FREMONT, Calif.—Blackmagic Design announced that the 2022 Billboard Women in Music Awards were captured with Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 cameras.
Production company Hollywood Motion Picture Experience (HMPE), based in California and Nevada, provided a 4K and 12G workflow for the live broadcast, which was supported by cameras and additional Blackmagic Design hardware.
For the 2022 event, executive producers Tim Owens, owner of Liquid Arts Media, and Jenifer Hersch, VP of Productions at Redrock Entertainment, tapped HMPE for their expertise in delivering the 4K and 12G workflow.
“What’s special about our production truck is that it’s built around Ultra HD and cinema glass, along with a 12G Blackmagic Design workflow,” said HMPE CEO Todd Fisher. “The event was one hell of a production as it was broadcast in Ultra HD 59.94 full 12G, which could have been the first of its kind for a live awards show.”
Supplying six URSA Broadcast G2s as well as two Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 digital cameras, HMPE equipped the cameras inside the theater with Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converters.
Streams were sent back via fiber to the truck, which also housed Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converters, an ATEM Constellation 8K live production switcher, ATEM 4 M/E Advanced Panel, ATEM Camera Control Panels and a Smart Videohub 12G router 40×40 for camera switching and CCU. control. All camera feeds were recorded in ISO through multiple HyperDeck Studio 4K Pro broadcast decks.
“Our truck became the camera truck with the fiber workflow and CCU capability. We even had a DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel alongside the CCUs, so we color graded as well,” Fisher noted. cameras and the glass used were very important to Tim, and we were able to deliver on both fronts with Blackmagic Design cameras.
“As a former filmmaker, I know that the image is essential,” he added. “A lot of cameras have good sensors, but the real question is, ‘What does the final product look like and what control do I have over it?’ In that regard, the DaVinci Resolve technology built into the cameras is a huge selling point, and being able to build LUTs, put them in camera, and fine-tune color grading from there is a huge tool for us.
Fisher also cited the URSA Broadcast G2’s interchangeable lens mount as essential to the workflow. “We were using high-end PL-mount cine lenses with some cameras. Since we were in a remote truck, Redrock Micro designed a motor, controller and cable solution that enabled lens iris control for all cameras locked using PL glass,” he said. -he explains. “It’s a great solution that breathes new life into sought-after non-motorized lenses.”
“We also have a lot of high-end HD and Ultra HD B4 lenses, but many cameras will automatically center the image or there will be vignetting with HD lenses,” Fisher continued. “But that’s no longer a factor with the URSA Broadcast G2 and its 4K B4 mount. Instead of worrying if the lens will hold up and if I have to crop to make it look good, the URSA Broadcast G2 and the lenses perform very well with no detectable loss.
“It’s a seamless way to use any high-end B4 lens, and there’s incredible value there in my opinion as an end user of these lenses,” Fisher concluded. “We film cinema, remote truck and studio applications, and in all of these environments Blackmagic Design cameras have proven themselves time and time again.
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