BSQUARED post studio make flexibility, collaboration and top quality work their priorities, using DaVinci Resolve with Blackmagic Cloud and Remote Monitor to hold dispersed teams together.
BSQUARED is a new post production studio in Glasgow, founded by colourist Colin Brown and online editor and Jon Bruce, formerly from digital studio Blazing Griffin, also in Glasgow. Their credits include Vigil, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Shetland and many others. Producer Sean Ewins has also joined the team, after previously working at Time Based Arts in London, Blazing Griffin and Revenant, another Glasgow studio.
"Jon and I always felt our individual skills complimented the running of a facility," said Colin. "It makes sense to create a boutique, creative led facility where every decision is made to improve the work, whether that's about people or technology."
Creative flexibility and collaboration topped the list of priorities when designing the facility. "Actually, the biggest challenges were designing the suite's layout and ensuring a good client experience. Our focus is on client attended sessions, making sure everyone has a positive experience and that the quality of work is high, so every decision had to support that. Regarding tools, DaVinci Resolve has been the foundation of our creative workflow for years, and we've now come to trust it as a natural choice," he said.
BSQUARED built its two grading suites around Mac Studio workstations with M2 Ultra chips, each with its own DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel and DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor.
"We have built a facility designed for 2024 and beyond, incorporating the most up to date hardware and software. We use QD OLED monitoring to display consistent looks on all screens, and the DaVinci Resolve Remote Monitor app for simultaneous colour accurate viewing. This works equally well on the iPad, whether we are in the room with a DP, director or producer, or need to share the project with members of the production remotely."
The Remote Monitor app live streams the DaVinci Resolve viewer content as a low latency H.264 or H.265, 8 or 10 bit signal to multiple computers, iPads or iPhones at the same time so that production teams can stay in sync and collaborate anywhere. Using Blackmagic Cloud to pass a unique session password to the participants , DaVinci Remote Monitor works without VPNs so they all can connect.
To facilitate collaboration within the facility between the grading and online suites, BSQUARED is deploying a Blackmagic Cloud Store network storage system. "Not only does this mean we can share access to projects and media among team members, but we can also work with external VFX vendors where needed and access talent and skills remotely, wherever that is," Jon said.
Blackmagic Cloud Store is storage for low cost, global file sharing, able to synchronise and share media with Dropbox and Google Drive. When used with proxy workflows, a complete timeline and its associated media can be shared very quickly. With a fast internal memory core and four 10G Ethernet ports, file access incurs very low latency, making it highly responsive even with multiple users.
As well as building the best creative team and a diverse pipeline of projects, the facility is committed to supporting and training the next generation of post professionals. "We're highly collaborative and want to help the industry grow in Scotland, which will benefit us and other facilities in the long term," said Jon. www.blackmagicdesign.com
