News

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced that two Blackmagic Production Camera 4Ks and a Pocket Cinema Camera were used to shoot the upcoming action/thriller “Checkmate.” Produced by LA’s Status Media & Entertainment, the film chronicles how the actions of individuals affect us all, as six people are thrown together during an elaborate bank heist where any move can alter the outcome.

Director Timothy Woodward Jr. led a stellar ensemble cast, including Danny Glover, Sean Astin, Vinnie Jones, Mischa Barton, Michael Pare, Johnny Messner, Katrina Law, Willa Ford, Antwon Tanner and David Chisum, as they constructed six different story lines, each depicting the heist from a different point of view. As the entire film was shot over three weeks, with almost half of the footage made up of action sequences and almost 50 speaking roles, Timothy chose the Blackmagic Production Camera 4Ks for the affordable access to 4K and to save time on technical setups, allowing him to focus on creativity and performance.

“Because of the affordability of the cameras, we were able to use multiple cameras while staying in budget, which allowed for more coverage and faster shooting,” said Timothy. “This film contains a lot of action and having the ability to shoot in 4K was a must. The camera provided a very rich look with more dynamic range, and it allowed us to punch in and manipulate the frame after the fact without losing any quality. During one scene, our second unit director, Josh Tessier, orchestrated the explosion of a van. The explosion was over 30 feet high and was incredibly wide. With several stunt actor surrounding the van, we only had one take to get it perfect.””

“Our output goal was 1080HD, so shooting 4K on action sequences gave us the opportunity to crop in and find moments that might not have been predictable, which is important when you only have one take. I've seen it happen again and again, the ability to punch in on a scene has become the saving grace for a lot of takes. The information is there in the Blackmagic cameras, and it's affordable. Utilize it,” said Director of Photography Jonathan Mariande.

He continued: “When it came time to shoot a big scene between Danny Glover and Vinny Jones, having two of the 4K cameras allowed us to use an unconventional approach. We shot both sides at the same time and then flipped cameras, which not only cut down on time, but allowed the actors to act together and give a much stronger performance. Had we only had one camera, the actors would have been acting opposite stand ins, which is less than desirable for them and the project as a whole.”

With the majority of the film shot in 4K, one Blackmagic Production Camera 4K was used as the A camera hooked up to a Blackmagic Design SmartView HD monitor. A second Production Camera 4K was used as a B camera, with a Pocket Cinema Camera used as a C camera for POV and insert shots. Jonathan noted that the Blackmagic cameras’ flexibility let them go from complicated dolly setups to handheld in a matter of moments, another asset when shooting against the clock, while Timothy commented that the cameras’ built in on screen labeling system allowed them to skip several steps in post production, including transcoding of media, making the process more efficient.

“It’s even the little things that make a big difference. For example, each story was a little different. With Danny Glover’s scenes, we were going for a look that was cool in temperature with contrasting skin tones to make the audience feel more comfortable, as opposed to Vinnie Jones’ scenes where we wanted to the audience to feel more uncomfortable, so we went opposite with a warm look,” noted Timothy. “The cameras’ onscreen menu allowed us to quickly change color temperature and the shutter angle, which helped dramatically with lighting. More creative control meant less time needed for setups.”

“I think the color and the way the Blackmagic cameras shoot highlights and the dark shadows are high quality,” said Jonathan. “As a DP, I like to shoot in as soft a light as possible, and the cameras’ color and curves are just beautiful. And for the price point it's hard to beat for that cinematic look. I'm thankful we were able to use Blackmagic for this film.”

“I highly recommend the cameras to anyone in the entertainment industry looking to get a blockbuster look on an indie budget,” concluded Timothy.

Currently in post production, Josh Tessier of Rocket Panda Post will use Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve to grade the film. “Checkmate” is slated for release in 2015.

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic Production Camera 4K, 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.

Livestream Studio 2.0
Livestream announced the latest update to their flagship live production software, Livestream Studio 2.0. Available to all Studio owners now as a free download, Studio 2 brings many new features and enhancements, including a major overhaul of the graphics compositing system to add data driven graphics from Twitter, Google Docs and other sources, as well a Graphic Store where Livestream will be publishing templates from the community. Studio 2 solidifies its position as the most flexible live switcher by supporting a broad and truly unique range of wired and wireless cameras, including iOS, Android, Google Glass, Windows, Broadcaster, USB and of course SDI, HDMI and much more. Livestream is also making a free version available for download with a slightly reduced feature set.

New Features:

– Upgraded graphics engine, with
– Graphics Store enabling to submit and download graphics from Livestream.
– 3 independent graphics tracks.

– Unlimited graphics layers in each track, each with independent visibility.

– Connect layers to external data sources, including Twitter, Google Spreadsheets, RSS,
Excel and CSV.
– Flexible options to update and cycle through external data sources.

– “Push” & “Pull” graphics track to intuitively work with data updates.

– “Tie” graphics tracks to the transition & T-Bar.

– Independent transition styles for each graphics track.

– Extended timer and clock functionality.

– Text field word wrap.

– Upgraded Remote Cameras engine:
– Time synchronization to combine wired and wireless cameras - a world first!

– Google Glass Remote Camera.

– iOS (iPhone/iPod/iPad) Remote Camera.

– Android Remote Camera.

– Livestream Broadcaster (HDMI) Remote Camera.

– Blackmagic DeckLink® and web-cam sources for Windows Remote Camera.

– RMTP and Zixi Remote Cameras (Pull from URL).

– Livestream Event Remote Camera (ie. use another Livestream event as a source).

– Basic replay.

– Webcam input support.

– Audio/video follow by default.

– User interface improvements.

– Stability and reliability improvements.

– Internet connection bonding (Beta feature).

– Updated hotkeys for 2.0 Studio Keyboard.

– Many smaller bug fixes and updates.

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced the immediate availability of Camera 1.9 software which includes new “heads up display” on screen metering that provides customers with histogram, peak audio meters and recording time remaining for the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K.

Camera 1.9 update is available now free of charge from the Blackmagic Design website.

Using these additional displays for the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K means that customers can easily and quickly check important camera settings such as exposure, audio level and the remaining space on their recording disk.

Using the histogram scope, customers can now easily and rapidly set exposure in a shot as the histogram shows the the distribution of luminance in their images and if highlights or shadows are being clipped. Images with clipped highlights or shadows make it much harder to color grade the shots in post production, so having the histogram feature helps DOP’s shoot with confidence. The histogram scope is real time so highlights and shadows can be adjusted interactively with the lens setting, ensuring images are not clipped and maximum detail in tonal ranges is preserved, critically important for allowing colorists to create amazing grading effects in post production using the full contrast range of the camera.

Camera 1.9 software update also includes a new audio metering with peak hold feature to allow setting audio levels for Channels 1 and 2 when using the built in microphone as well as externally connected audio sources. The audio meters make it fast to view audio levels and adjust camera audio gain so that audio is not clipped or distorted.

The new heads up display also includes a recording time remaining indicator that shows remaining space on the recording disk. The time remaining indicator is automatically re-calibrated to ensure an accurate time remaining value if the either the frame rate or codec are changed, and displays red when the disk is getting full.

This update is available to our Blackmagic Production Camera 4K customers free of charge. Customers can download this update now and install it onto their camera from either Mac or Windows computers using a simple USB cable connection to the camera. Once the update is complete, customers can view the new on screen menus by simply swiping their finger up from the bottom of the capacitative touch screen.

This new heads up display will be released for other models of Blackmagic Design cameras over the coming weeks, so an even wider range of Blackmagic Design camera customers can get the benefits of this new display.

“We are extremely excited that we have been able to provide yet another release for our camera customers ,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “Having this new heads up display with on screen scopes will enable film makers to shoot the most amazing images with confidence that they will get incredible results in post production!”

Blackmagic Production Camera 4K Key Features

– Large high resolution 4K Super 35 mm sized sensor with superior handing of image detail.

– Professional global shutter for smooth pans and image motion.

– Wide 12 stops of dynamic range allows capture of increased details for feature film look.

– Compatible with extremely high quality EF mount lenses.

– Built in SSD recorder allows long duration recording onto solid state disks.

– Open file formats compatible with popular NLE software, such as Apple ProRes and compressed CinemaDNG 12 bit RAW. No custom file formats.

– Features all standard connections, including jack mic/line audio in, 6G-SDI output for monitoring with camera status graphic overlay, headphone mini jack, Thunderbolt, LANC remote control and standard DC 12 power connection.

– Built in touch screen LCD for camera settings and metadata entry compatible with popular video editing software including Final Cut Pro X.

– Supports Ultra HD and 1080HD resolution capture in 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps.

– Includes UltraScope software for live scopes via the built in Thunderbolt connection.

– Includes DaVinci Resolve color grading software.

Availability and Price

Camera 1.9 is available now for download from the Blackmagic Design web site free of charge for all Blackmagic Production Camera 4K customers.

Press Photography

Product photos of the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K, 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.

Press Release

Blackmagic Design announced that the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Teranex 2D Processor, as well as a number of other Blackmagic Design products, were used on one of this summer’s most talked about sequels, “Sharknado 2: The Second One.”

In Sharknado 2, the horror of thousands of sharks in tornados moves to New York City after the destruction of Los Angeles in 2013. Featuring the previously not shark-devoured cast members of the first film, including Ian Ziering and Tara Reid, who join celebrities such as Vivica Fox, Mark McGrath, Judd Hirsch, Matt Lauer and Robert Klein, the new movie tells the story of a freak weather system turning its deadly fury on New York City and unleashing a sharknado.

Produced by Los Angeles’s The Asylum and directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, Sharknado 2 was shot primarily in New York City with two days of additional photography in Los Angeles. Ben Demaree, who was the director of photography on the first film, returned for “The Second One” as well. The film includes a huge number of special effects, green screen shots and footage from other sources, such as NBC’s “The Today Show.” Filming of the movie included a number of different cameras, including the Blackmagic Cinema Camera (EF Model), which was used as a B camera for pick up shots.

“The Blackmagic camera was really great because it was lightweight and produced amazing images,” said Anthony. “We could grab and go with it for quick inserts and shooting spur of the moment shots, while knowing that we would always get high quality images we could work with. It gave us images that had real sharpness and clarity and helped get additional elements needed to theVFX guys for some of the complicated shots in the film.”

Anthony continued: “With one green screen shot where the main character, Fin [Ian Ziering], was battling a Sharknado, we finished shooting and realized we had missed an important close-up of his hand grabbing a chain. The lighting was already down. But we grabbed the Blackmagic camera and went up and got the shot, using natural light without worrying about relighting or setting up again, because we knew we could rely on the camera’s dynamic range to get what we needed. And it worked great and integrated perfectly with our earlier footage.”

Sharknado 2 also used a number of other Blackmagic Design products in the making of the film, including the Teranex 2D Processor standards converter, multiple Blackmagic Design Mini Converters and various DeckLink and UltraStudio I/O devices. Teranex 2D Processors were used to convert a number of different sources shown in the film, as news stations from around the city began reporting on the horrors of sharks riding in tornados.

“Teranex 2D was incredibly easy to use and made conversions quick and painless,” said Mark Quod, post production supervisor of The Asylum. “One of the best examples is with the use of footage coming in from The Today Show, one of the big scenes in the film. We had to use footage shot by The Today Show’s production group, and they record everything in HDCam SR 59.94. Sharknado 2 is being shot in 23.98, so every frame from The Today Show had to be converted to look seamless. Our Teranex made quick work of the conversion, and is a great product.”

Sharknado 2 will air on July 30 on the SyFy Network.

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Teranex 2D Processor, DeckLink, UltraStudio and Mini Converter 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.

Blackmagic Design announced the release of DaVinci Resolve 11 Public Beta 2. There are full licensed versions for Mac OS, Windows and Linux. These are no charge upgrades for existing customers. Also available on the web site at no charge are DaVinci Resolve Lite for Mac OS and Windows.

New items in this beta include:

– A New Deliver Page preset for “Video Sharing Export” - ideal for client previews etc

– Ability to perform deck capture to QuickTime Uncompressed, ProRes (Mac and Linux) and DNxHD

– Support for FCPX 10.1.2 XML (FCPX v1.4)

– Encode and decode support for Apple ProRes 4444 XQ on Mac and Linux

– Added AAF import zoom support for 3D Warp effect

– Added ability to specify 'Timeline Name' as file name during renders

– Improved H.264 rendering color compatibility

– Improved shadow recovery

– Improved DNG decode for some still image RAW images