and dramatic story. There were a lot of typical issues with time that meant the cameras were under combat style conditions. We never waited for camera problems nor was I ever told I couldn’t accomplish a difficult task. The cameras were incredibly light and small enough to place wherever I needed. Roy created such beautiful images for this story.”

Wagner’s past work helped him develop a unique style that was not afraid of contrast, yet embraced the story within the imagery. Wagner has driven the visuals of such diverse and innovative shows such as “CSI”, “House” and “Elementary.” He is a multiple Emmy Award winner, and is a member of both the American Society of Cinematographers as well as being an honorary Fellow in The British Royal Photographic Society.

Wagner has seen the transition from photo chemical film to digital, and was deeply involved in early development of high definition imaging, photographing the very first dramatic episodic network television series in high definition, “Pasadena”. While always eager to embrace new technologies, he has not always been pleased with the results. “I’ve done extensive tests with the URSA Mini Pro and knew I was able to let the highlights over expose and then bring them back in post production,” said Wagner. “I could expose for the shadows and print for the highlights, which is what we used to do with the photo chemical process. I was astonished at how it reproduces skin tone. I’m not having to use cosmetic rouge on the key light, like I’ve had to do with virtually every other digital camera.”

Wagner was impressed with both the image quality and the technology. “Most modern cameras are like using medical devices. I’m having to put a great deal of diffusion in front of the lens, or something between the lens and the sensor in order to protect the actors. That was not the case with this camera. The filtration choices I made were creative. This camera loves what’s in front of it.”

“This camera gives me a chance to be an artist again,” said Wagner. “It can compete with any camera on the market now. But most of all, I’m excited about Blackmagic Design team because they love cinematography as much as I do.”

View the teaser trailer here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JllrjJ_XpQ&feature=youtu.be

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro, URSA Mini 4.6K, Micro Cinema Camera, Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Pocket Cinema Camera, Micro Studio Camera 4K, Production Camera 4K, Video Assist 4K, DaVinci Resolve, Fusion, ATEM, Videohub, SmartView Duo, SmartScope Duo 4K, UltraStudio, DeckLink, Intensity Shuttle, Media Express, Converters and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - December 13, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that the company’s production and post products are being used to complete many of the fall 2018 season’s new and returning television shows and streaming series. More than 55 shows rely on Blackmagic Design’s digital film cameras; Fusion Studio visual effects (VFX), compositing, 3D and motion graphics software; and DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, color correction and digital audio software; as well as its switchers, routers, monitors and capture and playback devices.

Growing on the more than 40 fall TV shows announced in 2017, the 2018 shows, such as “Charmed,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “The Big Bang Theory” join the hundreds of top shows created with Blackmagic Design products.

DP Judd Overton relies on the URSA Mini Pro and Micro Cinema camera to capture unique angles and provide additional coverage on “No Activity” for CBS All Access. “I shoot a very cinematic look on a tight schedule,” said Judd Overton, cinematographer for “No Activity”. “I need to know my camera has the latitude and flexibility I need. The Ursa Mini Pro and Micro Cinema Cameras are designed to work for post production and I know they have the image quality I need for the show. I’m always eager to put the Blackmagic cameras into play on a scene.”

Los Angeles based InvisEffects relies on DaVinci Resolve for a number of fall shows: “We use DaVinci Resolve almost every single day. It’s a vital part of our VFX workflow,” said Mike Gaines, owner of InvisEffects. “We use Resolve to conform and export hundreds of shots every episode, and it has saved us many times, such as when we tried to conform RED 8K to 4K and HD in a couple of different aspect ratios. It’s pretty incredible.”

Hollywood based VFX studio Muse VFX depends on Fusion Studio for VFX work and compositing on a wide range of shows. “Fusion Studio is a major part of our pipeline,” said John Gross, Founder and Creative Director of Muse VFX. “It’s a powerful creative tool with great flexibility and low overhead. It easily competes with other node-based compositing options at a fraction of their cost.”

Some of the 2018 fall series using Blackmagic Design cameras and hardware include:

“Jack Ryan” DP Richard Rutkowski used Micro Studio Camera 4Ks as action and crash cameras, as well as to capture unique, remote angles;

“Madam Secretary” DP Learan Kahanov used Pocket Cinema Cameras for specialized shots, including webcam, surveillance cameras and cell phone footage;

“No Activity” DP Judd Overton used URSA Mini Pro, URSA Mini 4.6K, Micro Cinema Camera and Video Assist 4k;

For On-set Grading and DIT Work:

“Bull” DIT Gabe Kolodny used Smart Videohub 40x40 router, Videohub Smart Control, SmartScope Duo 4K monitor and UltraStudio Express;

“God Friended Me” DIT Abby Levine used UltraStudio 4K, UltraStudio HD Mini, DaVinci Resolve, and Mini Converters;

“Madam Secretary” DIT Keith Putnam used Smart Videohub 20x20, Mini Converters, UltraStudio Mini Monitor, Media Express and DaVinci Resolve Studio for viewing camera original media, reviewing VFX comps from post, pulling high quality stills and PowerWindow work;

“Splitting Up Together” DIT Francesco Suata used Smart Videohub 12x12;

“Station 19” DIT Andrew Lemon used Smart Videohub 40x40;

“The Goldbergs”DIT Kevin Mills used Smart Videohub 16x16, Mini Converter SDI Distribution, DeckLink Mini Monitor, DeckLink Mini recorder, SmartView Duo, DaVinci Resolve and Clean Switch 12x12;

“All American” DIT Urban Olsson used DaVinci Resolve, Smart Videohub 12x12 and 20x20, UltraStudio Mini, DeckLink Mini Recorder and DeckLink Mini Monitor;

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” DIT Sam Mconnville used ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K switcher, SmartView Duo monitor, SmartScope 4K, Micro Converter HDMI to SDI, DaVinci Resolve and DeckLink Mini Recorder;

“The Kominsky Method” DIT Dane Brehm used a Smart Videohub CleanSwitch 12x12, ATEM Production Studio 4K, Smart VideoHub 12x12, SmartView Duo, Smart Scope Duo 4K and an UltraStudio 4K;

• “Jack Ryan” DP Richard Rutkowski used Micro Studio Camera 4Ks as action and crash cameras, as well as to capture unique, remote angles;
• “Madam Secretary” DP Learan Kahanov used Pocket Cinema Cameras for specialized shots, including webcam, surveillance cameras and cell phone footage;
• “No Activity” DP Judd Overton used URSA Mini Pro, URSA Mini 4.6K, Micro Cinema Camera and Video Assist 4k;

For On-set Grading and DIT Work:

• “Bull” DIT Gabe Kolodny used Smart Videohub 40x40 router, Videohub Smart Control, SmartScope Duo 4K monitor and UltraStudio Express;
• “God Friended Me” DIT Abby Levine used UltraStudio 4K, UltraStudio HD Mini, DaVinci Resolve, and Mini Converters;
• “Madam Secretary” DIT Keith Putnam used Smart Videohub 20x20, Mini Converters, UltraStudio Mini Monitor, Media Express and DaVinci Resolve Studio for viewing camera original media, reviewing VFX comps from post, pulling high quality stills and PowerWindow work;
• “Splitting Up Together” DIT Francesco Suata used Smart Videohub 12x12;
• “Station 19” DIT Andrew Lemon used Smart Videohub 40x40;
• “The Goldbergs”DIT Kevin Mills used Smart Videohub 16x16, Mini Converter SDI Distribution, DeckLink Mini Monitor, DeckLink Mini recorder, SmartView Duo, DaVinci Resolve and Clean Switch 12x12;
• “All American” DIT Urban Olsson used DaVinci Resolve, Smart Videohub 12x12 and 20x20, UltraStudio Mini, DeckLink Mini Recorder and DeckLink Mini Monitor;
• “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” DIT Sam Mconnville used ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K switcher, SmartView Duo monitor, SmartScope 4K, Micro Converter HDMI to SDI, DaVinci Resolve and DeckLink Mini Recorder;
• “The Kominsky Method” DIT Dane Brehm used a Smart Videohub CleanSwitch 12x12, ATEM Production Studio 4K, Smart VideoHub 12x12, SmartView Duo, Smart Scope Duo 4K and an UltraStudio 4K;

For VFX with Blackmagic Design cameras, DaVinci Resolve and Fusion Studio:

• Muse VFX Founders and Visual Effects Supervisors John Gross and Fred Pienkos and their team use Fusion Studio to composite “Charmed,” “Madam Secretary,” “NCIS” and “The Neighborhood”;
• BluFire Studios Owner and VFX Supervisor Matt Hoffman and his team use Fusion Studio for “The Outpost;”
• Crafty Apes VFX Editors Brock Shekelton and Heather Taylor use DaVinci Resolve Studio as part of their VFX editorial work on “Legacies”;
• VFX Supervisor Lesley Robson-Foster uses an URSA Mini Pro and Pocket Cinema Camera 4K for VFX plates on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”;
• InvisEffects owner Mike Gaines used DaVinci Resolve for conform, plate output for VFX on “Speechless,” “Single Parents,” “Happy Together” and “Mixtape”;
• Filmworks/FX NY VFX Supervisor Mike Warren and his team uses DaVinci Resolve as an integral component of their VFX pipeline, along with an Intensity Shuttle for Thunderbolt for playback and Production Camera 4Ks for VFX shots for “Blue Bloods;”
• Fuze FX created a driving plate rig using Micro Cinema Cameras for use on a variety of projects including “Happy Together”;
• VFX Legion used DaVinci Resolve used DaVinci Resolve to manage plates in their VFX pipeline.

For Post Production with DaVinci Resolve Studio:

• Technicolor’s David Aaron Waters grades “Lore”;
• Technicolor’s Roy Vasich grades “The Man in the High Castle”, “Station 19”, “Grace and Frankie” and “Prince of Peoria”;
• Sim International’s John Persichetti grades “Dynasty”;
• Technicolor’s Sparkle grades “Mom,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “How To Get Away With Murder,” “Supernatural” and “Man With A Plan”;
• Technicolor’s Tony Dustin grades “Camping” and “Tell Me a Story”;
• Company 3’s Siggy Ferstl grades “Narcos: Mexico”;
• Deluxe’s Mark Wilkins grades “Bull”;
• Technicolor’s Tim Vincent grades “Criminal Minds” and “Dead To Me”;
• Encore’s Tony D’Amore grades “Elementary,” “The Punisher”, “Jessica Jones” and “Daredevil”;
• Encore’s Tim Stipan grades “God Friended Me”;
• Sim International’s Todd Bochner grades “Madam Secretary” and “Jane the Virgin”;
• Picture Shop Post’s Mason C. Young grades “NCIS”;
• Digitalfilm Tree’s Patrick Woodward grades “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “American Housewife”;
• Deluxe’s George Delaney grades “NCIS: New Orleans”;
• Company 3’s Tim Stipan grades “Ozark”;
• The Foundation’s Phil Azenzer grades “Black-ish”;
• Point 360’s Aidan Stanford grades “Fresh Off the Boat”;
• ColorTime’s Russell Lynch grades “A Million Little Things” and “Life In Pieces”;
• LA Studios’ Michael Mintz grades “Speechless”;
• Level 3 Post’s Scott Ostrowsky grades “The Goldbergs”;
• Company 3’s Dave Hussey grades “The Rookie”;
• Technicolor’s Tom Forletta grades ““Haunted”;
• Picture Shop Post’s George Manno grades “The Kominsky Method” and “Arrow”;
• Digitalfilm Tree’s Dan Judy grades “The 100”;
• Fueldfilms’ Kevin Kerwin grades “American Horror Story”;
• EFILM’s Tom Reiser grades “Riverdale”;
• Apache’s Shane Reed grades “Chef’s Table”;

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro, Micro Cinema Camera, Pocket Cinema Camera, Cinema Camera, Video Assist, DaVinci Resolve Studio, SmartView Duo, SmartScope Duo, UltraStudio, DeckLink, Converters and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - November 15, 2018 - Blackmagic Design announced today that more than 25 feature length and short films competing at the 2018 Austin Film Festival used Blackmagic Design digital film cameras and DaVinci Resolve Studio professional editing, grading and audio post production software.

Celebrating its 25th year, the Austin Film Festival focuses on the writers’ creative contribution to the film, and is unique for bringing professional and amateur screenwriters together to celebrate the role of screenplays in filmmaking. With a heavy focus on the art of story, the festival is intent on making the creators the stars, celebrating all aspects of filmmaking at the annual event. The 2018 Austin Film Festival begins Thursday, October 25th.

“We’re lucky to be able to find and support so many incredible films and filmmakers every year, and the fact that so many of the films we find—features, shorts, documentaries, narratives, animation—utilize Blackmagic Design cameras and DaVinci Resolve software I think speaks volumes,” said Harrison Glaser, Film Competition Director for the Austin Film Festival. “Blackmagic creates powerful products that help all levels of filmmakers make great films. We love seeing their impact on talented and deserving filmmakers grow each year.”

Feature films at the 2018 Austin Film Festival that used Blackmagic Design Cameras and/or DaVinci Resolve:

• “The Money Stone” colored by Natacha Ikoli of Blue Table Post;
• “Love Goes Through Your Mind” performed all transcodes and color with DaVinci Resolve. Portions of the film were also shot with a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5k;
• “F/11 and Be There” was shot on a Blackmagic URSA Mini 4K and colored in DaVinci Resolve Studio;
• “Fishbowl” colored by Matthew Riggieri at Digital Dave;
• “Empathy Inc.” colored by Darin Quan;
• “Above the Clouds” DP Neil Oseman used the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera to capture in car shots as well as tracking shots;
• “Delia and Sammy” colored by Marilen Magsaysay;
• “Worlds of Ursula K. LeGuin” colored by Leo Hallal;
• “Alive” DP Charles Hamilton shot portions of the film on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. Editor Rob Grant edited the film in DaVinci Resolve, and Brendon Rathbone colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Beyond the Night” colored by Dave Francis of Primal Films;
• “Speaking in Tongues” colored by Alex Grigoras;
• “Simple Wedding” Luke Cahill used DaVinci Resolve for titles, VFX and color.

Short films at the 2018 Austin Film Festival that used Blackmagic Design Cameras and/or DaVinci Resolve:

• “Goodbye Sirena” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Connections” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “The Backward Astronaut” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Suspicion” shot on the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K and colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Human Sun” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Minor Key” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “SIN-SFO” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Breasts” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Down” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Max and the Monster” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Clean Break” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Root for the Villain” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “Holy Moses” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “My Friend Shokat” colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “LIKE” edited and colored in DaVinci Resolve;
• “The Wormwood Star” was shot with a Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro and colored with DaVinci Resolve;
• “SHENJI458” colored in DaVinci Resolve.

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro, URSA Mini 4.6K, Micro Cinema Camera, Pocket Cinema Camera, DaVinci Resolve Studio and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - November 13, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that South Africa based Homebrew Films has completed an Ultra HD 4K facilities upgrade that relies on broadcast infrastructure products from Blackmagic Design, including the URSA Broadcast and ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K.

Based at Atlantic Studios in Cape Town, Homebrew Films delivers a huge variety of programming, from wildlife documentaries to soap operas and lifestyle magazine shows, including ‘Tussen Ons’, an Afrikaans version of ‘The View’ talk show, and local current affairs show ‘Kwela’.

Homebrew’s technical studio director, Chris Gardner, needed a studio system that could be assembled and configured quickly, and provide Homebrew a technical advantage over the market.

“Although South African broadcasters are not yet accepting Ultra HD, it made sense to get ahead of the curve, so that we can meet their content needs now and in the future,” Chris says. “And the beauty of embracing 4K now meant that we could facilitate high quality live streaming and event video, allowing us to diversify our production portfolio.”

For live studio acquisition, Homebrew has implemented six URSA Broadcast equipped with Blackmagic Studio Viewfinders and Canon KJ20 x 8.2 BIRSE HD b4 optics. Two ATEM Camera Control Panels complete the chain and are used alongside the SmartView 4K and SmartScope Duo to rack and match the incoming feeds.

For talkback and tally, the workflow relies on the ATEM Talkback Converter 4K, which provides program return, comms and control back to all of the camera positions via 3G SDI.

“The balance of flexibility and great image quality from the URSA Broadcast chains works perfectly for the varied portfolio of work we undertake,” explains Chris. “Working as extensively as we do with light, bright color palettes, both skin tone reproduction, and color accuracy was essential, especially during a live broadcast.”

12G-SDI cable runs carry video with embedded audio from the studio floor to a Smart Videohub 40x40 in the broadcast gallery where each ISO camera feed is recorded to SSD using dedicated HyperDeck Studio 12G. The broadcast decks are also used for VT playback.

All of this is fees into the central production desk where an ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K with ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel is used to produce the live program mix.

Transitioning between traditional broadcast and live streaming workflows couldn’t be simpler thanks to Blackmagic Design. “Simply take a program feed from the ATEM via an AUX out through the Blackmagic Web Presenter in a computer and then stream using OBS.”

“We’ve been incredibly impressed, not only by this flexibility but also the ease of design and installation,” concludes Chris. “To put it in perspective, it took two of us just four weeks to design, wire, install and deploy the system, and that includes building custom elements and racks.”

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Broadcast, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, Smart Videohub 12G 40x40, HyperDeck Studio 12G, Blackmagic Web Presenter and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA – November 12, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that the new film “The Oath” was shot with several URSA Mini Pro digital film cameras and edited and graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio, its professional editing, grading, audio post and visual effects software.

Written, directed by and starring Ike Barinholtz, “The Oath” also stars Tiffany Haddish, Billy Magnussen, John Cho, Carrie Brownstein and more. Recently premiered at the LA Film Festival and currently in theaters, the independent film explores how in a politically divided America, a man struggles to survive Thanksgiving without destroying his family. After the government mandates that all American citizens sign “The Patriot’s Oath,” tensions mount as everyone gets together under one roof for the holiday.

DP Cary Lalonde used an URSA Mini Pro PL and two URSA Mini Pro EFs while shooting the film, along with a Video Assist 4K monitor and recorder, and then Colorist Mark Sachen and Editor Jack Price used DaVinci Resolve Studio during the film’s post production. The post production work was done at Los Angeles based post facility Sugar Studios LA, which was equipped with a DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel for the grading work.

“The URSA Mini Pro’s design and interface are very intuitive. During the shoot, all three cameras were equipped with URSA Viewfinders, and everything from their placement to the cameras’ dials and buttons felt very natural,” said Lalonde. “Having ND filters available at our fingertips helped save time while shooting, since we were able to easily dial ND in and out as lighting conditions changed during exterior shoots.”

According to Lalonde, the URSA Mini Pro footage easily matched the other cameras in the shooting package, so they didn’t need to worry about consistency issues. “For example, in one setup we used the URSA Mini Pro PL alongside two other cameras to capture a six person group scene. We used three cameras to shoot in three different directions at the same time, which was the most efficient way to shoot a four page scene in one setup. Each camera was set to a flat two shot, which worked well for the improvisational nature of the scene.”

Lalonde and the crew also used the two URSA Mini Pro EFs to capture establishing shots. Lalonde explained, “This was especially helpful during the ‘magic hour’ as the sun was setting. To help show the progression of the film, we wanted to establish the house in daytime and nighttime, with traditional and nontraditional camera angels, so we could match the style of the house to the mood of the film. The film starts very traditionally but there’s a sense of derailment as the story progresses.”

Sachen then used DaVinci Resolve Studio on set to grade dailies, as well as for the final grade. While working on set, Sachen also helped with assistant editing work by inputting metadata, synching the dailies, creating string outs and more with DaVinci Resolve Studio. Price was then able to stay in DaVinci Resolve Studio to complete the film’s edit.

“While editing, I’m a big proponent of using split screens for different takes to ensure that we’re using an actor’s best performance, even if it’s a nonverbal reaction. This came into play a lot in ‘The Oath,’ especially since the characters are being inundated with news broadcasts throughout the film,” explained Price. “Picture in picture comps and image stabilization were a piece of cake in DaVinci Resolve Studio.”

“Overall, DaVinci Resolve Studio’s layout and keyboard shortcuts are very intuitive. With editing, ultimately the less time spent trying to leap over technical hurdles and the more time spent on storytelling and emotion, the better,” continued Price. “There’s an astronomical number of bells and whistles within DaVinci Resolve Studio. If you’re looking for a certain feature, chances are it’s there. Its video playback is also extremely sophisticated, to the extent where I was able to edit native 2K ProRes 4444 files on a MacBook Pro with ease.”

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Video Assist 4K, DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel, URSA Viewfinder and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA – November 6, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that the live production workflow for Grammy nominated American rock band Fall Out Boy’s worldwide MANIA tour was upgraded to include its Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, URSA Broadcast and ATEM Camera Control Panel. The tour also used a full AV workflow of additional Blackmagic Design products.

Since bursting onto the scene in 2005 with the hit single, “Sugar, We’re Goin Down,” Fall Out Boy has been topping the charts with hit songs like “Dance, Dance,” “Centuries,” and “Uma Thurman.” The band released its latest album MANIA earlier this year, and just this month wrapped the sixth and final leg of the MANIA tour featuring openers Machine Gun Kelly and other supporting acts.

Production Designer Robb Jibson of Chicago production design firm So Midwest, Inc., and Touring Video Director Patrick Eaton of production and engineering solution provider VER, implemented a full Blackmagic Design setup when the MANIA tour began in 2017 and continued to upgrade the setup throughout 2018 to include a Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, five URSA Broadcast cameras, an ATEM Camera Control Panel, five Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converters and five Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converters.

The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K was used at the front of the house to capture a wide angle shot of the stage, along with a Blackmagic Video Assist 4K monitor/recorder, which Robb used to record each show in its entirety so he and the band members could review each show afterward. The URSA Broadcasts were set up throughout the upper sections of each venue to capture various views of the stage, and the team used URSA Studio Viewfinders and URSA Viewfinders in conjunction with the cameras. Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converters and Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converters allowed the team to run all necessary connections from the URSA Broadcasts to the engineering racks backstage.

“Blackmagic Design has been able to do amazing things with cameras and image sensors,” said Jibson. “The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K works incredibly well in the ever changing lighting in a concert setting. The URSA Broadcast cameras allow touring productions to utilize familiar controls while adapting the brilliance of the Blackmagic Design family of image sensors into a convenient package that reduces the footprint of traditional ENG cameras by 75 percent. This is important for venue sightlines and ticket sales, which ultimately affect the bottom line.”

In addition to the URSA Broadcasts, the workflow also featured several more Blackmagic Design components, including 10 Micro Studio Camera 4Ks positioned on the stage and center walkway for POV shots. All of the cameras were fed into the ATEM switching system and ultimately into two Mac Pros on the engineering racks for content and live generative effects, which were then fed into a Teranex AV to convert the 2160p feeds to 1080p HD-SDI signals destined for the LED screen processors. The ATEM Camera Control Panel allowed the team to control all five URSA Broadcast cameras and all ten Micro Studio Camera 4Ks from backstage. Blackmagic Design’s ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, MultiView 16, and Smart Videohub 40x40 and Smart Videohub CleanSwitch 12x12 routers were also used on the tour for live switching, monitoring, and routing.

“The ATEM Camera Control Panel brings engineering familiar controls to the URSA family of cameras to give our touring video engineer Nick West control over the iris and black point while allowing our camera operators to focus on the appropriate framing and composition of the shot,” said Jibson. “The unit ties in seamlessly with the ATEM family and allows for all the control in just a quarter of the space.”

“The combination of the URSA Broadcast, ATEM Camera Control Panel and fiber converters worked so well for our touring needs, as everything helped to streamline our setup. The URSA Broadcasts provide a lot of dynamic range and the ATEM Camera Control Panel is portable, easy to use, and powerful. Plus the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and Micro Studio Camera 4Ks are inconspicuous yet still produce amazing images. This was our best, most dynamic, and most cinematic tour yet, and we owe it to the Blackmagic Design products!” concluded Jibson.

Press Photography

Product photos of Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, URSA Broadcast, ATEM Camera Control Panel, Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder, Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder, Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter, Video Assist 4K, Micro Studio Camera 4K, Teranex AV, ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, MultiView 16, Smart Videohub 40x40, Smart Videohub CleanSwitch 12x12 and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA – October 29, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that New York City based production company Live X used a full Blackmagic Design workflow, including URSA Broadcast, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K and Micro Studio Camera 4K, to create and live stream this summer’s “Live on the Lanes” game show series for the world’s largest ten pin bowling center operator, Bowlero Corporation.

As a full service design, production and broadcast company, Live X worked with its client So They Went Productions to create the series for Bowlero Corporation's Bowlero brand. With more than 300 bowling centers around the country, operating under four bowling brands, Bowlero Corp provides fun for all ages, including immersive and interactive entertainment like blacklight bowling, arcades, laser tag and over the top culinary creations.

To appeal to today’s younger generation, Live X produced a five episode game show, “Live on the Lanes,” streamed directly to Facebook Live. Sarah Pribis, one of the hosts of the popular trivia game “HQ” served as the host of “Live on the Lanes.” Each episode had more than 500,000 viewers, and in addition to producing the series, Live X engaged viewers at home by having them participate in the game show to win cash prizes.

Lead producer and cofounder at Live X, Corey Behnke, knew it would be a unique challenge to shoot this series, as the team wanted to get as close to the two lanes of action as possible and also needed to maintain a small overall footprint. Corey decided to use five Micro Studio Camera 4Ks, two of which were positioned to shoot the lanes and two on the pins, so they could capture each strike, gutter ball and everything in between. One Micro Studio Camera 4K captured the group of players as they watched the action and waited for their turn.

He also incorporated three URSA Broadcast cameras, two of which served as handheld main action cameras, with the third on a tripod capturing the host, equipped with a teleprompter and an URSA Viewfinder. “We loved using the URSA Broadcast in a way that it was meant to be used,” said Corey. “For a live event like a game show broadcast on Facebook Live, the combination of the URSA Broadcast and the ATEM was perfect. Once you have control set up, you can manage everything from the front bench which is critical in a live situation.”

Live X used an ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, controlled using ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, with built in DaVinci Resolve style color wheels to simultaneously color correct and control all of the cameras in real time. They also used the Live X custom graphics engine which was keyfilled into the switcher. “It was so helpful to be able to use the ATEM that way. That allowed us to show the scoreboard, the lower third and the bowling animations. The ability to do key fill with the ATEM was game changing.”

“Because of the ATEM, we have tally on the URSA Broadcasts, which is very helpful,” said Corey. “And because of the 2/3 inch sensor size when using 4K B4 mount on the URSA Broadcasts, it was easily to outfit them with lenses, whether we already had them or rented them. 2/3 is pretty ubiquitous in the industry, so that’s really helpful.”

Nine HyperDeck Studio Pros were used to record the feeds from each camera as well as the overall program output. Live X also sent a program feed out of the ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K through two Teranex Mini SDI Distribution 12G units, which allowed them to send the feed to each of the eight cameras, giving them CCU control. Corey also used two SmartView 4K monitors to monitor the program feed out of the ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K.

He continued, “These products are made for live. It’s easy to match the cameras, and everything works together without additional control panel combinations. Another big reason we’ve chosen Blackmagic Design is to future proof for 12G-SDI. The internet is higher resolution than television, and our clients want 1080p30, which is how we shot ‘Live on the Lanes.’ Our clients don’t necessarily need 4K yet, but they will, and it’s great that we’re ready.”

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Broadcast, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, Micro Studio Camera 4K, URSA Viewfinder, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, HyperDeck Studio Pro, Teranex Mini SDI Distribution 12G, SmartView 4K, and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Bowlero Corporation

Bowlero Corporation (formerly Bowlmor AMF) is the largest owner and operator of bowling centers in the world, with over 300 locations, including eight locations in Mexico and two in Canada, specializing in corporate and special events, as well as league and retail bowling. The company was created in 2013 following the merger of Bowlmor Lanes, an upscale bowling and entertainment company, and AMF Bowling Worldwide and continued its growth with the acquisition of Brunswick Corporation’s bowling center business in 2014. The company’s portfolio of bowling center brands includes Bowlero, Bowlmor Lanes, AMF Bowling Co., and Brunswick Zone. For more information, please visit BowleroCorp.com.

About Live X, Inc.

Live X is a full service production company, designing, producing, and broadcasting live events, and creating immersive experiential concepts, for top global brands. From idea development through technical execution, from video, graphics and 3D animation, to live onsite and remote production and streaming, Live X uses innovative technologies to help industry-leading clients all over the world create captivating experiences to increase their audience engagement and build their brands. For more information, please visit livex.tv.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA — October 16, 2018 - Blackmagic Design announced today ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, Teranex Mini and its Mini Converters were used as part of massive indoor spatial projection system by Epson Sales Japan Corp.

Based around a 4K and 12G workflow and including 29 Epson projectors, the 360° Space Performance system is based inside the JR Shinjuku Miraina Tower and will be able to be viewed by the huge number of visitors to the tower in every elevator and the general showroom.

Epson Sales Japan Corp. is the Japanese sales division of Seiko Epson, and includes a media department that is charged with giving customers surprises and building excitement for Epson products through live and online imagery.

The new system is designed to show the growth for projection mapping with projectors across many of Seiko Epson’s markets. The department created, using Blackmagic Design equipment, a project that would let customers experience a new spatial design with the latest technologies by installing them in the elevator hall and showroom which many customers visiting the company pass by every day. Original characters expressing “Global EPSON” from around the world are projected using 29 EPSON projectors.

The video workflow for the system includes 19 units of Teranex Mini SDI to HDMI 12G and 29 Micro Converter SDI to HDMIs. 4K HDMI output by digital signage players are converted by Teranex Mini HDMI to SDI 12G into 12G-SDI and ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K then combines four layers of video signals using its chroma keying tool. The output from ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K is then converted into four streams of 3G-SDI by Teranex Mini 12G-SDI to Quad SDI, which are then converted later into HDMI by Teranex Mini SDI to HDMI 12G. The output signal is then converted into ethernet and sent to each projector.

“We intended to use chroma keying to combine video signals in our system and found ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, which supports chroma keying in 4K. The price as well as the features of ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K were perfect for this project. It had all the features we needed, including four layers of 4K chroma keying against one layer of background and an ability to change keying color in whatever way you need. Having many layers in projection mapping results in more reality and dimension. ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K was the best product for the system we wanted,” said Hiroaki Kanisawa, general manager.

He continued: “The resolution can be low when you are projecting material on a tall building outdoors, but the resolution must be higher when you have projection mapping in small spaces like our elevator hall and show room. We focused on the picture quality and color representation of the material so that customers can watch it within the distance of a few inches.”

“We’ve been using the system for many hours every day, and Blackmagic products have not failed or caused issues. The elevator hall and the showroom are the face of our company where you welcome customers. It is very important to have reliable products because it would undermine our company reputation should some problem take place in the system. I am glad to say that we find Blackmagic products highly trustworthy,” he concluded.

Press Photography

Product photos of ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, Teranex Minis, Mini Converters and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Fremont, CA - October 2, 2018 - Blackmagic Design announced today that USA Network’s “Queen of the South” used Blackmagic Design Micro Cinema Cameras extensively, and URSA Mini Pro, to capture a wide range of imagery for season three of the series. Director of Photography Abe Martinez, who started with the show as 2nd Unit Cinematographer, took over reigns as first unit DP this season, and immediately brought his passion for innovate camera work to the show’s main unit.

Queen of the South tells the story of Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga) and her beginnings in Jalisco, Mexico, where in an effort to escape her life of poverty, she begins to date a member of a successful drug cartel. But when her boyfriend is murdered, she must go on the run to save her own life. Escaping to America, she teams up with an unlikely partner to take down the leader who took her boyfriend’s life, and in the process creates her own rival cartel.

Shot entirely in practical locations for season three, production started in Malta, and moved to Dallas, Chicago, Bolivia and Arizona throughout the shoot. “Since we used practical locations,” said Martinez, “we had to be quick, on the move and squeeze into a lot of tight spaces.”

He chose to rely on the Blackmagic Design Micro Cinema Camera for its high quality and compact size. “We had many rigs that spanned from car work, boat work, plane work… actually, if it moved we had a mount on it with our Micro Cinema Cameras.”

As for the URSA Mini Pro, Martinez found it provided a high level of flexibility over other solutions. “Some of the other cameras out there require a lot of moving parts to be attached. What I love about the URSA Mini Pro is that it has a high level of tactile maneuverability for me. I can get it into tighter spaces as is, and grab it at the last minute if I need it. I can jump into a point of view that normally it would have been hard to get.”

Traditionally, the series has shot using a variety of cameras, but Martinez wasn’t worried about matching the Blackmagic cameras to them. “We had a great team at Light Iron ensuring all the cameras matched seamlessly,” said Martinez. “The thing we like about the Blackmagic cameras is that they could hold their own against any camera. It never worried us to mix up footage.”

Martinez loves working on the show not only because it offers challenges in its photography, but also that the show is shot much like the main character lives in the story. “We actually live on the run just like our main character, which means moving fast, serving a lot of international looks. Our sets and locations are diverse, and so are our shooting methods.”

The show also has a large appetite for stunts, but Martinez is always ready. “We had mounts and rigs for every setup, lots of stunts, explosions and chase work,” said Martinez. “I actually had a full time crew member, Scott Reese, assigned to handle the URSA Mini Pro’s, gimbal, jib and all of our Micro Cinema Camera needs.”

His rigs were extensive, including pole cams, rear view mirror cam, pogo cam and crane cam. “We were always looking for that extra tight angle or perspective to serve the story.”

The Micro Cinema Cameras also served as the main camera for certain car work. “The European car we had for our hero actors was too small for two operators. So we rigged two Micro Cameras on a bungee, with adjacent video assist monitors, and shot them simultaneously. Having one operator shooting with two cameras at once was quite unique.”

Martinez loves working on the show, not only for the challenges of the shoot, but also for the team around him. “I’m thrilled to be part of a show with an amazing cast and crew,” said Martinez. “but the real fun is in the style we shoot with; loose and on the go. We are always looking for ways to make the most of our locations, and having the flexibility of Blackmagic cameras gives us that extra push over the edge.”

Press Photography

Product photos of the URSA Mini Pro, Micro Cinema Camera and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com

Fremont, CA - October 02, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that it has joined the new Netflix Post Technology Alliance and that DaVinci Resolve, its professional editing, visual effects, motion graphics, color correction and audio post production software, was chosen for three of the alliance’s four technology categories: “Color Grading,” “Editorial” and “IMF & Media Encoding.” Blackmagic Design’s URSA Mini 4.6K and URSA Mini Pro were also chosen in the alliance’s “Camera” category.

The Post Technology Alliance is a program for manufacturers of products that generate or manage any kind of sound data, image data, or metadata from production through post. The alliance is aimed at bringing together industry leaders committed to work closely with Netflix to innovate production workflows and support creatives globally.

To earn the ability to use the Post Technology Alliance certified logo, products must comply with current Netflix delivery specifications, and commit to future technical innovation and timely problem resolution. By being chosen by Netflix for alliance categories, filmmakers are assured the products meet a very high mark of quality, service and support.

DaVinci Resolve is used by post professionals all over the world, and has already been used for a huge number of films and TV programs shown on Netflix, including a number of hit Netflix originals such as “Daredevil,” “She’s Gotta Have It” and ”The Ranch.”

“Professionals creating films and episodic shows for Netflix have to focus on creativity, quality and being able to launch globally in multiple formats. So having a post process that is efficient, easy to use and always improving is essential. We are honored Netflix sees that DaVinci Resolve brings that in each of the software categories of the Post Technology Alliance,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design.

“At Netflix, empowering our creative partners is incredibly important, and the Post Technology Alliance will build a more seamless experience from production through post-production,” said Chris Fetner, director of post partnerships & integrations at Netflix. “Products that bear the logo are committed to better interoperability and faster innovation cycles, which will allow artists to focus their energy on what matters most—the storytelling.”

About DaVinci Resolve 15

DaVinci Resolve 15 is a massive update that fully integrates visual effects and motion graphics, making it the world’s first solution to combine professional offline and online editing, color correction, audio post production, multi user collaboration and now visual effects together in one software tool. DaVinci Resolve 15 adds an entirely new Fusion page with over 250 tools for compositing, paint, particles, animated titles and more. In addition, DaVinci Resolve 15 includes a major update to Fairlight audio, along with over 300 new features and improvements that professional editors and colorists have asked for.

DaVinci Resolve 15 continues to revolutionize post production by combining 4 extremely high end applications as different pages in one single piece of software. The edit page has all of the tools professional editors need for both offline and online editing, the color page features the world’s most advanced color correction tools, the Fairlight audio page is designed specifically for audio post production, and the new Fusion page, with over 250 VFX, tools gives visual effects and motion graphics artists everything they need to create feature film quality effects and animations. All it takes is a single click to instantly move between editing, color, effects and audio.

This gives individual users unlimited creative flexibility because they can learn and explore different toolsets. It also enables collaboration so people with different talents can work together on the same project at the same time. DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio is the only system that lets editors, colorists, visual effects artists, and audio engineers all work in the same project at the same time.

Press Photography

Product photos of DaVinci Resolve and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G‑SDI and 12G‑SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Blackmagic Design’s URSA Mini Pro 4.6K is a professional camera that combines quality with the ergonomics and features of a traditional broadcast camera. It features a number of tactile control buttons, switches and dials that make it faster to use, built-in optical ND filters, a new interchangeable lens mount, dual CFAST 2.0 and dual SD/UHS-II card recorders and more.

The URSA Mini Pro combines the digital film technology with broadcast features and ergonomics, making it suitable for use in feature films, television shows, commercials, and indie films as well as broadcast news, studio and even live multi-camera production.

URSA Mini Pro includes DaVinci Resolve Studio software, giving customers a complete post-production solution. The software combines professional nonlinear video editing with color corrector for importing, editing, color correcting, finishing and delivering projects shot on URSA Mini Pro. DaVinci Resolve Studio works natively with the RAW and ProRes files from the camera, so customers can take them directly into post production without having to convert or change them.

Blackmagic Design will be on the show floor in booth N401. Visit the NAB Show New York website to register for the show.

Fremont, CA - September 12, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that the online series “More Than Just Parks” is captured with an URSA Mini 4.6K digital film camera and graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Founded by brothers Will and Jim Pattiz, “More Than Just Parks” is an online short film series designed to encourage the exploration and conservation of the United States’ national parks by making their stunning landscapes, coastlines and forests come to life. With each short film centering on a different park, “More Than Just Parks” features a combination of familiar visual landmarks, as well as never before seen compositions and landscapes, such as Redwood National Park’s mammoth namesake trees. To make the film series as eye catching as possible, the Pattiz brothers shoot anywhere from 150 to 300 time lapses per park, ranging from as short as ten minutes to as long as an entire day.

The Pattiz brothers chose to shoot the series with an URSA Mini 4.6K so they could capture and deliver hyperrealistic images of the parks, to help foster an emotional connection between their audience and the parks, and successfully execute their mission to preserve them. The brothers equipped the camera with an URSA Viewfinder, which allows the duo to achieve incredibly accurate focus and eliminate guesswork when focusing in on a shot.

“We start by finding an interesting composition that includes a moving component, usually water, clouds, or lighting. Next, we set up the camera and adjust the settings that we think will work best for the shot. One feature we love about the URSA Mini 4.6K is that unlike DSLRs and most third party time lapse gear, when we press record on the camera it just records until we want it to stop. Many other systems force you to input the duration for the time lapse to run or a specified stop time, which can cause you to miss the shot. With the URSA Mini 4.6K, we don’t have to worry about that,” said Will Pattiz, cofounder, “More Than Just Parks.”

So far, the brothers have covered 14 of the 60 U.S. national parks, including the latest, Hawaii’s Haleakala National Park. Unlike the other national parks that the brothers have covered, they wanted to convey a laid back look for Haleakala, since it’s one of three U.S. national parks located in a tropical climate. To achieve this, they relied on the URSA Mini 4.6K for all live action shots, leveraging the camera’s ability to film at 60 fps. They then slowed the footage down to 24 fps in post, to achieve an easy paced, island time feel without compromising the quality and look of the shot.

The URSA Mini 4.6K’s lightweight, magnesium alloy build came in handy during the Pattiz’s shoots, as they trek around the park capturing waves breaking along the shore, clouds rolling over mountain tops, and tropical waterfalls.

“Since we’re hiking with the camera throughout the parks, we need something lightweight and durable. Despite extreme conditions, the URSA Mini 4.6K has never faltered. When we were filming in Arizona’s Saguaro National Park on a 120 degree day, the camera continued to run all day without overheating. At Haleakala, we started down at sea level where it was 80 degrees and humid, and then drove up to 10,000 feet above the clouds where it was 40 degrees, but we never doubted that the camera would stand up to the conditions,” explained Pattiz.

The Pattiz brothers rely on the URSA Mini 4.6K’s 15 stops of dynamic range to keep the footage as real to life as possible. “We want the footage to replicate what we saw with our own eyes. For example, in the time lapse of the clouds moving over the mountain tops, it was critical to pull back on the exposure and draw out the shadows to really make the texture of the clouds pop. With the camera’s dynamic range, we can bring it as close to real life as possible,” said Pattiz.

The brothers then use DaVinci Resolve Studio in post to further develop the series’ vivid look. “We love that DaVinci Resolve Studio is node based, so you can keep stacking different effects on top of each other during the grading process. For example, when we were grading the footage of the turtle swimming in Haleakala, we wanted to isolate specific colors on its shell and manipulate them one at a time, without affecting the whole turtle. In the footage, the turtle had really dark colors in its shell and on its face, so we used DaVinci Resolve Studio to isolate the dark spots and give them more of the brownish hues they have in person. Then, we used a different node to pull the yellows in its shell and make them a bit softer and greener. The result was a shot that perfectly mirrored what we saw in real life. DaVinci Resolve Studio helped us bring the image to that level of hyperrealism,” Pattiz concluded.

The Pattiz brothers will continue using the URSA Mini 4.6K and DaVinci Resolve Studio on their ongoing exploration of the remaining 46 U.S. national parks. For the Haleakala National Park and more, visit: www.morethanjustparks.com/haleakala.

Press Photography

Product photos of the URSA Mini 4.6K, DaVinci Resolve Studio, URSA Viewfinder and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Manchester, United Kingdom - August 21, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that URSA Mini Pro and DaVinci Resolve Studio were used to create two exciting sports themed campaigns for Zurich Insurance, both directed, shot and post produced by Munich commercials team The Directors Duo.

The two spots linked by a ‘Strong Performance’ tagline couldn’t be more different. While the Summer spot follows a female biker skillfully taking on rigorous forest jumps and trails, the Winter spot, ‘Olympia,’ follows an alpine snowboarder risking life and limb on free ride slopes and jumping gaps on Alpine mountaintops. However, both are shot with the cinematic quality and epic scale that has become the hallmark of The Directors Duo, Benjamin Kratzin and Christopher Schlierf.

Kratzin Schlierf took on all the DP and directing duties for the commercials from Zurich’s agency Butter and production company Fireapple. Shooting the Winter spot entailed big, wide shots with a helicopter and drones as well as tightly framed shots, with the duo staying very close to the action, jumping with a snowboarder and trying to be as close as possible with all the cameras.

“We went up there with the URSA Mini Pro and chose anamorphic lenses for a great visual look. Using it on a DJI Ronin 2 on an Easyrig gimbal we could attach it to our body and ski down the free ride slopes,” explained Christopher Schlierf. “What is great about the URSA Mini Pro is that the system is so scalable.”

“Zurich was so happy with our Winter spot that they subsequently asked us for a much smaller project for the Summer season about mountain biking,” said Schlierf.

Kratzin Schlierf decided to complete picture and audio post on the spot through DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio. “We were able to quickly move the focus of the project between the different tabs from Edit to Color to Deliver, eliminating the need for conforms or round tripping. You’ve got everything in one package.”

“The creative opportunities within version 15 are on another level altogether,” according to Kratzin. “Features such as the stackable and tabbed timelines in Edit means you have a solid all round platform to cut on alongside some powerful tools for color, VFX and audio.”

"Its entire interface feels very modern,” he adds. “The interactive timelines in the Edit pages makes the cutting fluid. Simple touches such as how the trimming tools change depending on where you place the mouse in your timeline, for example, make a big difference.”

With the grade complete, Kratzin imported his entire sound design library into DaVinci Resolve where he designed and mixed the audio using Fairlight, which was a first.

"We then normalized the levels and only at the final stage of the TVC version did we export to Orange Sound Studio’s in Munich for the final legal mix,” concluded Kratzin. "While the integration of Fairlight is still a relatively new addition to Resolve, it's already a pretty impressive addition to what is an amazing set of creative tools.”

Press Photography

Product photos of DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio, URSA Mini Pro, Video Assist 4K and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G SDI and 12G SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Beijing - August 20, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that the Golden Horse Award-winning film “Alifu, the Prince/ss” was shot with its URSA Mini 4.6K digital film camera and graded by colorist Zoe Chang with DaVinci Resolve Studio and the DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel.

Directed by Yu-lin Wang, lensed by DP Pan-yun Wang and starring Utjung Tjakivalid, Yi-lan Chao, Pong Fong Wu and Chu-seng Chen, “Alifu, the Prince/ss” is a drama that tells the story of 25-year-old hair stylist Alifu and his friends as he is torn between realizing his dream of becoming a woman and inheriting the chief position handed down by his father, since he is the only son of an aboriginal tribal chief. The film won Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Golden Horse Film Festival 2017 and was also selected for the “Asian Future” section of the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival.

On a tight budget of only $250,000 USD for the whole project, director Yu-lin Wang needed a digital film camera that was affordable but still capable of providing high-end footage. As a longtime user of the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K and Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Wang was confident in the image quality produced by Blackmagic Design’s cameras and decided to use the URSA Mini 4.6K camera for the film.

“In addition to the powerful features at a low cost, the URSA Mini 4.6K’s size fits me perfectly, and it doesn’t feel heavy when shoulder-mounted. Plus, most of our interior scenes were actually shot at locations such as old buildings and bars in Taipei where the space was tight, but it was very easy for me to carry the camera around, following actors or setting it up in a bar’s small restroom or bar counter section,” said Pan-yun Wang.

To save costs, the crew decided not to use lights whenever possible and to make the most of natural light sources instead. Artificial lights were used only when natural light was too dim. For night scenes, only specific areas were lit up, so most of the footage looked very dark.

White 2: The Dawn of Justice,” “Cook Up a Storm” and “End of Summer.”

“Director Wang still wanted us to produce a high quality film at a low cost. I have been in the DI field for many years, but I still couldn’t relax when faced with such a challenge,” said Chang.

Chang didn’t understand the director’s vision until she saw the RAW footage shot with the URSA Mini 4.6K in DaVinci Resolve Studio for the very first time. “With its 15 stop of latitude, I saw the details hidden in the highlights and blacks, which could be retrieved. What amazed me the most were a couple of backlit interior scenes shot at a window. I had never before handled a high-end digital film camera that could retain the scenery out of a window in backlit footage,” she recalled.

She explained how she handled the looks of the film, “I didn’t want to go with a greenish look for the blacks as it would make the character’s face look very dirty, especially since Alifu is a Taiwanese aborigine whose skin tone tends to be dark, and since most of the scenes were not well-lit. Plus Alifu is a transgendered person and he is a stylist, a profession that produces beauty, so I wanted to help build the character, who is sensitive and sentimental, with carefully handled skin tone and rich colors.

“When setting the look for the film, I produced three tones for the director to choose from. For the first one, the blacks inclined towards reddish brown and the areas in the midtone that had neutral colors were tinted with water blue, so the characters could stand out from the background. For the second tone, the said colors were enhanced a little bit more. For the third tone, there was not too much grading for a natural, neutral tone.”

The director chose the second color scheme as the tone for all daylight interior and exterior scenes. However, the film consists of three major stories: Alifu and his tomboy roommate; the civil servant who becomes a drag queen at night; and the transgender pub owner and the plumber she loves. As such, Chang continued to make further refinements depending on scenes and stories.

She explained with a couple of examples, “For the scenes full of lust, I added more purple. For pub scenes, with the help of DaVinci Resolve Studio’s Power Windows, I was able to increase the saturation for the colors of the lights in specific regions, so the image matched the intoxicating music. A dark grayish blue look was produced for hospital scenes. For night interior scenes, I would tint the windows and areas near the windows with dark blue while enhancing the warm tone near light sources to increase the depth of space. In the seaside and railway station scenes, as well as the scenes that the son of Alifu and the tomboy are in, the warm tone of the highlights was enhanced.

“When Alifu gets back to his tribe for the hereditary succession ceremony after changing his sex, I gave up the reddish brown tone in the blacks and gave it a little bit of blue instead to set off the traditional red clothing. To avoid affecting the lip color while enhancing the red on the clothes, different colors on the clothes and headdresses were isolated and enhanced, and DaVinci Resolve Studio’s Power Windows and tracking were very useful and accurate, saving a lot of time.”

Pan-yun Wang commented on the DI work for the film, “Zoe crafted each frame with her experience and skills, so the details and colors were perfectly shown to the audience. Especially for the clothes and headdresses worn by Alifu and the hereditary succession ceremony scene, vivid colors and well-matched brightness and darkness were precisely presented. She is not only a master at grading blockbusters, but also a blessing for extremely low cost productions!”

Press Photography

Product photos of DaVinci Resolve Studio, DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel, URSA Mini 4.6K and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Zoe Chang

Zoe Chang is a veteran Taiwanese colorist with twenty year experience in DI for feature films, TVCs, documentaries, music videos.

Zoe is now a freelancer and works with top production and post production companies including Digital Domain (China), ACTION100 Universal Studio, CPOO, CITIC, DW, Kantana Post Production (Thailand) and Modern Cinema.

White 2: The Dawn of Justice,” “Cook Up a Storm” and “End of Summer.”

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.

ATLANTA—After a road trip with friends to see the Grand Canyon, my brother Jim, co-founder of production and photography company Sea Raven Media, and I were absolutely enamored with our first national park experience. In response, we created “More Than Just Parks” to share the wonders of the national parks with as many people as possible. “More Than Just Parks” is an organization and film project designed to encourage the exploration and conservation of national parks through short films. So far, we’ve hit 13 of the 60 U.S. national parks. To achieve our vision, we initially selected the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K before upgrading to the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K.

We first started using the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K because the quality of its footage was at a much higher level than we could get with any DSLR, and it was just as portable. Then when the URSA Mini 4.6K came out, we jumped on the opportunity to upgrade. Its small form factor and lightweight design made it possible for us to easily bring it on shoots all over the country. In addition, its 15 stops of dynamic range gave us the ability to recover the shadows and highlights in our footage.

The URSA Mini 4.6K’s five-inch touchscreen is great because it lets us keep the camera stripped down as much as possible while we’re hiking through these remote regions. We eventually equipped it with an URSA Viewfinder, since with certain lenses it’s easier to focus with one. Using the URSA Viewfinder, we get a high-resolution color display that lets us get incredibly accurate focus, eliminating any sort of guesswork and making the image really crystal clear.

RESEARCHING LOCALES

To make the series as eye catching as possible, we shoot anywhere from 150 to 300 time-lapses per park, ranging from as brief as 10 minutes to as long as an entire day. We shoot a combination of familiar visual landmarks, as well as never-before-seen compositions and landscapes. To determine the most interesting locations to shoot, we do a lot of research beforehand by looking at images, blog posts and more about the parks.

We start by finding an interesting composition that includes a moving component, usually water, clouds, or lighting. Next, we set up the camera and adjust the settings to what we think will work best for the duration of the shot. One feature we love about the URSA Mini 4.6K is that unlike DSLRs and most third-party time-lapse gear, when we press record on the camera it just records until we want it to stop. Many systems force you to input the duration for the time-lapse to run or a specified stop time, which can cause you to miss the shot. With the URSA Mini 4.6K, we don’t have to worry about that.

WEATHERPROOF

Naturally, we encounter all kinds of crazy weather and varying climates as we explore the parks, so we need a camera that is durable. The URSA Mini 4.6K’s magnesium alloy build makes it lightweight and keeps it cool even in hot temps. For example, we once were filming in Arizona’s Saguaro National Park on a 120-degree day and the camera continued to run all day; it didn’t overheat. Even despite all the extreme conditions that we face in the field, the URSA Mini 4.6K has never faltered.

The size, ergonomics, durability and overall quality of footage we can capture with the URSA Mini 4.6K allows us to deliver on our mission: to share these natural wonders with as many people as possible. Be sure to watch the latest installment of “More Than Just Parks,” featuring Haleakala National Park.

Want to know more? Will and Jim will be featured speakers at the 2018 Government Video Expo, Nov. 28-29 in Washington D.C. 

Will Pattiz, along with his brother Jim, are the founders of “More Than Just Parks.” Will can be reached atwill@morethanjustparks.com.

For more information on Blackmagic Design, visitwww.blackmagicdesign.comor call 408-954-0500.