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Press Release

Blackmagic Design today announced that the latest television commercial for Mitsubishi’s hybrid car, the Outlander PHEV, was graded using DaVinci Resolve by Tokyo based production and post production company Helmet Inc., founded by Horibe Toshi.

Helmet also used Blackmagic Design’s SmartScope Duo monitor and UltraStudio 4K capture and playback device to complete the commercial, which is airing throughout Japan. .

Outlander PHEV is the latest crossover SUV from Mitsubishi and is the world’s first 4WD plugin hybrid SUV. Helmet, a boutique production company known for its visually stunning commercials and music videos, showed the power and elegance of the new PHEV by featuring the SUV driving through the majestic landscapes of New Zealand.

“The goal for this commercial was to show the audience the coolness and power of the car. People have the impression that a hybrid car is a family or city car. However, we wanted to emphasize that the hybrid car is not just for city use by showing it driving around rough mountain roads. We shot in New Zealand for three weeks, and we shot in 4K or 5K so that we could resize in post production,” explained Takashi Chiba, a cinematographer at Helmet, who shot and color graded the commercial.

“I took a lot of care to make the car look really cool,” said Chiba. Many car commercials for family or city use tend to have a soft and less contrasty look, however, with this commercial Helmet tried to show a sharper image of the car. “I tried to create a look which is sharper and more contrasty look so that the car looked powerful and classy.”

He continued: “When we went back to our hotel after each day’s shooting, we picked the best takes. We then applied gamma for the cameras we used for shooting and exported as ProRes 422 LT for offline. We did the offline edit when we came back to Japan using XML files to pass around data with Resolve.”

When grading the commercial on DaVinci Resolve, Chiba had to reproduce the body color of the car and the natural colors in the nature. “I used Power Windows to make masks and added more contrast to the pale blue color of the body. Also I used Resolve’s sharpen tool to make the edge of the car more obvious, which gave a cooler look to the car. Also, since some of shots were done on cloudy days, the backlit shots tended to make the color green a bit too dark, so we used Resolve’s curves functions to bring some green back.”

Chiba and his crew also used an UltraStudio 4K for monitoring DaVinci Resolve’s output, as well as a SmartScope Duo for waveform monitoring in their Tokyo offices. And they use a wide range of Blackmagic products, such as Audio Monitor, Teranex 2D Processor and Mini Converters, in their day to day work.

“Blackmagic products have a consistency in their design, so they look very nice when mounted together in a rack. We sometimes bring Blackmagic equipment in a fly away kit to use on set. Helmet Inc., owns its own equipment, allowing us to do everything in house, such as planning, directing, shooting and editing. Resolve is a powerful tool for jobs which require flexibility and speed, and we are now planning to do more on set grading with Resolve,” concluded Chiba.

Press Photography

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

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced that three Pocket Cinema Cameras are being used to shoot footage for Esquire Network’s hit television show “Brew Dogs,” including driving scenes, food and beer photography and character hero shots. DaVinci Resolve is being used to color grade the series by Kelly Reese of Deluxe, a global leader in media and entertainment services.

“Brew Dogs” follows James Watt and Martin Dickie, owners of the UK’s fastest growing brewery, as they travel across America visiting different beer towns, celebrating distinctive craft beers and creating their own locally inspired drafts. Director and Executive Producer Jared Cotton, of “Brew Dogs” production company Custom Redtail Partners, works closely with DP Todd Bell to create a documentary style show with a cinematic look to it.

“There is very little time to produce an insane amount of content, all while ensuring it has a cinematic aesthetic,” said Jared. “Since the aesthetic is so important, and driving scenes are such a big part of each episode, we wanted to do more than suction cup cameras to the dash, while not fully rigging a car with large cameras. Once we saw what the Pocket Cinema Cameras were capable of in terms of small footprint and image quality, we were hooked. We use them in almost every single scene because we want the entire series to feel cinematic.”

“One of my favorite driving scenes was shot at night on the Las Vegas strip using the actual car from ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.’ We couldn't damage a piece of film history, but we still wanted to get a great scene,” said Todd. “We mounted the cross shooting Pocket Cinema Cameras inside the car, which was much safer and would have been impossible with our main unit cameras because of their size. It was one of our most visually stunning scenes of the season. The detail, dynamic range and skin tones from the Pocket Cinema Camera are really impressive.”

In addition to driving scenes, the Pocket Cinema Cameras are used to capture multiple angles and wide shots and are often mounted on main unit cameras to capture different shot sizes from the same perspective.

“The show is about the process of making artisan, hand crafted beers, and the images should have that same love and attention to detail put into them,” said Todd. “I am blown away by the Pocket Cinema Camera’s dynamic range. The amount of detail we are able to hold in the highlights outside of car shots, while holding detail in the shadows within the car, is amazing. The sharpness is even better than I had imagined, and rigging with the cameras is really fun and rewarding.”

“Previously, rigging a vehicle could take three hours and multiple crew members, but now we are ready to go in under 30 minutes,” said Jared. “The cameras also have a huge impact on product shots. We can leave our second unit DP, Jessica Fisher, at a location with a small lighting package and a Pocket Cinema Camera, not only saving time, but utilizing the camera's amazing sensor to properly showcase the real star of the show, the beer.”

Shot in ProRes in Log to utilize the sensor's entire dynamic range, colorist Kelly Reese benefits from having room to play with different looks during color grading with DaVinci Resolve.

“Jared and Todd are passionate about color correction and don't want the typical over saturated reality show look. It needs to be more natural, more filmic,” said Kelly. “To help achieve this, they shoot in Log mode, which I’m very excited about as it allows me more range to work with and helps retain more highlight detail.

“Because nearly all the footage is shot in Log, but from different cameras and under varying lighting conditions, I use color corrections before and after LUTs for maximum quality. I love that DaVinci Resolve allows LUTs to be applied on a node,” he continued. “For additional control of the gamma curve, I adjust the custom curves to get just the right amount of detail in the lower gamma and the upper gamma. In video color correction, it’s easy to fall into the trap of just adjusting the Lift, Gamma and Gain and to forget about the in between areas. Custom curves are a good way to address that.

“The bottom line is to apply organic looks, but with around 1,600 events per show, it has to be done quickly and efficiently. I use preset memories set for different looks and cameras, and I still have to modify the corrections for each shot, but they serve as great starting points,” Kelly concluded. “Our online editor works in his bay while I’m color correcting in my bay, which also makes for an incredibly efficient workflow. When there are new or revised shots for the show, he passes them to me, and I drop them onto a new track in my timeline. Having multiple tracks in Resolve really helps me stay organized.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and DaVinci Resolve are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/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 Deluxe

Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. is a global leader in media and entertainment services for film, video and online content, from capture to consumption. Since 1915, Deluxe has been the trusted partner for the world’s most successful Hollywood studios, independent film companies, TV networks, exhibitors, advertisers and others, offering best-in-class solutions in production, post production, distribution, asset and workflow management, and new digital solution-based technologies. With operations in Los Angeles, New York and around the globe, the company employs nearly 6,000 of the most talented, highly honored and recognized artists and industry veterans worldwide. Deluxe is a wholly owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. For more information visit www.bydeluxe.com.

The new Desktop Video software update adds uncompressed 8, 10-bit YUV and MJPEG to 4K capture presets in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (Windows and Mac OS X), as well as general performance and stability improvements (Windows, Mac OS X and Linux) for DeckLink, H.264 Pro Recorder, Intensity, and UltraStudio product lines.

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced that DaVinci Resolve is being used to color grade an exciting lineup of America’s brand new and returning hit fall television shows. 13 of the most anticipated series on top primetime and cable networks are using DaVinci Resolve for color correction.

Top colorists and post production facilities relying on DaVinci Resolve include DigitalFilm Tree, Encore and Level 3 Post, both part of the Deluxe Creative Services Group, Mad Old Nut Productions and Modern VideoFilm, which are all based in Los Angeles. Fall television shows using DaVinci Resolve include:

– CBS’ “NCIS: Los Angeles” and Lifetime’s “Un-Real” by Patrick Woodard of DigitalFilm Tree;

– CBS’ “Elementary” by Tony D’Amore and FX’s “American Horror Story” by Kevin Kirwan of Encore;

– ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” by George Manno of Level 3 Post;

– A&E’s “Dogs of War” by Kelly Reese of Deluxe;

– CBS’ “The Mentalist,” NBC’s “Aquarius” and MTV’s “Faking It” by Shaley Brooks of Mad Old Nut Productions; and

– ABC’s “Modern Family” by Aidan Stanford, FOX’s “Sleepy Hollow” and TNT’s “Legends” by Todd Bochner and FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” by Kim Schneider, all of Modern VideoFilm.

As the world’s most advanced color correction tool, DaVinci Resolve is the standard for high end post production workflows and continues to be the most popular and powerful color correction tool for the world’s biggest films, television programs and global commercial campaigns.

Press Photography

Product photos of DaVinci Resolve are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/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.

Press Release

Blackmagic Design today announced the immediate availability of Camera 1.9.7 software which includes dashboard on screen menus and high performance disk formatting for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.

Blackmagic Camera 1.9.7 update is available now free of charge from the Blackmagic Design website.

The new disk formatting feature allows customers to format SSD’s and SD Cards in camera so they don’t need to use a computer to prepare disks for recording. This new disk formatting feature is unique because unlike computers that format disks for general storage use, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Pocket Cinema Camera can format disks optimized for high performance video use. When formatting the camera confirms the brand of disk and other disks parameters and then formats for highest speed video data recording and playback for that specific type of disk.

This also means that as new disks are released in the future, new software can be released to take advantage of unique features of disks for maximum performance when recording high data rate RAW 4K images.

Customers also get the opportunity to choose between two disk formats, ExFAT and HFS+. The ExFAT is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X so is a good choice when customers are working on Windows or working between Windows and Mac OS X platforms as both platforms natively will read the disk. When customers are working on Mac OS X exclusively, the HFS+ format is the native Mac OS format and this allows higher performance for Mac users as well as better error protection because HFS+ supports journaling.

Allowing easy selection of the format to erase the disk, the new Blackmagic Camera Update 1.9.7 also includes the new dashboard menu that allows actions on camera functions to be selected quickly. Customers can choose to format disks, enable focus peaking, go to the settings page and other camera operations on nice big easy to use buttons.

“Following on from the popular release of in camera disk formatting on the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K last month, we are very happy to now release this feature for all models of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Pocket Cinema Camera,,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “Having this new formatting feature in the camera means customers get increased convenience as well as getting the most out of the SSD’s and SD cards so they can record higher data rate but extremely high quality RAW formats easier then ever before!”

Availability and Price

Camera 1.9.7 is available now for download from the Blackmagic Design web site free of charge for all Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera customers.

Press Photography

Product photos of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera , and all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com.

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.