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Blackmagic Design Gear Helping Rooster Teeth Reach Viewers

Michael Balderston — Fri, 01 May 2020 12:00:48 +0000

FREMONT, Calif.—Rooster Teeth has been putting Blackmagic Design’s URSA Broadcast cameras and ATEM 4 M/e Broadcast Studio 4K live production switcher to use at both is Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles studios for broadcasting across the country.

According to Patrick Salazar, Rooster Teeth’s director of broadcast, the media and entertainment company uses produces up to 10 productions a week using Blackmagic cameras and a control room operated by Blackmagic switchers, media recorders and more.

The Austin-based studio features six URSA Broadcasts, which are fed into a Smart Videohub 40x40 router along with all other sources. Signals are routed to the ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, ATEM 1 M/E Advance Panel, MultiView 16 and SmartScope Duo 4K monitor. There are also four HyperDeck Studio Pro and two HyperDeck Shuttle SSD recorders to record ISO camera feeds, while a separate HyperDeck Studio Pro records the line cut from the ATEM, as well as feeding the livestream.

A similar setup exists in Rooster Teeth’s Los Angeles studio.

When Rooster Teeth produces the Extra Life charity broadcast for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, the Austin studio adds two more URSA Broadcast cameras, a second ATEM, converters and a full network of the camera routing map. A Pocket Cinema Camera 4K was also used for the 2019 broadcast to capture behind the scenes footage.

For more information, visit www.blackmagicdesign.com.

No Static AV Delivers Ultra HD Workflow for Annual Baby2Baby Fundraising Gala

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Fri, 31 Jan 2020 15:54:32 +0000

Fremont, CA – January 31, 2020 – Blackmagic Design today announced that LA based event production company No Static AV (NSAV) used an Ultra HD live production workflow featuring URSA Broadcast cameras and ATEM switchers to deliver in house AV and IMAG for the annual Baby2Baby fundraising gala, which raises millions of dollars for the nonprofit and the children living in poverty that it serves.

Held at the 3Labs event space in Culver City, CA, the Baby2Baby gala brings together celebrities, entrepreneurs and philanthropists, and the evening hosts the top chefs in Los Angeles, an exclusive auction and inspiring program, all while honoring this year’s Giving Tree Award winner, Chrissy Teigen. Past honorees include Amy Adams, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Garner, Kerry Washington, Kate Hudson, Drew Barrymore and Jessica Alba.

With no shortage of AV deliverables, NSAV used its mobile production unit featuring a custom made flypack designed specifically with the Baby2Baby gala in mind. The unit relied on several Blackmagic Design products, including four URSA Broadcasts complete with URSA Studio Viewfinders, four Camera Fiber Converters and four Studio Fiber Converters for fiber connectivity between the cameras and switcher, an ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K and ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel for live switching, and a Smart Videohub 20x20 router to distribute content throughout the venue. NSAV also used an ATEM Camera Control Panel for remote camera control and Teranex AV standards converter for on the fly conversions.

NSAV praised the image quality from the URSA Broadcasts and the ease of use of the live production gear. The URSA Broadcasts were used for IMAG and the content was also recorded in camera in 4K and in 1080 at the mobile production unit. Camera Fiber Converters and Studio Fiber Converters were necessary for fiber communication between the cameras and the switcher, giving the team real time control of all camera aspects, and the ATEM Camera Control Panel allowed NSAV to properly adjust color correction, shading and shutter speed during rehearsals and the live show.

NSAV also provided two 16x9 foot projection screens with 18K lumen laser projectors, two 70 inch LED displays, two 80 inch LED displays, four 90 inch LED displays, and another 18k laser projector shot onto a large wall in the lounge area. This year’s musical act, Paula Abdul, also brought in her own 10 mil video wall, which was used to display auction footage, logos, and to run the artist’s own content as a backdrop to the stage.

“We needed to be able to distribute any content to any screen at any time,” said Adam Beck-Slaten, vice president of production at NSAV. “All of the screens were able to receive content from IMAG, PowerPoint, PlaybackPro, or two internet streams that were tracking donations. We also needed to distribute a script to the teleprompter, while two downstage confidence monitors and an 80 inch display at front of house were showing video from the program, auction and speeches for the presenters to follow along.

The Smart Videohub 20x20 allowed NSAV to expand on the inputs and outputs of the ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K. With this particular event requiring so many inputs and discreet outputs, the team was able to hot key different areas of the event using the router to control nine inputs and 18 outputs seamlessly throughout the show.

“Using Blackmagic Design products meant we were able to make a speedy transition to 4K in a cost effective way, while keeping the level of quality our clients expect,” said Beck-Slaten. “Since we often encounter so many different requests, the Blackmagic Design line allows us to build out what we need to adapt quickly and expeditiously when last minute requests and changes are thrown our way. Blackmagic lets us build what we want and need piece by piece.”

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Product photos of URSA Broadcast, URSA Studio Viewfinder, Camera Fiber Converter, Studio Fiber Converter, ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, Smart Videohub 20x20, ATEM Camera Control Panel, Teranex AV, as well as all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About No Static AV

No Static AV is a full service audio and video equipment provider for special events, private parties, live performances and video productions as well as award winning permanent AV installations. NSAV’s clients have hired them to work directly with artists and companies such as Lady Gaga, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Gold Meets Golden, LA84, City of Hope, will.i.am, the Critics’ Choice Awards, and many more. NSAV’s projects range from large corporate functions to intimate, exclusive events. The team at NSAV stays up to date on the latest technologies which they incorporate into their projects, including interactive video walls, environmental AV, VR, Projection Mapping and more.

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 Cameras and Switcher Powers South Africa’s Rocking the Daisies

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 16:30:27 +0000

Fremont, CA - December 3, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that South African music festival, Rocking the Daisies, was powered by an end to end Blackmagic Design workflow, featuring Blackmagic URSA Broadcast and ATEM Constellation 8K.

Held at the Cloof Wine Estate in Cape Town and incorporating comedy, music, art and film, Rocking the Daisies (RTD) is one of the country’s biggest festivals. Live production for the three day event’s diverse international lineup, which included The 1975, Russ, Tash Sultana and Nasty C, was delivered by production company Bad Weather.

The main stage featured three central LED screens, making up one canvas, the middle being a 6 x 6 meter square and each outer screen 3.6 x 6 meter high. There were two 5.4 meter wide by 8.4 meter high IMAGs stage left and right. “With both side screens essentially being portrait, we had to be careful with how we framed our shots, making sure that everything was centered,” reveals live director Simon Wilkes.

“We used the URSA Broadcast for acquisition; front of house we had a single camera with a very long lens and a supplementary Micro Studio Camera 4K locked off just next to the sound desk,” he explains. “In front of the stage we had a jib mounted URSA Broadcast, and another on a dolly. On stage was a roaming camera op and a handful of the micro cameras positioned in key positions for additional cutaways.”

Bad Weather’s Jonathan Bandli adds: “The image quality of these cameras was something that the festival had never experienced before; good in low light and they handled the dynamic range of a large stage with heavy contrast so elegantly. Our solution just completely changed the perception of the festival organizer’s previous experience with live camera systems.”

The production desk was located 60 meters away from the stage. “We had just the one rack, and at the top was a Teranex Express. We recorded the entire festival in 2160p24, but that wasn’t suitable for some of the other screens around the site, so we downscaled to 1080i using the Teranex,” explains Simon.

Relying on the Mini Converter Optical Fiber 12G, each camera channel sent a signal back over multimode fiber to an ATEM Talkback Converter 4K racked in the PPU setup. Converted back to SDI those signals were then patched to an ATEM Constellation 8K switcher and vision mixed using an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel.

Jonathan says, “One of the main factors in choosing the ATEM Constellation is that we have standards conversions on every single input. Mixed formats and resolutions are so often an issue on live events, especially when handling external sources. Knowing that we can handle anything that comes our way just gives us that peace of mind. With the Constellation sitting at the heart of our workflow it made sense that we invested in the best knowing that it will work hard for many years to come.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic URSA Broadcast, Micro Studio Camera 4K, ATEM Constellation 8K, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, ATEM Camera Control Panel, ATEM Talkback Converter 4K, Teranex Express, Audio Monitor 12G, HyperDeck Studio Pro and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Transmijelive livestreams for Polish FA with Blackmagic Design

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 15:18:09 +0000

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

Timeline TV Adopts Remote Production Workflow for Women’s Super League based on URSA Broadcast

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 14:12:30 +0000

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.”

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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

Grupo La República Powers New Multimedia News Business with Blackmagic Design

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 15:05:37 +0000

Fremont, CA - February 26, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that Grupo La República, a leading media organization in Lima, Perú, has incorporated a full Blackmagic Design workflow including URSA Broadcast cameras, ATEM Television Studio HD live production switchers, Blackmagic Studio Cameras and more. The investment is part of a company wide digital transformation and laid the foundation for RTV, Grupo La República’s new digital television channel.

Founded in 1981, Grupo La República is the second largest print and digital media organization in Perú, owning several print news publications including La República, El Popular and Libero. Recently, Grupo La República embarked on a digital upgrade by adapting all of its print content for its new digital platforms, including live news and sports programming via RTV.

“This digital transformation is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, but to be successful we knew we needed to have the proper equipment,” said Alfieri Noce, chief technical officer of R&D at Grupo La República. “I’ve used Blackmagic Design gear in the past, so when we were ready to move forward, I advised on what we needed to make this happen.”

He continued, “The reason for implementing Blackmagic Design was very clear from the beginning. We needed budget friendly gear that also delivered the superior quality that Grupo La República is known for.”

Grupo La República started by incorporating three URSA Broadcast cameras to shoot several shows, including the political morning show “Sin Guión con Rosa María Palacios,” the sports show “Libero” and the pop culture entertainment show “Populovers.”

“A main factor for us in selecting the URSA Broadcast was the capability to use the lenses we already had, including older, after market HD lenses. With the URSA Broadcast, we were spared from having to repurchase an entire stock of lenses, which helped keep us on budget,” said Noce.

Additionally, Grupo La República has four Blackmagic Studio Cameras. “The Blackmagic Studio Cameras are extremely reliable and complement the URSA Broadcast cameras we have in studio,” continued Noce. “Some features that make the Blackmagic Studio Camera perfect for our productions is the 10” viewfinder, remote camera controls, the different input connections and how user friendly and intuitive they are.”

Grupo La República also implemented two ATEM Television Studio HD live production switchers which allow them to easily switch between cameras while shooting their RTV programming.

“Because of the dynamism of our shows, we need switchers that are reliable and easy to use. The ATEM Television Studio HD has really eased the production process for us, especially when switching cameras, zooming in and focusing on those details that we truly want to highlight during broadcast,” said Noce. “Another quality that impacted our decision when integrating them into our workflow was their compact design. Everything is so easy to control from the front panel, and they’re also super portable, so we can move them around as needed.”

Rounding out its digital upgrade, Grupo La República also relies on a SmartScope Duo 4K to monitor broadcasts, finding the waveform monitoring incredibly useful. Additional Blackmagic Design gear includes a Smart Videohub 20x20 router, SmartView 4K to monitor the program feed, and several converters, including Mini Converter Optical Fiber 12G and twelve Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 6G.

“Our goal for Grupo La República is to be fully equipped with Blackmagic Design gear,” Noce concluded. “We have two other studios in Perú, Chiclayo and Arequipa, that we’ll be taking some of our gear to as we purchase more for our Lima studio. That’s the great thing about Blackmagic Design, the price points allow you to expand your workflow as needed without hurting your budget.”

As Grupo La República’s digital transformation continues, the organization plans on rebranding RTV this year, launching it on its own independent website and fully relying on Blackmagic Design once again.

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Broadcast, Blackmagic Studio Camera, ATEM Television Studio HD, SmartScope Duo 4K, Smart Videohub 20x20, SmartView 4K, Mini Converter Optical Fiber 12G, Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 6G and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

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Blackmagic Design Congratulates 2019 Oscar Nominated Films

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 14:39:41 +0000

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.

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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

Citruss World of Shopping Enhances Broadcast Capabilities with URSA Broadcast

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 14:54:35 +0000

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.

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Josh Groban’s ‘Bridges’ Tour Delivered by Blackmagic Design Live Workflow

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 14:36:54 +0000

Fremont, CA - January 29, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that Josh Groban’s 21 date ‘Bridges’ tour relied on an end to end solution from Blackmagic Design, including Blackmagic URSA Broadcast camera chains, Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K and ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, for live big screen content and unique video backdrops.

Taking in major US and UK venues, including Madison Square Gardens and London’s O2 Arena, the tour’s live production was handled by video director, Stuart Merser of Vis-a-Vis Video, who was tasked with filling the huge performance spaces with an intimate and uplifting energy.

“The scale of the production was vast, with an 14 piece orchestra, a five member band and guest choirs on the main stage, as well as a smaller platform, where Josh performed a selection of quieter songs with a piano,” explains Stuart. “However, the staging for each concert was actually very pared back and simple, so that Josh could really engage with each audience on a personal level. Getting this balance right for an arena audience was key, so the tone and quality of video content had to be perfectly pitched.”

A giant 14m wide LED screen formed the entire backdrop to the main stage and featured live performance footage from Josh and his band, which was captured in Ultra HD 4K with a multicam set up comprising three URSA Broadcast and four Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K.

“Having worked with the URSA Broadcast cameras on a number of big name tours, I know they deliver stunning images for arena venues, so they were the perfect choice for such a huge video screen production. We paired the cameras with a range of 4K glass, including a Canon 90:9 box, which meant every shot on screen was flawless."

“We’ve had a lot of fun rigging the cameras to deliver some extremely creative and dynamic angles to elevate our production even further,” he continues. “For example, one of the URSA Broadcast cameras was mounted on a BlackCam B60 tracking system along the downstage edge, allowing me to move smoothly between the audience and Josh on stage for some really special moments.”

Live content was also fed through VideoDust, a real time video manipulation software, built around a series of Blackmagic capture and playback cards, and developed to create a variety of effects for a dynamic backdrop. “We were able to mix live footage of Josh with a series of graphics, such as sheet music or a sparkling, glittery background, which again added another dimension to a very simple and understated production on stage,” explains Stuart.

Stuart’s bespoke production desk is built around a Smart Videohub 40x40 router, with an ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K paired with an ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel to produce the big screen mix.

“My set up has to be able to cope with a huge range of staging logistics,” he explains. “Although we know the venues that we’re traveling to, we don’t always know exactly where video will be located, whether we’ll have direct sight of the stage, what lighting or weather conditions we might have to deal with, so the production system has to be as flexible and as robust as possible. So, as well as the main desk, there is a series of Teranex AV and Mini Converters to make sure we have the ability to get video out to screens, no matter what we are faced with upon arrival.”

“On a tour like ‘Bridges’, creative video production plays a crucial role, as the artist wants every audience member to feel part of the performance. Video coverage has to be crisp and clear, but it also has to complement the staging; it can’t overpower with theatrical tricks and effects,” concludes Stuart. “Blackmagic cameras and production kit give me the quality of production that can stand up to large scale projection, but also have a level of detail in their creative tools and features that allow me to create a unique mix each night to reflect the energy and electricity of each live performance.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic URSA Broadcast, ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K, Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter, Smart Videohub 40x40, Teranex AV 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.

Swansea City AFC Launches Live Streaming Platform with URSA Broadcast

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 19:47:47 +0000

Manchester, United Kingdom - January 24, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that Swansea City Association Football Club (AFC) has developed its own streaming platform, SwansTV Live, with a live workflow featuring the Blackmagic URSA Broadcast and Smart Videohub 12G 40x40 router.

Joining the English Football League (EFL) Championship at the start of the 2018‑19 season created a new opportunity for the football club. It could now consider live streaming its own content, something that hadn’t been an option whilst in the Premier League.

Swansea City AFC had two options according to Jonathan Wilsher, head of media and marketing at the club: “We could work within the EFL’s own service, iFollow, or take the initiative to create our own. Opting out allowed us to implement a solution that would offer fans exclusive, high quality content that goes well beyond match coverage and highlights.”

Having enlisted the help of specialist football broadcast consultant Peter Knowles and his StvdioExpert team, the club has deployed four channels of URSA Broadcast around the Liberty Stadium. A purpose built studio centered around a Smart Videohub 12G 40x40 router gathers in all of the live camera feeds via SDI, as well as the custom graphics and VT packages needed to produce the master program mix (PGM).

That is then taken through an ATEM Television Studio HD, which acts as a transmission switcher selecting the source to stream be it program or a holding graphic, before being fed into an AMG video on demand (VOD) server at 1080i50.

“The URSA Broadcast’s extended video mode is the killer ingredient for us,” says Wilsher. “Combined with good quality b4 lenses, the color reproduction straight out of the URSA Broadcast means you have a really cost effective system for live to air broadcast acquisition.”

Extending the service beyond just streaming 90 minutes of football, Wilsher and the 14 strong production team also produce pre and post match studio based shows discussing team selection and match analysis. This relies on a two camera setup featuring the Blackmagic Studio Camera.

This new source of direct to consumer revenue is already widening the club’s fanbase significantly according to Wilsher. “We have exceeded all expectations in regard to subscriber numbers thanks to the solution we’ve implemented,” he concludes. “Having this level of control over our content has allowed us to engage with our fans and sponsors on a whole new level.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic URSA Broadcast, ATEM Television Studio HD, Smart Videohub 12G 40x40, HyperDeck Studio Mini and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

More than 25 Films at Austin Film Festival Created Using Blackmagic Design

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 18:43:38 +0000

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

Facebook Live Series Streamed with URSA Broadcast and ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 14:07:11 +0000

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

Grøn Festival Series IMAG Powered by Blackmagic Design Live Workflow

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 15:28:10 +0000

Fremont, Ca - September 7, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that all video production for Denmark’s Grøn Festival, including IMAG projection, is handled by an end to end Blackmagic Design live solution, comprising URSA Broadcast, ATEM 4 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K and Smart Videohub 12G.

Grøn Festival takes place across consecutive dates at eight different locations around Denmark, with the same crew and artists delivering the entire festival schedule. Live events specialist, Deadlight Lydiksen, takes responsibility for live production, handling all aspects of video from a purpose built 12G-SDI outside broadcast (OB) van.

“Grøn is an amazing festival with a concept that really shouldn’t be possible. Everything is built, conducted and packed back up each day, at venues with up to 35,000 spectators. Working from the van makes it easy for us to get in and out quickly each day,” explains Casper Warnich of Deadlight. The team manages video feeds from two stages out to LED backdrops and trailer mounted LED big screens, with a Smart Videohub 12G routing all incoming and outgoing signals.

Deadlight Lydiksen also manages video content for all the festival’s acts. “This is where the ATEM 4 M/E switcher comes into its own,” explains Casper. “One of the bands has multiple cameras filming its four members, and these feeds are all mixed with ATEM’s SuperSource feature, so each screen has each of the band members in perfect sync. For another act, we’re working with live camera feeds and the band’s own media server. This level of content production just wouldn’t be possible for us without a multi source, multi effect switcher that also offers the low latency needed for live video.”

For acquisition, three URSA Broadcast units equipped with Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converters are paired with two Canon 40x zoom lenses and a Canon 22x ENG lenses. Two units are positioned front of house and one acts as a pit camera. “Our ability to sync the URSA Broadcast via SDI is very useful, and makes it possible to achieve very low latency without having to deal with sync generators and additional cabling.”

With the festival covering 650 miles over the eight days, Grøn’s schedule is tough, however the solution is robust enough for Casper and his eight person production team to have complete confidence regardless of the venue. ”Blackmagic’s move towards broadcast SMPTE fiber simplifies our approach by removing unnecessary weight and cost. It also gives us talkback, tally and power through that one cable,” concludes Casper. “Simplicity paired with flexibility helps us hugely when we are on the road.”

Press Photography

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

About Blackmagic Design

Simple Minds and The Pretenders UK Tour Powered by Blackmagic Design Live Production Workflow

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 18:32:06 +0000

Fremont, Ca - August 30, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that its URSA Broadcast with ATEM Camera Control Panel has been used as part of a live ATEM workflow on the Grandslam tour, bringing Simple Minds and the Pretenders to 14 major venues throughout the UK.

Event specialist, LHG Live, has produced and promoted the entire tour for the two globally renowned bands, and is utilizing a live solution that relies on Blackmagic Design for acquisition and IMAG relay which it developed with support from reseller CVP.

Three URSA Broadcast cameras, equipped with Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converters and a range of Canon B4 lenses are front of house; one as wide angle and two pit units to capture the headline acts. The B4 mount allows the event specialist to use existing lenses and provides more flexibility when hiring in lenses.

“The depth of color and image quality are fantastic not to mention the many other benefits of the Blackmagic URSA Broadcast with tally, talkback and camera control all available via both the new camera control hardware and ATEM software,” comments Jacques Batchelor, LHG Live.

Adding: “The portability and durable design were also a huge consideration for us as we use these cameras on stage, on and off tripods. Therefore we wanted to make sure we had a flexible and compact solution that allows our operators to be creative.”

The ATEM Camera Control hardware has been designed with both function and ease of use in mind, according to Batchelor. “It makes color correction and iris control a dream, and has turned the URSA Broadcast into a feature packed live solution with an easy to use and recognizable workflow.”

Routing for the flyaway kit is delivered through a Smart Videohub 20x20, with an ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K switcher handling all the camera feeds, together with prerecorded adverts and VTs between sets, and the live mix is cut on an ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel. The unit also features a pair of Teranex AV standards converters, which means the production team can provide live feeds in the right format regardless of the display tech at a venue or if an artist wants to incorporate an additional source at short notice.

“The URSA Broadcast camera chain works out to be significantly cheaper than the alternatives, with incredible image quality and comparable features,” concludes Batchelor. “By choosing the Blackmagic route we have been able to develop a live solution with broadcast quality cameras and features for a fraction of the cost, seeing a swifter return on our investment.”

Press Photography

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

About Blackmagic Design

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Gala Captured in 4K with URSA Broadcast and ATEM Switcher

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 15:37:45 +0000

Fremont, CA – July 31, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that Australian production company Avoca Blue used URSA Broadcast cameras and ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K video live production switcher to capture the recent Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) Gala. The concert was captured in 4K, and also included a number of other Blackmagic Design cameras and broadcast products in the eight camera production.

The MSO opened their 2018 season with a gala concert series that included performances by Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire and Australian heldentenor and Grammy Award nominee, Stuart Skelton. Shot in 4K, the concerts are to be broadcast to audiences in Australia. Previous concerts shot by Avoca Blue of the MSO using Blackmagic Design products were also sold to China and were watched by more than 600,000 views.

To capture the performance, Avoca Blue used a combination of eight Blackmagic Design cameras, including two URSA Broadcasts, an URSA Mini 4.6K EF and five Micro Studio Camera 4Ks. The cameras were fed into an ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K for live switching, and also were used with Blackmagic Design Talkback Converter and Mini Converter Optical Fiber 12G for moving from SDI to fiber.

Producer Toby Parkinson and Technical Director Ben Doudney had previously shot and streamed a number of Australian concerts with other Blackmagic Design cameras, but this was the first event using the URSA Broadcast.

“I loved the ability to have the URSA Broadcasts used with our B4 lenses. The results were phenomenal,” Toby said. “We had used cinema camera lenses before, but the zoom was always limiting. For a concert, you want to be able to quickly zoom in on fingers and faces, and being able to use good zoom lenses was fantastic. Being able to do this makes the URSA Broadcast perfect for these types of live shoots.”

“Also, being able to use B4 lenses with the URSA Broadcast, we could get in a lot more light through the lens. The director was able to pull out to the orchestra from tight finger shots quickly and beautifully and knowing that we could work in low light we could get more creative with our shots and get really wide open,” he continued.

With the Gala, Toby and Ben were faced with the task of getting as many angles as possible, but at the same time remaining inconspicuous and out of the shot. With eight cameras capturing the performance, they relied on the URSA Broadcast, URSA Mini Pro and Micro Studio Camera 4K’s low profiles and small design.

The set up, which was run with only three camera crew on the URSA Broadcasts and URSA Mini 4.6K included using the URSA Broadcasts set up at 45 degree angles to stage, and raised to the first balcony in order to get full shots of the orchestra and tight shots of the soloists. The URSA Mini 4.6K EF was set up in the back for wide shots, while the five Micro Studio Camera 4Ks were set up among the artists. This included cameras located near the string, brass, timpani and pianos areas, as well as a unique “Conductor Camera” that ISO’d footage directly in front of the conductor, making it look like the conductor was looking directly at the viewer.

“Anyone watching the show live or broadcast later could not see the cameras in their line of site sight while watching the performance. The small design of all the cameras made it possible to get really creative with our angles and let us really bring the audience right in there with the performers,” said Ben. “And the Micro Studio Cameras are easy to set up and adjust, so I was able to quickly move the cameras and get set up, while during the show the ATEM’s camera control let us quickly trim focus and adjust each of the Micro Studio Cameras right from the switcher.”

Avoca Blue shoot concerts and other events all over Australia, and relies on Blackmagic Design products to be compact, easy to transport and easy to set up. Following the MSO Gala concerts, Toby and Ben were able to load the entire eight camera setup, along with the rest of their gear and cabling in a single SUV.

“With our complete Blackmagic workflow, we are able to offer our customers a large, high quality multi-camera production that is both affordable and easy to set up and tear down. The fiber converter alone saved us from having to travel with 80 kilos of cable line,” said Toby.

In the upcoming months, Avoca Blue will use their Blackmagic Design workflow to shoot work with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for Germany’s Unitel.

“It will be a huge accomplishment to provide these concerts for the German market. German broadcasters will only accept a very high standard and moving forward we, using Blackmagic gear, will be capturing and delivering to an incredibly high standard and distributed by this very prestigious company,” he concluded.

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Broadcast, URSA Mini 4.6K, Micro Studio Camera 4K, ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, Mini Converter Optical Fiber 12G, Talkback Converter, and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Internationally AcclaimedBlackmagic Design Wins 7 Good Design Australia Awards

nick@zazilmediagroup.com — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 13:42:25 +0000

Fremont, CA - May 31, 2018 - Blackmagic Design has swept the prestigious 2018 Good Design Australia Awards with 7 different awards for design innovation. This year’s awards brings the total number of Australian design awards to 30 and international design awards to over 50. Melbourne, Australia based Blackmagic Design is recognized around the world as a leader and innovator for its professional film, broadcast television, commercial production, corporate video, A/V and web video products.

This year’s best in class design and engineering excellence awards were given to Blackmagic Design for its URSA Broadcast camera, ATEM Television Studio Pro HD video production switcher, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, DaVinci Resolve 14 editing and color correction software, DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel, and Video Assist on-set monitor and recorder.

In addition to the Good Design Australia Awards, Blackmagic Design has been honored to receive more than 50 international awards for innovation in design and engineering. These include numerous Red Dot Awards, International Design Excellence Awards, Hollywood Post Alliance Awards and many more. The hard work that goes into designing great products at Blackmagic Design is driven by an innovative spirit and mission to bring incredibly high end video production quality and technology to everyone.

“Years ago, video was expensive and hard to produce. Now, with the Internet, smartphones, tablets and other devices, video is everywhere,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “Our goal is to enable the largest number of people to be more creative and help them tell their stories with video. Whether it’s for a high end broadcast professional, Hollywood feature filmmakers or a young web broadcaster, we think very carefully about how people are going to use our products and then design them to be faster and easier to use than anything else out there. Good products don’t need to be complex or expensive. They need to perform exceptionally well, they need to be affordable and they need to be easy to use.”

This years winning products include the new URSA Broadcast Camera which is designed to work both in the studio and out in the field. The most exciting thing about URSA Broadcast is that it doesn’t compromise on anything. Customers get high end Ultra HD broadcast camera features and quality, along with an incredible touch and swipe graphical interface that makes it fast, intuitive and easy to use, all for less than the cost of common DSLR camera. That means it’s appealing for both high end broadcast customers and young filmmakers.

Blackmagic Design also received awards for its ATEM Television Studio HD video production switcher and ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel. The switcher lets customers connect multiple cameras at the same time so they can create an edited television or web program from a live event as it’s happening. Customers typically control the switcher using software on a laptop computer, or they can use the ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel. The hardware control panel lets customers work much more quickly so they can cut between cameras, add transitions, graphics, effects and titles, all in realtime while the production is happening. The combination of these two products brings incredibly powerful broadcast quality video switching and program creation technology to anyone. These products appeal to everyone because high end broadcast customers still get the features they need while young web broadcasters get an intuitive system that’s reasonably priced.

DaVinci Resolve, Blackmagic Design’s professional video editing, color correction and audio post production software, also won this year’s award for best Digital Design App and Software. DaVinci Resolve is used to color and finish more high end Hollywood feature films, television shows and commercials than any other software. Over the last few years, Blackmagic Design has brought this powerful software to an entirely new generation of users by adding innovative new features that aren’t available anywhere else and by also redesigning the entire user experience. The free version is now the world’s most widely used professional video editing software and is perfect for anyone making web videos, independent films, corporate, wedding videos and more. The paid DaVinci Resolve 14 Studio, which is only $299, is used by professionals working in film and television.

Customers that want to work even faster, can add a DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel. The DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel also won this year’s Digital Design Interface award because of the way it seamlessly integrates with the software to provide an even better user experience. Customers using the panel have the ability to adjust multiple color and image parameters simultaneously, which is something that cannot be done with a standard mouse. This revolutionizes the way customers use DaVinci Resolve because it allows then to both work faster and also create unique looks and color combinations that are impossible to create when clicking one button at a time with a mouse.

Whether it’s a camera, professional software, a hardware control panel, or any other accessory, Blackmagic Design has become synonymous with quality and innovation. CEO Grant Petty has taken the time to listen to customers, build an incredible team with world class engineers and designers, and deliver exceptional products. In fact, the recently announced upcoming Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K may be the company’s most revolutionary product to date. Its incredible design packs the latest high end digital film technology into a professional handheld camera that costs about the same price as a high end smartphone.

About Good Design Australia

The annual Good Design Awards are Australia’s most prestigious design awards. The Awards celebrate the best new products and services on the market, excellence in architectural design, digital and communication design and reward emerging areas of design including business model innovation, social impact and design entrepreneurship.

Good Design Australia is an international design organization with a proud history that dates back to 1958. Good Design Australia remains committed to promoting the importance of design to business, industry, government and the general public and the critical role it plays in creating a better, safer and more prosperous world.

The winners of Australia's Good Design Awards were announced at the Sydney Opera House on May 17th at the 60th Annual Good Design Awards Ceremony.

Press Photography

Product photos of the URSA Broadcast, ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel, ATEM Television Pro HD, DaVinci Resolve 14, DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel, Video Assist and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Review: Blackmagic Design URSA Broadcast Camera

Ned Soltz — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 19:00:00 +0000

Blackmagic Design touts its URSA Broadcast camera as a broadcast solution with a DSLR price tag. I’ve had some hands-on time with the camera and while I’ll not comment on advertising slogans, nonetheless the camera will do the job for a wide segment of the market.

FEATURES

URSA Broadcast is roughly based upon the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K in body and electronics, but is built around a 13.056x7.344-mm sensor, making it just slightly larger than a 2/3-inch sensor. It has a B4 mount standard with standard broadcast lens connector. Optional user-changeable EF and Nikon F mounts are available. The camera body itself has electronic connectors for electronic operation of EF lenses when used with the adapter.

It has an advertised dynamic range of 12 stops and shoots at UHD or HD resolutions in DNxHD 110x and 145, all flavors of ProRes and RAW (uncompressed, 3:1 or 4:2 compression) at frame rates from 23.98 to 60fps depending upon format and media. Like the MiniPro 4.6K, it accepts both CFast 2 and SD cards with a physical toggle between cards. A list of qualified cards is found on the Blackmagic site. I did find it possible to shoot UHD 23.98 ProResHQ on a non-qualified V60 rated card but not surprisingly the card balked at RAW. Recording to qualified CFast2 cards was problem free at all supported frame rates and resolutions.

The URSA Broadcast, in sharing layout with the Mini4.6K, would be familiar in the hands of any experienced camera operator because everything is where you would expect it to be. An ND wheel can select clear, 2, 4 or 6 stops of ND filtration with IR protection. The turret turns smoothly and would be easy to adjust in field work.

As a broadcast-centric camera, gain is only expressed in terms of db rather than ISO. Thus 0 db is equivalent of ISO 400 and +12db equates to ISO 1600. This does not exactly make the camera a speed-demon and does challenge the DSLR equivalence since virtually all mirrorless and DSLR cameras are far more low-light capable.

Like the Mini Pro 4.6K the camera has two XLR audio inputs on the rear top of the camera—not the most convenient place for plugging in mics—and inputs can switch between internal microphone, mic, line or AES (yes, I could take digital output from my Mix Pre-D to the camera). There is no slot for a wireless mic, which is something that a traditional ENG shooter would miss.

Remote control can be achieved via Bluetooth and app or through a LANC connector. It has one SDI each in and out up to 12G. Timecode /reference in is also via a BNC connector. Note, however, this is not genlocked and despite BMD claiming an accurate clock, I would personally feel much more comfortable in that environment with an external timecode box such as the Ambient Lock It.

The 4-inch pull out screen is bright and its touch screen is just right—not too sensitive and not too difficult to engage. The camera does shine as a shoulder mounted camera with the optional viewfinder and shoulder mount with VC-14 foot. It is very easy to go from tripod to shoulder and the camera is well balanced even with lens and a big battery sticking off the back.

IN USE

But now to actually shooting with the camera.

I was fortunate enough to have the use of a Fujinon UA18x5.5BERD-S6 4K lens for the test. I remarked both to Bob Caniglia of Blackmagic Design and Mark Shurer of Fujinon that it felt a little funny to have a $46,000 lens hanging off a $3,500 camera. But needless to say, the Fujinon’s performance, resolution, focus and responsiveness was stellar.

Still it raises a significant question in the practical use of the camera. Cameras may come and go but optics endure. High end productions demanding the resolving power of a true 4K ENG lens can always go the rental route. Potential URSA Broadcast customers will likely have an investment in B4 glass and it is ultimately the users’ expectations that will dictate whether older glass is adequate. Can older SD glass be used at HD resolutions? Or UHD resolutions? I suspect again that the answer is dependent upon what the station or client accepts as adequate.

And here we come to the question of where the camera fits in the production scheme of things.

Certainly ProRes and DNxHD are ubiquitous post production formats. But certainly ProRes files are much larger than the AVC files used in other cameras, requiring potentially more media or more media changes. And under what scenarios would a production shoot UHD?

Bob Canigilia of Blackmagic suggests that one possible use in the broadcast world very well might be setting up a remote operation, for example, using multiple cameras that could allow communication with a director via the built-in talk-back functions and connected to a Blackmagic ATEM switcher, recording ISO shots in camera and a switched program feed to media and/or streaming. Using the Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converted and Studio Fiber Converter announced simultaneously with the camera adds versatility to this and many other scenarios with the ability to connect to other devices up to 2 km in distance over just one single cable.

RAW or higher bitrate ProRes codecs might be used in what I’ll loosely term “higher production value” shots, but I honestly do not see much RAW shooting with this camera. But there was little reason for Blackmagic to remove it from the base camera. And with DaVinci Resolve, Blackmagic RAW isn’t difficult to deal with in post. It just is a media-hog.

An interesting twist with this camera is its shooting gammas. Blackmagic cameras always had a video (Rec 709) and film (Log) gamma, but URSA Broadcast adds something called Extended Video. It is advertised to expand dynamic range and produce a shot the doesn’t require grading. Now, I simply don’t understand that last contention since virtually any shot requires some form of correction. But according to Blackmagic, Extended Video has a slightly “less aggressive” gamma curve, which I read as a softer roll-off, and a slightly wider color gamut than Rec 709. In shooting both video and extended video, I did find the extended video handled highlights and wider dynamic range shots better. Furthermore, DaVinci Resolve 14.3 and greater include a Blackmagic Broadcast to Rec 709 3D LUT. It makes me wonder whether we will see this in future updates even to existing Blackmagic cameras.

I would show some level of concern as an ENG operator using this camera on a daily basis. Not to impune those fine men and women who shoot the news, but fast pace shooting doesn’t always lead to the most gentle of camera handling at times. This camera simply does not feel to me as durable as a traditional ENG camera. Now you might say that many folks are shooting hand-held cameras. But I’ve seen some pretty well built hand-held cameras and they don’t have a big lens hanging off the end that can be snapped. And a broadcast station will have a relationship with its camera vendor that will expedite repair and replacement. Is Blackmagic ready to handle the physical support needs of a broadcaster?

Like other Blackmagic cameras, URSA Broadcast can be equipped with Blackmagic’s URSA Studio Viewfinder and find its way into a studio operation. This would be a perfectly reasonable application. I have always liked Blackmagic’s color science and the image looks good. Staying in a Blackmagic production chain, the ATEM switchers can act as camera CCU’s and match cameras in a multi-cam environment. A small studio or broadcasters, religious users, education and corporate users can literally save thousands with this hardware configuration and create technically solid content as well.

My sample camera performed well. The URSA Viewfinder’s diopter was very stiff and extremely difficult to adjust. I’ll just relegate that to sample error since I both own an URSA Viewfinder for my personal URSA Mini 4.6K and I have used them in reviews of other Blackmagic products. This is the first unit with the sticky diopter.

CFast2 media remains pricey but still below solid state media used by other manufacturers. The SD card option even for UHD makes media for this camera and absolute bargain.

Over the years, Blackmagic Design has delivered affordable products that perform well and that, like any product line, can be appropriate to certain customers but not to others. Only you can assess your individual needs and budgets. But just on the absolute scale of the quality and image quality of the URSA Broadcast, I would give it a hearty recommendation. Slogans notwithstanding, it is a lot of hardware for the money.

FAST FACTS

Summary: A 2/3-inch HD and UHD camera based upon the Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro 4.6K with optional EF and F mount lens mounts. It records ProRes, DNxHD and RAW to CFast2 or SD cards. Can be configured for remote or studio usage.

Application: ENG/EFP and whatever applications called for by traditional 2/3-inch cameras

Key Features: Interchangeable lens mounts. Four levels ND filtration. ProRes/DNxHD/RAW shooting. HFR only to 60fps in HD mode. Records UHD and full HD. Timecode in/out. Full tally and talkback. Integrates with Blackmagic ATEM switchers and optional Blackmagic Fiber backs.

Price: Camera $3,495. Viewfinder $1,495; Shoulder mount $395

Contact:www.blackmagicdesign.com

Blackmagic Unveils New High-End Broadcast Camera

James Groves — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 10:03:00 +0000

FREMONT, CALIF.—Blackmagic Design has unveiled its latest high-end broadcast camera, the URSA Broadcast.

The camera is designed for both studio programming and live production. It works with existing B4 broadcast HD lenses, can be used for both HD and UHD production, features a 4K sensor, extended video dynamic range, traditional external controls and buttons, built in optical ND filters, dual CFast and dual SD card recorders. It is available for $3,495.

Blackmagic describes the URSA Broadcast as “two cameras in one,” featuring traditional broadcast controls along with “exceptional” image quality, in a compact design for fast paced, fast turnaround production work.

“URSA Broadcast lets customers get the most out of their investment in cameras and lenses because it can be repurposed and used on every type of project, whether it’s out in the field or in the studio.” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design.

“URSA Broadcast is exciting because it makes high-end broadcast camera technology available to everyone from AV and web producers all the way up to professional broadcasters, for the same price as a common DSLR!”

This story first appeared in TVT's sister publication TVB Europe.