Cinematographer: Florent Piovesan
Camera Operator / First AC: Alex Botton
Second AC: Thomas Teissier
Actor: Amanda Maleix
“What I wasn’t prepared for was how beautiful this landscape looks on BMD’s YRGB 17K sensor.”
‘Of Two Lands’ founder, French filmmaker Florent Piovesan has just returned from shooting the Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65 in Iceland. “I've been documenting places and interesting people for more than 10 years, as both a photographer and cinematographer. And so Iceland is one of my special places having been there many times over the last 10 years. This place is wild, it’s like being on another planet. So having the opportunity to document this landscape on a 65mm format camera, is my all-time dream come true.”
“I’ve shot on Blackmagic’s cameras before, so I found it pretty easy to understand the URSA Cine’s menu. Because this landscape has been featured in films like Prometheus, Interstellar, Oblivion and Game of Thrones, I wanted a set of lenses that would show this landscape exactly as it is. I wanted everything to be authentic, and so I finally decided on Tokina Vista Cine primes. Even though the image circle for these lenses is quoted as 46.7mm, their 35mm and longer lenses have an image illumination circle with enough coverage for a 65mm sensor! What I wasn’t prepared for was how beautiful this landscape looks on Blackmagic’s YRGB 17K sensor. Having all that extra resolution was like having a microscope on the back of the lens capturing every bit of detail in the landscape.”
“The Svinafellslon Glacier is one of those places that encompasses all the beauty of Iceland. The day we were shooting the weather was calmer with beautiful soft light, so perfect for testing highlight roll-off on the Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65. I guess part of the beauty of this place is the color palette. You get a bit of green on the mountains, blue from the ice and grey from the murky waters in front of you. And with such epic scale to this landscape, anything you shoot will naturally have depth and dimensional layers to it.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Q3
Sensor 17K Open Gate 17520 x 8040
Lenses Tokina Vista Prime
FPS 24
ISO 800
Shutter 180°
White Point 5600K
Tint 10
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
“Even though this place is dangerous and beautiful, as a documentary cinematographer you have to translate what it really feels like. The challenges with this location are obvious given you’re on the edge of the Iceland Sea exposed to the most furious gale force 60mph winds, sea spray and rain. The weather was terrible, so we had to make fast decisions, and this is where the menu system and having two monitors on the URSA Cine body were invaluable. The wind was so strong I was literally being moved from one position to another!”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Q1
Sensor 8K Open Gate 11680 x 5360
Lenses Tokina Vista Prime
FPS 100/24
ISO 800
Shutter 180°
White Point 5600K
Tint 10
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
“While the weather was at its worst, it seemed like a good time to shoot 65mm indoors. The hotel we were staying at had large windows with beautifully soft light because we were so close to the Arctic Circle. I'm a very big fan of natural light, especially in places like this. And I think we got lucky in a way, as there was enough snow outside to bring extra level into the room that allowed me to shoot some super wide shots.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Q3
Sensor 17K Open Gate 17520 x 8040
Lenses Tokina Vista Prime
FPS 24
ISO 800
Shutter 180°
White Point 5600K
Tint 10
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
“This location is where Star Wars Rogue One was shot. The landscape here is an amazing vista of inland cliffs rising up from the foreground, which makes it a perfect location for multicrops. With so much resolution, you can easily punch into the 17K images in DaVinci Resolve to create multiple scenes from the same shot. We shot on Tokina’s Vista 35mm and 50mm, which were beautifully clean lenses when shooting in a higher resolution.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Q3
Sensor 17K Open Gate 17520 x 8040
Lenses Tokina Vista Prime
FPS 24
ISO 800
Shutter 180°
White Point 5600K
Tint 10
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
Cinematographer: Dylan Rucker
Producer: Troy Jackson
Assistant Director: Amanda Dodge
Trinity Operator: Daniel Vorlet
First AC: Matthew Bellamy
Second AC: Stephen Johnson
Drone Operator: Ben Ellingson
Gaffer: Chris Anthony
Key Grip: Andrew Williams
Set PA: Monica Morgan
Actor 1: Cole Nallion
Actor 2: Kamal Miller
Actor 3: Lauren Vemeys
“65mm cinematography has more depth and separation, which makes everything feel super real!”
Dylan Rucker’s short films and music videos are known for their gritty realism. Natural colors and beautiful landscapes is what he wanted from the Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65.
“I love working with cameras that bring out colors and textures that are true to what I see! I haven’t shot a whole lot on Blackmagic URSAs before, so I was really interested in shooting with their new 140 megapixel sensor. We spent two days capturing cowboys and cowgirls riding horses, driving trucks, and just being in the dry, sandy desert. So this shoot was all about being authentic.”
“65mm cinematography is as close as you get to see in real life. Even when shooting on a 24mm lens, the field of view is more like a 14mm, but without the distortion you get with full frame. So there’s more depth and separation with 65mm cinematography, that makes everything feel super real!”
“Having a 65mm sensor in a camera the size of the URSA Cine, means you can easily throw it on a drone, car rig, Steadicam or techno crane. It also has 16 stops of latitude and these cool monitors on the operator and assistant side, that really speeds things up! This camera has off speeds that were great for some of the horse scenes, and surprisingly, it will also shoot in 8K and 4K as well.”
“With the saloon scene we used a Thalia 65 30mm lens, but we did use a 24mm several times on this camera which basically feels like a 14mm on a full frame camera. The field of view we've been getting meant we could put this camera in the smallest room and make it feel incredibly expansive. And because of the wider field of view, we've been able to stick this camera in all sorts cramped places.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Q3
Sensor 17K Open Gate 17520 x 8040
Lenses Leitz Thalia
FPS 24
ISO 800
Shutter 180°
White Point 6000K
Tint 0
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
“We had a scene where the two cowboys were standing on a ridge overlooking this huge dry lake bed, that was incredibly expansive. The landscape had that ‘classic’ epic look to it! We put the two cowboys side by side and then backed the camera off using a 55mm lens, which usually has a compressed view. As we backed off to wrap around the cowboys I was really surprised at the three dimensional characteristics I was seeing.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Q3
Sensor 17K Open Gate 17520 x 8040
Lenses Leitz Thalia
FPS 24
ISO 400
Shutter 180°
White Point 6000K
Tint 0
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
“Having the 65mm sensor in an URSA Cine body makes this camera incredibly versatile! We've been able to stick this camera in all sorts of different places. We've put it everywhere from in the air on a drone, to basically scraping it along the ground on the back of a truck. We went from shooting through a truck window to mounting it on car hood driving down the road, in a just a few minutes. And being a cine camera, it was pretty simple to control and power on anything from MotoCrane to the Arri Trinity.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Q3
Sensor 17K Open Gate 17520 x 8040
Lenses Leitz Thalia
FPS 24
ISO 800
Shutter 180°
White Point 6000K
Tint 0
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
“Being able to work with 65mm 17K files was a lot easier than you would think. The URSA Cine has an 8TB media module in the side of the camera body. But because we were recording 17K in Blackmagic RAW Q3, we only had 3TBs of footage over the two days we were shooting, so there was plenty of media capacity. The media module pulls out of the camera which then mounts into Blackmagic’s own Media Dock. From there it went to a Blackmagic Cloud Store Mini network drive, using a 10GB Ethernet workflow.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K 65
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Q3
Sensor 17K Open Gate 17520 x 8040
Lenses Leitz Thalia
FPS 24
ISO 1250
Shutter 180°
White Point 7000K
Tint 0
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
Producer: Steve Gainer
Producer: Karen Gainer
Producer: Michael Mansouri
Cinematographer: Steve Gainer ASC ASK
First AC: Kymm Swank
Second AC: Tim Unger
DIT: Daniel Woiwode
Gaffer: Jessee Jaraczewski
“Having a camera that can shoot both the plates and principle cinematography in 12K, is truly a game changer.”
“The most important aspect of a camera for LED volume shooting, is reproduction and dynamic range. And in the past, the challenge has been how to balance the colors in both of those worlds, especially skin tones. And so I really wanted to see how shooting the person in front of the volume wall would look using the exact same color science as the ‘thing’ on the volume wall! Being able to shoot plates at ultra-high resolution with 16 stops of latitude, has been something only a specialist camera could do.
The URSA Cine can shoot at even higher resolutions in 12K 3:2 (12,288 x 8040) for the backplates. And for the principle cinematography, you have a range of options from 2.4:1 12K (12,288 x 5112) at 120 fps, 8K or 4K at 220fps, and also Super 35 (4-perf equivalent) in 9K up to 100fps. With these tests, I would’ve liked to have pulled back and had something in the foreground like some trees. Just to have some middle ground, given I was using Cooke’s flagship S8/i FF spherical lenses and the Hawk C Series anamorphic 2X lenses. However, these tests were more about shooting 12K foreground and 12K background elements. Which onset, I gotta say looked absolutely fantastic.”
“What I truly love about this camera - is it sees what my eyes see! This camera handles contrast very well. When I was shooting the backplates in the dunes and on the beach, everything was where it was supposed to be. The URSA Cine is the perfect single-camera for shooting plates.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Bitrate 3:1
Sensor 12K Full Frame 12,288 x 5112 (12K 2.4:1)
Lenses Cooke S8/iFF
FPS 24
ISO 500
Shutter 180°
White Point 6500K
Tint 1
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
NDs Internal ND
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
“Having the new monitor on the assistant (dumbside) of the camera is a real innovation. This extra monitor is going to save us a ton of time. You’ve got all of the menu controls and lens parameters, so it is going to be great for focus-pulling as well. But even as the cinematographer, this monitor is priceless.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Bitrate 3:1
Sensor 12K Full Frame 12,288 x 5112 (12K 2.4:1)
Lenses Cooke S8/iFF
FPS 24
ISO 500
Shutter 180°
White Point 6500K
Tint 1
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
NDs Internal ND
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
Producer/ Director:
Lindha Narvaez
Cinematographer: Vance Burberry ASC, ACS
“What I found was the highlight roll-off and the dynamic range on this camera, is very impressive.”
“The new URSA Cine has a full-frame YRGB sensor which is a very interesting technology. So I really wanted to see what it was like shooting on the ‘very edge’ with this full-frame camera. The way you see the differences in cameras is when they’re on the edge in terms of exposure. When you’re exposing at the extremes by either digging into the blacks or with ripping highlights, you quickly learn the capabilities of a camera. In ideal conditions where you can always land in middle-grey, most cameras are going to perform really well. It’s when you work with existing light, I feel you are going to learn the most about a camera’s sensor.”
“By really pushing this FF version of the 12K sensor and Blackmagic RAW to their limits, gives me more confidence in knowing how this camera will behave when lighting is a challenge. What I found was the highlight roll-off and the dynamic range on this camera is pretty incredible. I was a big fan of the high-light roll-off on the URSA Mini Pro 12K the S.35 version of this YRGB sensor, but this full-frame version is another level altogether. I was really impressed. I shot all of this footage at native ISO 800 or ISO 400 and I was never in a situation where I had any serious issues with exposure.”
“The first thing you notice is that this camera feels like a cinema camera for so many reasons. Having standard power and professional connections such as 3 pin Fischer RS with 24v and the 2-pin Lemo 12v, means this camera easily connects with industry standard equipment.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Bitrate 3:1
Sensor Anamorphic 2x 7680 x 6408 (9K 6:5)
Lenses Laowa 2x Anamorphic Proteus Zoom
FPS 60 fps
ISO 800
Shutter 180°
White Point 5600K
Tint 10
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
ND 6
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
“It’s the little things that help to improve the URSA Cine over its predecessor like the electronically controlled NDs. You can also swap the lens mount from PL to LPL in a snap! It just feels like a high-end cinema camera.”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K
Codec Blackmagic RAW in Constant Bitrate 3:1
Sensor 12,288 x 5112 (12K 2.4:1)
Lenses Cooke Panchro Classic FF
FPS 60 fps
ISO 800
Shutter 180°
White Point 5600K
Tint 10
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
ND 4
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
Cinematographer: Christian Sebaldt, ASC
Producer: Mary Seward
Steadicam: Richard Crow
BTS Camera Operator: April Kelley
First AC: Ryan Pilon
Second AC: Jason Kinney
DIT: Andy Lemon
Gaffer: Robert LeRoy
Art Director/Set Dec: Sheryl Guerrero
PA, Sound Playback: Luke Seward-Sebaldt
“The Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K is ready for motion picture production and all network TV projects!”
“I have been a DP on large network TV series for Shondaland and Jerry Bruckheimer TV (How To Get Away With Murder, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Lucifer) as well as theatrical feature films (Resident Evil: Apocalypse, REAGAN, Feardotcom, Final Destination: Bloodlines). And so, I will always choose a camera that won’t let me down at midnight when we're in the middle of a scene! I have used Blackmagic’s cameras for ten years now, immediately falling in love with their color science and image quality. They produce very natural and pleasing tones and I find they’re equally strong for network shows and big theatrical screens. They deliver on image quality and there’s no headache in final color correction.”
“Going with a full frame 3:2 12K sensor on the URSA Cine is simply genius. I honestly don’t want to go back to Super 35 now. Just being able to shoot wider or tighter on the same lens by changing the sensor mode (and slightly cropping), saves me when every second on the set counts. This camera can shoot Super 35 (4-perf equivalent) in 9K at 100fps and FF 8K and 4K (2.4:1) at 220fps! With that extra resolution you can even shoot 12K 3:2 open gate at 80 fps and 12K 2.4:1 (12,288 x 5112) at 120 fps! The amazing thing is, being able to shoot in 4K, 8K, or even 12K, using the entire sensor without cropping and still retaining the full field of view of your lenses.”
“I recently shot a beautiful, moody night setting with an amazing Flamenco dancer and Spanish guitarist. It was designed to have challenging lighting that would test the sensor and the camera’s dynamic range. We had candles and torches, which can be very tricky at night for lesser cameras.
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Codec Blackmagic RAW Q0, 3:1
Sensor 12K 3:2 open gate (12288 x 8040), 8K 3:2 open gate (8192 x 5360)
Lenses 36mm, 72mm, 120mm Altas Mercury (1.5X)
FPS 23.98, 36, 60, 120
ISO 800, 1600, 2500
Shutter 180°, 210°
White Point 3200K
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
NDs Electronic Internal ND
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
“This URSA Cine 12K is sturdy. It's really designed for feature film production with lots of SDI connections, 24V, Lemo and Fischer connections, plus a whole new follow-focus monitoring screen on the right side of the camera. So you now have two 5” monitors with a better-designed EVF as well!”
Camera Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Codec Blackmagic RAW Q0, 3:1
Sensor 12K 3:2 open gate (12288 x 8040), 8K 3:2 open gate (8192 x 5360)
Lenses 36mm, 72mm, 120mm Altas Mercury (1.5X)
FPS 23.98, 36, 60, 120
ISO 800, 1600, 2500
Shutter 180°, 210°
White Point 3200K
LUT Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
NDs Electronic Internal ND
Color Science Generation 5 Color Science
R500
R1,050
R250
R1,550
R500
R800
