That’s a cool achievement for Blackmagic Design. Panic! At The Disco’s Dancing’s Not a Crime, was shot on URSA Mini Pro and Pocket Cinema Camera 4K in Blackmagic RAW. Take a look this neat video and read how those cameras were utilized during the production.

Cinema cameras’ resume

When considering buying/renting cinema cameras, in some cases, the resume is more critical than spec. RED knows that. RED reputation has improved over time when more and more respected productions used their cameras on famous projects (e.g., The Hobbit). ARRI has earned its place a long time ago, as well as Panavision. Cinema cameras are all about their filmography.

Blackmagic owns a respected filmography resume as well, but regarding post-production rather than the production itself.

It’s so essential for Blackmagic’s cameras to gain some recognition as well. That’s why this music video of a famous American rock band is a super cool foothold in the production phase.

Cool achievement for Blackmagic’s cinema cameras

First, take a look at the video. It owns a beautiful, polished, sharp and artistic looks. Also, it appears that this video has become one of the fastest watched videos in the world. The video from Panic! At The Disco titled “Dancing’s Not A Crime” was shot by music video veteran Brandon Dermer, on the URSA Mini Pro and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K using Blackmagic RAW.

The camera team, led by cinematographer Wojciech Kielar, enjoyed the flexibility of the Blackmagic cameras

Director Brandon Dermer

According to Dermer: “The team used the URSA Mini Pro for more rehearsed moments and the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K for less planned shots. The production relied heavily on a documentary style, despite the added complexity of a live puppet in nearly every shot. The camera team, led by cinematographer Wojciech Kielar, enjoyed the flexibility of the Blackmagic cameras.

URSA Mini Pro as a ‘Run & Gun’ solution

“The major draw of the URSA Mini Pro for me and specific to this project was how lightweight it is while still packing a punch as far as the image goes,” said Kielar. “This project was very ‘run and gun’, and all of it was handheld so having a camera that can deliver 4K images, 15 stops of dynamic range and not kill my arm was very helpful.”

Shooting in BRAW

According to the DP, the team decided to shoot in Blackmagic RAW and were happy with the results. “The dynamic range was incredible,” said Kielar (DP). “Shooting at a concert space where at times it was very dark or very bright….the camera was able to hold it all together…Using the file format allowed the crew to shoot longer without changes, a key element of shooting fast during a live event”.

Shooting at a concert space where at times it was very dark or very bright….the camera was able to hold it all together

DP Wojciech Kielar

BRAW in post

The playback was smooth and compared to other similar codecs, I found it much more efficient

Colorist Ryan McNeal

In post-production, colorist Ryan McNeal used DaVinci Resolve Studio to finish the project and found the Blackmagic RAW format a significant improvement over Cinema DNG. Also, “The playback was smooth and compared to other similar codecs, I found it much more efficient.” said McNeal.

Final thoughts

Blackmagic needs more projects like this to show the cinema market their cameras’ true potential. Check out the music video below and decide for yourself. I think you will find that the look is very satisfying, professional and cinematic.

We need to wait and see if a film that was shot on Blackmagic cameras will be nominated for Best Picture/Cinematography in the 2020 Academy Awards. Is there a chance for that?