Blackmagic Design

Last week Blackmagic Design announced that the URSA Mini 4.6K and the Micro
Cinema Camera have commenced shipping and that the specifications of the two
cameras have been changed.

The development of the global shutter in these cameras took longer than expected,
resulting in the delay in shipping. For the past six months, Blackmagic Design engineers have been working hard to resolve the issues. As the performance of the global shutter is not up to the standard that Blackmagic Design strives to give its customers, the company has decided to ship both cameras without the global shutter feature.

The prime reason for this decision is that over the last few months, professional
cinematographers and DOPs who have been beta testing the cameras on all types of different projects have reported incredible results. Their feedback states that the
cameras should not be delayed for the purpose of the global shutter feature as the
main benefit of the cameras is the wide dynamic range which is only available when
running without the global shutter. The beta testers working in high end digital film and television production are wanting to use cameras such as the URSA Mini 4.6K to
obtain the advantage of the 15 stops of wide dynamic range and high frame rate
capabilities of the rolling shutter.

With the release of URSA Mini 4.6K, customers will be able to choose between two
very different models of URSA Mini. Originally the URSA Mini 4K was intended to be the entry level model and the URSA Mini 4.6K to be the higher end model with more
features. However, now these two cameras are targeted for different kinds of work
as customers can choose between the URSA Mini 4K if they want global shutter for
fast action sports or the URSA Mini 4.6K if they want wide dynamic range for high
end digital film work.

Blackmagic Design understands and accepts that some customers who have back
ordered a URSA Mini 4.6K may like to change their order as a result of this feature
change.

“We’re deeply sorry that it has taken much longer than expected to ship the
Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K and Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, and extremely
disappointed that we are unable to deliver a feature that we had previously
announced,’ said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “As an engineer, I have always felt that my job is to build a stage for customers to perform on, but until we ship a product we never know what kind of stage it is. This camera is truly amazing and images are just so filmic…’

For more information and for a full feature list visit the Black Magic design website.

Blackmagic Design recently introduced the Blackmagic URSA Mini B4 Mount which is
a B4 lens mount modification for its new Blackmagic URSA Mini PL camera that lets
it use broadcast HD lenses.

The Blackmagic URSA Mini B4 Mount is designed to replace the existing PL lens
mount on Blackmagic URSA Mini PL, turning it into a B4 camera for HD. To install
the B4 mount, customers simply take the PL lens mount off where it is normally
removed for shimming PL lenses and bolt on the B4 lens mount.

The Blackmagic URSA Mini B4 Mount is a lens mount replacement that features
precision glass optics specifically designed to match Blackmagic URSA Mini’s sensor
with high definition broadcast B4 lenses. The B4 mount also features spherical
aberration correction so customers can use their lenses wide open with no blooming
effect. The Blackmagic URSA Mini B4 Mount can be used with both 4K and 4.6K PL
models of URSA Mini.

Once the mount is installed, B4 lenses can be attached to the camera. Blackmagic
URSA Mini PL also includes a new lens control connection that works with both PL
and B4 lenses. This new connection supports both analogue and digital lens control
standards and also provides iris control and power for the lens.

The built in PL lens mount on URSA Mini PL can be changed to the B4 lens mount
whenever needed, giving customers the flexibility to use URSA Mini with their
existing B4 broadcast lenses for HD today, and with PL cinema lenses for Ultra HD
and 4K tomorrow.

The Blackmagic URSA Mini B4 Mount turns URSA Mini PL into an ENG style camera

Crafted from advanced technology magnesium alloy, URSA Mini is a lightweight
shoulder mount camera. There’s a 5′ fold out monitor, complete technical scopes,
professional audio recording, and dual ProRes recorders all built right in as well as
the optional URSA Viewfinder and URSA Mini Shoulder Kit. With URSA Mini, news
crews can shoot a story, mount the card on a computer in the van and begin editing
immediately without having to convert files so they can get stories on air fast.

Blackmagic URSA Mini PL can be purchased with either a 4K or a 4.6K image sensor
and features up to 15 stops of dynamic range. When used with high definition B4
lenses, URSA Mini shoots incredibly clear HD images that have massive dynamic
range and looks better than the images from a traditional broadcast HD camera.

“The most exciting part about this announcement is that broadcasters using URSA
Mini get the HD camera they need today with modern file formats like RAW, ProRes
and DNx plus they also get wide dynamic range so the quality of the images are
much better,’ said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design.

Blackmagic URSA Mini B4 Mount will be available in November from Blackmagic
Design resellers worldwide.

At IBC 2015, which runs from 11 to 15 September in Amsterdam, Blackmagic Design will be showcasing its latest products designed to
deliver Ultra HD 4K video content for the broadcast and live production markets.

Following product announcements at NAB in April, Blackmagic Design will bring its
new digital film camera models to the show, as well as demonstrate its full range of
12G-SDI 60p video production infrastructure. For post-production professionals,
there will also be full demonstrations of DaVinci Resolve 12 and Fusion Studio 8.

Visitors to the Blackmagic Design booth (Hall 7, H.20) will be able to take a closer
look at three new camera models: the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera,
Blackmagic URSA Mini and the Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K, as well as a
new 4.6K sensor for the URSA and the Blackmagic Video Assist for external
monitoring and recording.

With Blackmagic Design’s new 12G-SDI 60p products, broadcasters can get the
same high frame rates as are commonly found in HD formats, because these
products have all been designed from the ground up to support Ultra HD up to
2160p60. The range on show at IBC includes: the ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K,
the world’s first high frame rate Ultra HD 2160p60 switcher, the Smart Videohub
12G 40×40 video router, Teranex Mini converters and HyperDeck Studio 12G, a
professional solid state disk based broadcast deck that can record SD, HD and Ultra
HD up to 2160p60.

DaVinci Resolve 12 marks a major upgrade with over 80 new features for
professional editing and colour grading, including a new modern interface, multi-cam editing, powerful new media management tools and an entirely new
professional audio engine. Fusion 8 software will also be demonstrated on the
booth.

For more information, click here.

Blackmagic Design has released DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G – Quad SDI, a new
mezzanine card that allows pros to connect older Ultra HD and 4K equipment, which
uses quad link 3G-SDI connections, to their computer through their existing DeckLink
4K Extreme 12G video capture and playback card.

DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G has native 12G-SDI connections for working with the
latest high frame rate 4K equipment over a single, high speed SDI cable. Older,
first generation monitors and projectors have quad link 3G-SDI connections that
require four SDI cables. The new DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G – Quad SDI mezzanine
card bridges the gap so customers can now have both high speed 12G-SDI
connections and four 3G-SDI connections, all on the same card.

With DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G – Quad SDI, a colourist working with DaVinci
Resolve in a grading suite or theatre can directly connect to older monitors and
digital cinema projectors that have four 3G-SDI connections, without needing to buy
additional external converters. In addition to Quad SDI support, the DeckLink 4K
Extreme 12G – Quad SDI card also adds a built-in hardware down converter for
outputting 1080/p60 video from 12G-SDI 2160/p60 sources.

The new Quad Link SDI mezzanine card fits in the mezzanine slot on the DeckLink
4K Extreme 12G, replacing the standard HDMI card that normally occupies the slot.
The mezzanine card is easily replaceable and can be installed directly by
customers. Installing the Quad Link SDI mezzanine card gives customers quad link
3G-SDI capture and playback on their DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G card.

Also released by the company is the Desktop Video 10.4.1 software update. This
update supports DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G – Quad SDI, and adds 12-bit RGB 4:4:4
support for 2160p30, keying in 1080p60, and deep colour support.

At the NAB show, which runs until 16 April in Las Vegas, Blackmagic Design announced 17 new products including new camera models, a high end digital film sensor, a portable monitor and video recorder, 12G-SDI and 60p products, the latest version of Resolve and the introduction of Fusion on Mac and Linux.

The Blackmagic camera family has three new models: the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, Blackmagic URSA Mini and the Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K, as well as a new sensor and a new Video Assist. In addition, a new high performance 4.6K sensor for URSA high end digital film cameras features high resolution of 4608 x 2592 at 120 frames per second and an extremely wide 15 stops of dynamic range for images which rival those shot on traditional 35mm film. The high resolution screen of the Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder packs an incredible number of pixels in a very small amount of space, making it so sharp that it’s impossible to see any individual pixels.

The new range of 12G-SDI/2160p60 products include the ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, Smart Videohub 12G 40×40, Teranex Mini and HyperDeck Studio 12G. HD formats up to 1080p60 are common and broadcasters cannot move to Ultra HD unless they can get the same high frame rate workflows. With these new products, broadcasters can get the same high frame rates because they have all been designed to support Ultra HD up to 2160p60. And with multi rate 12G-SDI connections, broadcasters can automatically switch to 6G-SDI, 3G-SDI and HD-SDI and are compatible with existing HD equipment, so they can master programs in 2160p60 while simultaneously outputting them in HD with realtime down conversion.

Resolve 12 is a major upgrade with over 80 new features for professional editing and colour grading. The update includes a new modern interface, multi-cam editing, new media management tools, a new professional audio engine with support for VST/AU plugins, shot matching, 3D keyer, new 3D perspective tracker, enhanced curve editing and more. Fusion 8, an advanced visual effects and motion graphics software will be released on Mac OS X and Linux.

Visit the Blackmagic Design website for more information.

Blackmagic Design has released its Intensity Pro 4K, a new fast PCIe card which
allows capture and playback of extremely high quality SD, HD and Ultra HD video
on Windows, Mac and Linux PCI Express computers.

Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design said, “Intensity Pro 4K has all of the same great
features of the original Intensity Pro capture card but now includes Ultra HD and
1080p60 high frame rate support! That means consumers can now capture amazing
looking video with incredibly sharp images, vivid colour, and more clarity and detail
than ever before!’

This new Intensity Pro 4K includes all the features of the Intensity Pro model it
replaces and now adds deep colour support in HDMI, higher frame rate 1080p60
capture and playback and high resolution Ultra HD capture and playback up to
2160p30 via HDMI. The new model allows customers to connect to an even wider
range of video products and in higher quality.

Intensity Pro 4K is the only consumer video capture and playback card that’s built
using the same broadcast quality video components that professionals in the film
and television industry use. That means users will always get the highest quality
video capture possible. It features both HDMI and analogue YUV, composite and S-video connections so it is compatible with the latest Ultra HD televisions and game
consoles, as well as older equipment like VHS decks and DVD players.

Intensity Pro 4K is perfect for video editors that need a real-time preview on a big
screen TV. It also includes DaVinci Resolve Lite for Mac and Windows.

Users can capture NTSC, PAL, 720HD, 1080HD and Ultra HD, the newest broadcast
video standard. Regular 1080HD can be captured at up to 60 frames per second.
Video can be captured at full 10-bit quality and files can be saved in standard
formats such as ProRes (Mac) and more, or as fully uncompressed video, the
format used by professional television production studios. Files captured with
Intensity Pro 4K can also be used with other popular Mac and Windows applications
like Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro, Vegas Pro, Media Composer, Fusion, After
Effects, Flash and many more.

That Sugar Film, a documentary by director Damon Gameau which
recently premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, was
shot using the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Production Camera 4K. The film was
graded using DaVinci Resolve.

The film aims to uncover how sugar affects a healthy body, and features Gameau
consuming only foods that are supposedly ‘healthy’. The experiment takes him
around the world to visit various people and grocery stores. The production
schedule was divided into two parts: a global travel shoot with minimal equipment;
and an intense set of green screen productions, which resulted in 200 VFX shots
interspersed throughout the film. For the travel based footage, the team primarily
shot on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, while using the Production Camera 4K for
green screen shots.

Cinematographer Judd Overton said it was really important to make the film
accessible, educational and entertaining for both children and adults, which meant
making it as visual as possible. This meant including a large amount of green
screen work and VFX shots, and so travelling was done with an entire production kit
in their backpacks.

“For me, the Blackmagic cameras are about the latitude and great image I can get
in such a small, easy to carry design,’ said Overton. “With the 40 day worldwide
road trip we were on, I shot in ProRes and mostly handheld or on my shoulder with
a small rig. It really was amazing to be able to throw a couple of cinema quality
cameras in my backpack and just go to where the shots needed to happen.’

For the green screen productions Overton shot in RAW on the Production Camera
4K. He explained that he was looking for high resolution and the ability to shoot in
RAW to get everything he could out of the shots. Once footage was shot, the offline
edit was completed at production company Madman Production, with online, VFX
and final grading using DaVinci Resolve at VFX head Seth Larney’s home studio in
Australia.

“The image quality, latitude and ability to easily grade and push around footage
with the Blackmagic cameras were perfect for the film. And I love how the cameras
made the entire post workflow so easy,’ said Overton. “I have been a Blackmagic
camera customer since the first camera shipped, and this film really showed how
powerful they are for getting amazing images and being flexible enough to use in
any shooting environment.’

Watch The Sugar Film
trailer

Blackmagic Design has released a major software update developed in conjunction
with high-end cinematographers, which offers multiple new features for its
URSA digital film camera. The Blackmagic Camera 1.9.9 can be downloaded from
the Blackmagic Design website.

One of the most powerful new features in Blackmagic Camera 1.9.9 is support for
higher frame rate recording combined with the new menu control of recording
frame rates for URSA cameras. This new software increases the recording frame
rate up to 80 frames per second, which allows enhanced slow motion shooting with
a more fluid feel to shots.

The frame rate settings in URSA have been changed and the record frame rate is
now not limited by the video frame rate. This means users can select the frame
rate they want their work to be done in, such as 24 frames per second for a feature
film, and then independently select the recording rate from five all the way up to 80
frames per second. The advantage of this is the URSA camera can shoot slow
motion or fast motion shots but all the recorded video files are always set to the
video rate, and you can see the effect of the higher or slower frame rate when
playing. This means you can playback the exact same look on the cameras as the
clips will play in a time line of editing software.

When shooting higher frame rates for high-end feature films and television
commercials, where image quality is critical, the new update includes a new
CinemaDNG 12 bit RAW format which uses 3:1 compression to allow RAW files to be
recorded in one third of the size of uncompressed RAW files, meaning double the
storage capacity on the same sized CFast card. This new compressed RAW format
allows higher frames to be recorded in the CFast cards, while retaining all the
advantages of RAW recording, where the image processing in software such as
DaVinci Resolve can get access to every single bit of quality from the sensor data in
the camera.

Blackmagic Camera 1.9.9 also includes in camera formatting of CFast cards so
when on a shoot, a computer is not needed to prepare CFast cards for use. Unlike
formatting on a computer, the Blackmagic URSA camera technically analyses the
CFast card’s memory storage structure and will optimise formatting to allow best
performance when used for real time digital film data recording. This means a card
formatted in URSA can get much better performance than a card formatted on a
computer.

The update also adds multiple new user interface changes to the URSA camera,
including the new dashboard menu screen allowing features such as formatting and
other settings to be selected. Also included in the new user interface is scrolling
menus, which allows customers to slide their finger on the touch screens vertically
to scroll through a longer list of settings in the menus.

New menu settings featured in Blackmagic Camera 1.9.9 include on screen framing
guides allowing a range of common feature film aspect ratios to be displayed on the
fold out monitor, such as 2.35:1, 1.85:1 and more. These framing guides are
displayed as translucent letterbox overlays and the opacity can also be adjusted by
the user. Multiple other framing assistance guides can also be displayed.

While the merits of 4K as a broadcast standard was a matter of considerable debate
at IBC, the resolution is firmly established on the production side of the value chain.
Every gear vendor exhibiting at the show had at least one new 4K product or, at the
very least, an existing product updated for 4K. Blackmagic Design was no
exception.

With its cost-effective solutions, Blackmagic is making lengthy inroads into the
production and broadcast technology fields. This year it introduced two new
additions to its 4K workflow, the 40 x40 SmartVideohub video router and the
SmartView 4K monitor.

The Videohub family of routers allows for mixed format routing and comes with
five-inch (12.7cm) high-resolution monitors built in. The 40×40, the largest of the
family, includes 6G-SDI technology so that producers can simultaneously connect
and route any combination of SD, HD and Ultra HD video. The unit is designed to
route any number of inputs up to 40 to any combination of outputs simultaneously.

The five-inch LCD screen, the spin knob and button controls are designed to make
routing as easy as possible. Whatever input or output is selected is displayed on the
screen, enabling operators to see clearly and immediately what is being routed.
This certainly also makes the router visually attractive and allows it to stand out
from the many others on offer. But the real appeal of the 40×40 Videohub is its
adaptability for all resolutions. It offers stable and reliable SDI video connections in
any format. Even producers not working in UltraHD can make use of the 40×40 for
SD and HD output, knowing that the system is 4K enabled should they need it.
The Smart Videohub became available on the market in October 2014 at a US$2995
price point.

SmartView 4K is a versatile new broadcast monitor with a native resolution of 3840
x 2160. It features multi rate 12G-SDI inputs that automatically switch between
resolutions. The monitor also supports Ultra HD at high frame rates, which is
becoming an important aspect of production workflow. When monitoring SD, 720 HD
or 1080 HD SDI sources, the built in Teranex processor uses advanced patented and
proprietary PixelMotion™ algorithms to automatically de-interlace and scale video
to the native Ultra HD resolution of the LCD.

According to Blackmagic, the SmartView includes a number of useful features that
disappeared from monitors with the advent of SDI in the mid-1990s, such as the
H/V delay, which allows engineers to view data and signals in horizontal and
vertical blanking.

SmartView 4K will be available in December 2014 for US$1,995.