Fremont, CA – January 7, 2020 - Blackmagic Design announced today that Deadline Hollywood, the preeminent site for the most up to date breaking news stories in the entertainment industry, recently upgraded their video production unit to Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras 4K for all of their entertainment video interviews and reporting.
With a major presence at every prominent film festival and event, the team behind Deadline’s production needed a more robust solution, and one that was equally portable.
“Because Deadline is primarily breaking news, many of the videos we do have to be turned around in only a few days, and sometimes even a few hours or minutes,” said David Janove, Video Producer for Deadline and parent company PMC. “We need equipment that will work in any environment regardless of lighting, and be able to set up as soon as possible.”
The unit travels across the world, with an active presence at festivals such as Sundance, Tribeca, Cannes, Toronto and SXSW. Older equipment simply couldn’t adapt to the ever changing conditions. Between poor lighting, constant travel and fast turnarounds, the team found the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K a refreshing change.
“Our previous equipment wasn’t doing the trick in low lighting environments,” said Janove. “The dynamic range of the new cameras provided a more professional look, with greater range when color correcting and grading. Having a portable unit like the Pocket 4K makes going through security a breeze. We never lose equipment now because we’re able to carry everything on!”
And when the shoot is done, the smaller package helps them move to the next event quickly. "Sometimes we cover events like red carpets and junkets with other film crews. The portability of the Pocket 4K means that, after the event, while they're still breaking down their external monitors, we're already in the parking lot."
An added bonus has been the 5 inch touch screen on the back of the camera. “That kind of screen is unheard of in cameras this size,” said Janove. “And while it helps provide a large monitor solution, aiding in easier focus, the screen comes with its own challenges, mostly from those in the room watching over the camera operators’ shoulders.”
While the flexibility and size of the system is a key ingredient to the team’s productivity, the quality of the image was equally important, particularly at major events such as Sundance, where they produce more than 80 videos in 4 days, and interview top professionals from around the world. “We’ve had everyone from Twin Peaks cinematographer Peter Deming to director Luca Guadagnino (Suspiria) ask about the equipment we use,” said Janove. “Image quality is important to them as well, and they seem intrigued such a small camera can create such a great picture.”
Press Photography
Product photos of Blackmagic Cinema Camera 4K as well as all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.
About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.
