Balancing mobility, efficiency and image quality, 8K open gate capture with Blackmagic PYXIS 12K delivered both vertical and 16:9 clips, and gave the post team most of the look in-camera.
With barely more than a week to prepare, cinematographer Dale Campbell shot and delivered a last minute advertising campaign for TWG Tea. The project called for the delivery of multiple formats, with images retaining a sharp and cinematic finish across all formats.
Dale has spent more than two decades shooting commercials, fashion and narrative projects, but this campaign challenged his experience in several ways.
“The production had already advanced quite far into the brief for this project when I came on board, leaving me with only about a week and a half until the shoot. A shot list and rough storyboard for the ad were already laid out,” said Dale.
Mobility, Efficiency and Image Quality
“A lot of the reference imagery featured outdoor scenes in bright and sunny conditions, but at the time, lots of rain and flat, cloudy skies were forecast. In cases like this, communication is key, and I like to make sure that everyone involved is aware of any limitations we might encounter. In the preproduction meeting, we discussed this potential and decided to lean into a different look that embraced the moody weather,” he said.
Dale opted to shoot handheld, which required a set-up that balanced mobility, efficiency and image quality. In the end, he chose the Blackmagic Design PYXIS 12K digital film camera, rigged with a Blackmagic PYXIS Monitor EVF Kit for the interior shots and paired with a set of DZOFILM Arles Lustre lenses.
“This combination allowed me to retain a lot of the quality and characteristics in the out of focus areas, but also have a wonderful golden flare profile,” said Dale. “I wanted enough sharpness so that I could crop the images in different ways, as required for the deliverables.”
A non-negotiable characteristic of Dale’s filmmaking is the accurate representation of skin tones. In his experience, these tones help the audience identify with and connect to the image. “They are influenced by the lenses, lighting and makeup, but the PYXIS 12K holds up its end of the equation beautifully,” he remarked. “Skin isn’t a flat homogenous surface. Viewers see reflections from different layers, oils and imperfections, all dependent on how the light is hitting and passing through it.”
Shooting Open Gate
While the primary deliverables were vertical for social media, the client also asked Dale to make 16:9 versions available. “I always try to shoot in an intentional way and ideally, I like to fully commit to the final deliverable aspect ratio,” he noted. “However, with requirements for both, shooting for vertical from the outset wasn’t an option.”
The shoot was based between TWG Tea’s Oxford Street location and a busy high street for the exterior shots. While this created the intended atmosphere for the campaign, it also surfaced some challenging conditions to navigate in-camera.
Blackmagic Design’s RGBW sensor design lets the camera scale its raw recording resolution without changing the sensor area used, allowing Dale to keep the same angle of view while choosing a more manageable capture size. Consequently, to keep the most flexibility and image quality, he chose to shoot in 8K at 50 fps.
“Because we shot open gate, we found we had to compromise less between the vertical and horizontal framing. I set my camera up with frame guides on screen to show a 9:16 area visible for vertical but left an amount of transparency to see the rest of the image being captured,” he noted.
“As a rule when framing for 9:16, I tend to leave more headroom than you would usually have for the same shot in 16:9. I’d then punch in to get the composition where I want it, so the extra resolution really helps.”
From a Blackmagic RAW Workflow to Post
Dale’s involvement in the campaign extended to post production as well, a part of the process that he had planned for from the outset. He said, “I’ve been living and breathing a Blackmagic RAW workflow for many years now, so I know exactly what I’m getting in post. Shooting in 8K 3:2 gave me room to protect for 9:16 delivery in post and still pull a clean 16:9 image, while keeping the data rates manageable.”
With back to back projects, Dale set up a workflow that accommodated his travel plans and made it possible to start the assembly edit immediately. “Because this project ended just ahead of a location shoot in Ireland, I started my assembly edits in the DaVinci Resolve for iPad app, using the DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor. It means that on projects like this, I can complete some deliverables on the go, especially since I host my projects on Blackmagic Cloud. Then if I need to, once I am at home I can return to my main edit and finishing system.”
The DaVinci Resolve range of three editing keyboards have all been designed to work with the software’s Cut page to make editing faster. Their controls have tactile qualities that improve the editing experience compared to software-only editing. Instead of using a mouse, editors have a search dial with a soft rubber coating that allows very accurate search and positioning of the timeline. By using the dedicated trim keys, editors can use the search dial for live trimming.
Having captured most of the look in-camera, his pathway to the colour grade became relatively easy. He commented, “I addressed some fixes using the deflicker tool and tracked various Power Windows for certain shots. But overall, the image didn’t need much manipulating. The lack of that struggle says a lot about the image this camera and sensor can produce.” https://www.digitalmediaworld.tv/
