PEARL RIVER, N.Y.—In today’s market, there’s no such thing as “one deliverable.” With the ever-increasing number of distribution platforms, from Facebook Live to broadcast television, a single project is likely to require a variety of formats, and as a creative agency and production company, LCM247 has to be ready to deliver. Founded in 1994, LCM247 is a full-service creative agency and television production and post production company. In addition to producing its own original programming, LCM247 also provides its services to corporations and broadcasters worldwide.
For the critically-acclaimed television concert series “Front and Center,” we used a full Blackmagic Design Ultra HD live production workflow to produce several episodes of the ninth season, which were live streamed to Facebook Live and delivered in SDR for public television and HDR10 for DirecTV.
The episodes, which included virtuoso guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Gary Clark Jr., were shot using URSA Broadcasts, Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks and Micro Studio Camera 4Ks.
COVERING ALL ANGLES
“Front and Center” highlights an eclectic mix of Grammy, Country Music Association, American Music and Academy of Country Music Award winners, rock icons and multi-platinum sellers including Keith Urban, Carlos Santana, Steven Tyler, Miranda Lambert and more. Each hour-long episode features a live performance shot in front of an audience, as well as a personal interview with the artist telling the stories behind their music.
Recorded live at The Village recording studio in Los Angeles, we shot Gary Clark Jr.’s performance with two URSA Broadcasts, with one handheld on stage and the other rigged on a 24-foot jib, and eight Micro Studio Camera 4Ks that were situated around the venue and on the stage.
When shooting live, the ergonomics of an URSA Broadcast with a good broadcast lens delivered better handheld shots in the fast-paced environment. The jib operator also needed a full broadcast zoom lens for the best results.
The Micro Studio Camera 4Ks’ size made it easy to put them on stage, as well as around the venue. We had one on the drum kit, one on the keys, a general wide shot of the whole stage, several locked off around the venue, and even had a camera operator using one rigged with a Video Assist 4K monitor/recorder and a long lens as a backup shot. Being able to dial them in remotely via Blackmagic’s ATEM Camera Control Panel was especially useful since we had a limited crew and were also livestreaming.
BLACKMAGIC TEAMWORK
Prior to the performance, we used three Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks to shoot the sit-down interview with Gary Clark Jr. It has a great form factor and the low-light capability is great, not to mention the MFT mount compliments our arsenal of MFT lenses, and the XLR input makes the camera easier to work with than DSLRs.
The episode was edited and graded in DaVinci Resolve Studio, and we also made use of a DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel. We utilized its multicamera editing capabilities and saved a lot of time by not having to do another color pass if we adjusted the edit. It was seamless to flip to the color tab, and the shot already had the grade on it, or our colorist Dario Bigi could adjust as needed. We had multiple deliverables, so being able to use DaVinci Resolve Studio for the SDR and HDR passes was also convenient.
Founded in 1994, LCM247 is a full-service creative agency and television production and post production company. In addition to producing original programming, LCM247 also provides services to corporations and broadcasters around the world. For more information, visitlcm247.com.
For additional information, visitblackmagicdesign.com.
