Fremont, CA – January 13, 2015 – Blackmagic Design today announced that the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K was used to shoot Australian new wave band Pseudo Echo’s music video for the title track off their new album “Ultraviolet.” Shot entirely on green screen, Melbourne, Australia based production company Final Focus required a 4K camera that delivered Ultra HD cinematic images at an affordable cost.
“We needed a 4K camera due to the fact that the music video was shot entirely on green screen. This not only helped in regards to the quality of the key, but also gave us the ability to punch in for a closer shot without quality loss since the delivery was HD,” explained Adam Haywood, DP and co owner of Final Focus. “The Blackmagic Production Camera 4K’s images are amazing, and even back in the edit suite, I couldn’t believe how good the shots looked.”
The look and feel of the music video was inspired by lead singer Brian Canham’s love for retro and futuristic films and art, and this is a passion he shares with the video’s director Stuart Stanton, also co owner of Final Focus. Brian wanted to explore the idea of people’s energy existing beyond death in an ultraviolet realm.
With these factors in mind, Stuart came up with the concept of a celestial character inviting, controlling, evolving and transitioning another version of herself from one dimension to another. Intercut with footage of the band, the music video is a throwback to the world of retro sci-fi, designed to be visually engaging and in line with the energy and vibe of classic Pseudo Echo.
Shot in 4K ProRes, Adam noted that the 4K format was especially advantageous when editing and delivering in HD. “Shooting in 4K is probably the best thing in regards to reframing or cropping shots for more options without having to compromise image quality. The other element is the strength of the ProRes codec, which saves time in the edit suite and which other cameras don’t record in camera,” he said.
Adam added: “The Blackmagic Production Camera 4K marries both these features and combines them in an extremely affordable package, which means we own the camera and the power that comes with it.”
“We wanted a look to match the artwork on our latest album, and we wanted a very modern futuristic look,” said Brian Canham of Pseudo Echo. “The video turned out fantastic. We love the high end look Final Focus achieved using all green screen.”
During post, Adam used a few curves and a little saturation in DaVinci Resolve for color correction and to give the images a final finesse. “When the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K became available, we pretty much purchased it immediately, and we haven’t looked back since. The camera’s images are just amazing to work with,” Adam concluded.
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.
