Clint Milby & Jake Fruia
Filmmaker Jody Eldred has been an evangelist of Blackmagic Design products for some time now and has always been willing to give us his expert take on how best to use them. So he was the perfect choice to give us a rundown of the new Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, as well as some of the other cameras and latest updates to DaVinci Resolve and how they help support his creative vision.
Eldred’s career in news and television spans 40 years, giving him great perspective on technology and how it relates to filmmakers. When it comes to Blackmagic, Eldred praises their menu structures and how simple they are to navigate, while also being powerful and giving you all you need to operate. “I like what Blackmagic has done with their menu structures and the simplicity of their products. It just allows you to do your creative stuff and not be burdened by complexities of technology”. His work with Blackmagic Design has extended to extensive test shoots, for example taking five URSA Mini Pro 4.6K out to the wilds of Wyoming with 20 filmmakers and putting them through the paces to really push the cameras to their limits. Eldred also pointed out the power of the upcoming Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, noting not only the BMPCC4K’s HDR capability and Dual ISO, but that its color science is the same as the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K, matching the two images perfectly.
Pocket Cinema Camera 4K – $1,300 / September 2018
A long-awaited upgrade to a great and versatile camera, the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K was one of Blackmagic Design’s big reveals at NAB 2018. It features a 4/3″ sensor for capturing up to 4096 x 2160 DCI 4K images at rates up to 60 fps in a variety of codecs including CinemaDNG Raw/Raw 3:1/Raw 4:1, and various ProRes 422 options.
Slow-motion rates up to 120 fps are available in cropped Full HD. Its Micro Four Thirds lens mount accommodates the original, lightweight Pocket Cinema Camera lenses, and can be used with PL, C, EF, and other lenses with the use of separately available adapters.
A dual-native ISO up to 25,600 is featured for low-light capture, and 13 stops of dynamic range provide rich HDR images.
Record using the internal CFast 2.0 and SD/UHS-II card slots, or employ the USB-C output for capturing longer clips to an external drive.
The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K’s 5″ touchscreen LCD display reduces the need for an external, onboard monitor, while a full-sized HDMI port enables you to output a signal to a larger display.
The menu and interface are the same as the ones found on the URSA Mini camera, and 3D LUTs can be applied for monitoring or for baking in your look when you’re ready to commit.
Audio features include a mini-XLR input with phantom power for pro-style mics, a 3.5mm jack, and an internal stereo mic. Additional features include the same Blackmagic OS as the URSA Mini, and Bluetooth remote control.
A license key for DaVinci Resolve Studio is included for versatile post-production control. The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K’s carbon fiber polycarbonate build provides lightweight strength and durability, and power options include running off a Canon LP-E6 type battery or the included power supply.
DaVinci Resolve – $0 to $299 / Available Now, Packaged With BMPCC4K
Eldred also touched on DaVinci Resolve, noting it’s fun and ease of use, especially with their Resolve Panels. “It takes color correction and color grading from difficult, and maybe drudgery, to ‘This is fun!’…Its just fun, it really is”. DaVinci Resolve Studio 14 is available now for $299, while the beta version of DaVinci Resolve 15 is available for FREE, minus a few feature from the paid Studio version.
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve 15 Studio now includes Fusion. Over the years, Resolve has been growing from an industry-standard color grading software to a more and more complete post-production solution. Today, in one comprehensive application, Resolve includes advanced color correction, complete non-linear video editing, Fairlight audio post production, and Fusion VFX compositing and motion graphics. To access each toolset, simply switch to the tab/page that offers it. In addition to all this, Resolve also offers a powerful collaboration workflow and supports a suite of control panels designed specifically for color grading/video editing and Fairlight. Across all these pages, Resolve 15 offers major new features as well as a faster workflow thanks to the new Apple Metal and CUDA GPU processing.
Jody Eldred is an Emmy-winning and Directors Guild of America award-nominated Director, Director of Photography/Cameraman, Writer, Producer, and Editor. With 40 years in TV news and docs (mostly for the networks), working on feature films, TV dramas such as CBS’ “J.A.G.”, “NCIS”, “NCIS: Los Angeles”, The Tonight Show, Oprah, Good Morning America, World News Tonight, Nightline, 48 Hours, Dateline, PBS’ acclaimed “Frontline”, “Gunny-Time! with R. Lee Ermey”, and covering the Iraq War with Peter Jennings and Diane Sawyer, there’s very little he hasn’t seen and done. Wars, riots, floods, fires, celebrity interviews, presidents and royalty, underwater, skydiving, jungle, desert, run-and-gun or elaborately-lit interviews for demanding talent like Cher and Sharon Stone– and challenging subjects like Charles Manson… you name it, he can do it.
For more information on the Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, visit www.BlackmagicDesign.com/products/BlackmagicPocketCinemaCamera
For more information on Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve Software and Resolve Panels, visit www.BlackmagicDesign.com/products/DaVinciResolve
For more information on Jody Eldred and his extensive body of work, visit JodyEldredProductions.com
