Cinematographer Matteo Bertoli shares with us the BTS footage and tips and tricks, on how he utilized the magical simplicity of its BMPCC6K to shoot an official Mercedes commercial, and how to grant the “blockbuster look” even if you don’t have a high-end cinema camera in your hands. Read those takeaways.
Mercedes-AMG A-Class campaign shot on the BMPCC6K
The Mercedes-AMG A-Class campaign was shot with Blackmagic RAW on the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K (BMPCC6K), with editing and grading completed with DaVinci Resolve Studio. The clip intersperses night time driving shots with studio-based scenes. The locations were the city of Frankfurt (Germany), plus in-studio shots. The main challenge was the budget, and thus the limited resources.
In the studio, we just used a couple of Astera tubes with some negative fill and bounce to light Davide. Having a camera that is versatile enough to capture stunning shots across this ISO range helped to keep the production incredibly agile.
DP Matteo Bertoli
An affordable cinema camera
The clip needed to have glowed with the blockbuster cinematic look, achieved by the independent filmmaking environment. Thus, DP Matteo Bertoli has decided to shoot the commercial with his BMPCC6K. This cinema camera uses a Super 35-size sensor, 13 stops of dynamic range, and a dual native ISO up to 25,600 to capture BRAW up to 6144 x 3456 50 fps, packed with an affordable price tag of $2,000. Let’s read his insights into the project.
BMPCC6K + Leica R lenses
To create drama through deep blacks and shadows, Matteo paired his Pocket Cinema Camera 6K with a Leica R lens against minimal lighting. The majority of the footage was shot in 6K 2:40, at 48 and 24 fps. “The camera’s dual ISO came into its own on this shoot. We were working between 160 and 3200, as we had so many different environments” continues Matteo. “We knew we could only rely on the existing street lighting for the exterior, moving shots of the car, and in the studio, we just used a couple of Astera tubes with some negative fill and bounce to light Davide. Having a camera that is versatile enough to capture stunning shots across this ISO range helped to keep the production incredibly agile.”
The camera and Blackmagic RAW workflow were integral to the project; knowing that the footage would be high quality and easy to work with.
DP Matteo Bertoli
BRAW as the main codec
As a long time Pocket Cinema Camera user, Matteo had already tested out Blackmagic RAW and knew it would be the perfect codec for the project, shooting at the 5:1 and 3:1 compression rates. “I love simplicity in my acquisition and post workflows and having the power of RAW in such small, efficient files is really something special. I edit and grade all of my projects in DaVinci Resolve Studio, and I haven’t looked back since Blackmagic RAW came out; in my opinion, it’s just the best ecosystem.”
Shooting Run N’ Gun
“We faced a lot of challenges on this shoot, from tracking and lighting a moving car on the streets of Frankfurt, as it moved through the traffic, through to creating a very polished and professional look with a minimal crew,” concluded Matteo. “The camera and Blackmagic RAW workflow were integral to the project; knowing that the footage would be high quality and easy to work with, allowed the production team the latitude to collaborate and explore more creative solutions to get the very best results.”
Check out the BTS video below:
Final thoughts
It’s always nice and impressive to reveal big-brands projects shot on affordable cinema cameras. This Mercedes commercial proves the point you don’t need fancy and expensive equipment to get the blockbuster look. Furthermore, as your filmmaking resources are limited, we need to be more creative and talented professional in order to utilize them correctly. It’s not so hard to get an outstanding image from a $40,000 camera. But the trick (and the wisdom) is getting a beautiful polished cinematic imagery out of an inexpensive piece of gear. That’s what filmmaking is all about.
Check out the commercial below and let’s know your thoughts:
