Yesterday we attended Blackmagic Design’s live seminar in Los Angeles and it was, in a word, amazing. Between the wonderful presenters and the quality of the manufacturers in attendance it was an excellent place to learn about Blackmagic products and how they work within the industry. The attendees were also some of the best we’ve met at any trade show, and we really enjoyed speaking with a lot of new people that were right in our own back yard.

While you’d think Blackmagic would have its hands full with such an event, they even found time to release a new firmware update for the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K. With the update comes a new Heads Up Display that meets the VERY popular demand for showing live audio levels and a histogram, as well as many other features. We spoke with the wonderful Tina Eckman of Blackmagic (full interview coming soon) who mentioned the firmware is merely starting out on the BMPC4K, and its features will trickle down to the other cameras soon. You’ll see that interview, along with all of our coverage from the day, over the coming days.

As for the next second seminar in New York, it will be on August 13th from 11 am to 7 pm:

New York City: 

• Where: The Wyndham New Yorker, Ramada Plaza, 481 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY

• When: Wednesday, August 13th, 11:00am – 7:00pm

Beyond being a great opportunity to network with like minded professionals, you will also have the Blackmagic Design team on hand to answer any and all possible questions you may have about the Blackmagic cameras and their many other products. Whether or not they will have the same presenters and manufacturers as the Los Angeles seminar I’m not sure, but we also have the presenter schedule from the L.A. show below.

The seminars were scheduled like so:

Marco Solorio from OneRiver Media covers his work with the Blackmagic Design Pocket Camera, Cinema Camera, and Production Camera 4k.  Marco will speak on the range of uses and best practices for these cameras, his experiences with these devices on his BMW documentary feature film “Ten Tenths”, as well as share his thoughts on the Blackmagic URSA.

Join award winning DGA Director and IA 600 Director of Photography Joe Murray as he shares his history, knowledge and experiences as a cinematographer, including his recent work creating a unique first person point of view with the Pocket Cinema Camera for McDonald’s recent tv spot.