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BlackMagic: Official $2,995 raw cinema camera topic
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  • OedipaxOedipax

    @yeehaanow, as a Mac user myself, I'm always happy to see gear that will interface well with Apple products. In the larger production picture though, with Apple seemingly making big moves away from higher end users and shifting towards consumers, I guess it's a bit puzzling.

    Then again, maybe the BMC is more of a prosumer/consumer targeted camera.

  • yeehaanowyeehaanow

    Isn't it about time the Mac guys get some love?? SOOOOO many things have been made for the PC that the debate is not even funny.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    The bad news comes mostly in the absence of true hot-plugging like on the Mac: if a device isn't plugged into the Thunderbolt port on boot, Windows won't see it.

    Via: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/12/thunderbolt-on-windows-gets-hands-on/

    Even more "good" news for BM.

    It is now clear that Thunderbolt will be present only in top few motherboards and few notebooks in 2012.

    So, BM is clearly Mac oriented product.

  • MacalincagMacalincag

    @Vitaliy_Kiselev

    I agree, and that would most certainly be ideal in most situations. I think it's safe to say that lots of people have trust in a company like Blackmagic to deliver, based on the affordable, yet reliable products they provide for thus far.

    Let's just say, if I had to choose to get in a car with Blackmagic or Digital Bolex, and I didn't know where they were taking me- I would go with Blackmagic.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @Macalincag

    My opinion about this is simple. Before you'll be allowed to accept preorders you must provide complete specification, photos pack, signed shipping date agreement, and primers of actual footage.

  • MacalincagMacalincag

    Of course, I am no expert on sensors- just sharing all the information I can come across. As for the sensor calibration, this coming from John Brawley, the only person I know to really use the camera. But it makes complete sense to not show off something that isn't 100% ready; raw or not- I really don't think sensors are just plug-n-play.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    "sensor is still undergoing calibration"

    I see no much sense in this words. Especially considering raw footage.

  • MacalincagMacalincag

    From what I understand the sensor is still undergoing calibration, and to release any raw footage before it is complete wouldn't justify the final image at all. I also think it would be best not to be teased with "inaccurate" images either. It will come soon enough though.

    As for the event, it will be seminar-style. The schedule runs from 11am-7pm:

    • 11:30 Customer Keynote: Ramy Katrib, CEO of Digital Film Tree
    • 12:00 Adobe CS6 & Blackmagic workflow
    • 1:00 Avid MC6 & Blackmagic workflow
    • 2:00 Blackmagic design Davinci Resolve 9
    • 3:00 Adobe CS6 & Blackmagic workflow
    • 4:00 Avid MC6 & Blackmagic workflow
    • 5:00 Blackmagic design Davinci Resolve 9
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Btw, anyone will be at Los Angeles BMD Event ?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Note that I periodically update various BMC related FAQ pages.

    It is especially sad to see that absolutely no RAW or ProRes footage is available.
    I think that someone from PR department is advising them not to release it. As it could become apparent that camera (and any other) has its shortcomings and flaws.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @sam_stickland

    Continue budget movies discussion at

    http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/3132/if-el-mariachi-and-primer-cost-7000-why-cant-you-do-it-cheaper-heres-why.#Item_26

  • sam_sticklandsam_stickland

    Has anyone seen Monsters? Reportedly made on a budget of $15,000.

    http://www.slashfilm.com/how-gareth-edwards-shot-monsters-on-an-incredibly-low-budget/

    And "Following" by Christopher Nolan had a $6,000 budget. This film was used as a example on a lighting course I attended, because most scenes are shot using only available light, not rigs.

    Just shoot, and do the best you can with what you have available :)

  • MacalincagMacalincag

    @CRFilms

    Yep. You most likely read "Rebel without a Crew". Very entertaining and says it all. Basically a personal journal of his.

  • CRFilmsCRFilms

    About El Mariachi, Rodriquez always said the final DVD product was based off the video transfer that he edited and then sent tapes to studios to try and get it sold. When it came time to make the VHS & DVD, the original negative was so used up, he had to use the video transfer since it looked better. So the final version avaliable to home users was pretty much the $7000 version.

    He did get an offer from a Mexican distribution place for around $20,000. Not as much as he'd have liked but he was prepared to take it until he got lucky and somebody high up saw the trailer he made for the movie and bought it. So the extra cash was just for the theatrical distribution. Cash that will be spent by the distributor regardless of what cam is used.

    Any current stock DSLR produces a good enough image to make a movie. The problem is story, acting, directing, editing, production values, etc....not shooting flat or DR. Again, the best part of the BMD cam is it pushes the price point down closer to where it should be, with a industry presence that can't be ignored.

  • Xenocide38Xenocide38

    @Macalincag

    Primer is a fantastic film, however you can definitely tell it's lower budget in certain moments. Great example of how story/ideas trumps big budget.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    The US$7,000 production was originally intended for the Mexican home video market, but executives at Columbia Pictures liked the film so much that they bought the American distribution rights. Columbia eventually spent several times more than the 16 mm film's original budget on 35 mm transfers, promotion, marketing and distribution

    This is most important part here.

    Plus all such primers must always be accompanied with clear statistics. As if it is absent, it could look like it is good and very smart idea to buy lottery tickets.

  • MacalincagMacalincag

    Yeah. El Meriachi and Primer were both shot on 16mm for $7k. Both virtually crew-less.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_%28film%29

  • Brian202020Brian202020

    Just to play devils advocate to the people that say you can't make a sucsessful film on the cheap look at El Mariachi, and that was shot on film.

    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Mariachi#_

  • JMZJMZ

    @Macalincag: You might be on to something there. But at the risk of starting another tangent you'd likely have to define personal, "typical Hollywood Box Office" and career success as three different things :-) A fair number of creators would say that if you've put your story into sound and images and people have seen it (regardless of the final distribution method) then you've reached some level of success. I agree with them. Not everyone does.

    The Black Magic Cinema Camera, even with what people perceive are shortcomings, is a win-win. Affordable (but obviously not for everyone...) relatively easy to outfit and operate plus the ability to use 13 stops of DR along with RAW. I've seen complaints pop up about what it will take to set the camera up for fast paced field work but those posters seem to forget it's not really a run and gun camera.

    Obviously, it's not going to turn a hack into a master or make a mediocre script into a gem. But it gives those with the determination and the know-how (and yes... a little bit of cash) a more professional tool to tell their stories with. Plus an industry standard color correction application. Sounds good to me.

  • PappasArtsPappasArts

    Oops, my bad JRD. My apologies for attaching that quote to you. -Pappas

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @Macalincag

    I have no problems with talks not directly related to camera, as it is not released, and won't be available to any normal user until August, may be even later.

  • MacalincagMacalincag

    Maybe we should change this topic title to "Success in Film - Myths & Philosophies" as I don't think we are talking about the BMC anymore :-)

  • kavadnikavadni

    Imagine a six week shoot on a super (very super) low budget film .. hypothetical $200,000 (This figure was mentioned by another previously)

    Where I come from a RED Kit will cost $30,000 for 6 weeks, it matters not if you shoot 4K or 2K.

    So $6,000 for a ready to roll 2K camera with 13 stops .. sounds like $24,000 to increase in production values elsewhere.

  • jrdjrd

    @PappasArts

    No, "jrd" did not say that (you're thinking of somebody else), and I disagree with that sentiment.

    There are any number of highly successful filmmakers who didn't, and could never, succeed with a DSLR and a few thousand dollars. And I don't know of anyone who has succeeded "with a DSLR and a few thousand bucks", if you're talking about dramatic feature filmmaking. There is a case of a filmmaker who succeeded wildly with $50,000 and a DSLR, with the help of a highly accomplished DP and experienced producers, but it wasn't because her film was a masterpiece.

  • PappasArtsPappasArts

    jrdjrd Wrote: "The truth is, if you can't make something that gets people's attention with a DSLR and a few thousand bucks... you're just not cut out for it. The truth sucks, but hey... it is what it is."

    That is the sad, however unfortunate truth. It isn't something you can make happen. You can't be Woods, Jabbar, Yo-Yo Ma, Mozart, Ali if its not in the DNA, no matter how hard you try. You can improve your personal game through practice and you might be one of those that has "A" game potential, however when the day comes to face the league of "A" gamers where it's live or die, sink or swim- that's where the separation between the boys and the men will happen.-Pappas

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