Cinematographer Christian Sebaldt, ASC shot ‘Flamenco Night’ on a full set of Atlas Mercury anamorphic lenses with the URSA Cine 12K LF. The scenes were shot in 12K 3:2 open gate and 8K 3:2 open gate.
Here is what he said about the URSA Cine 12K LF:
“I have been a DP on large network TV series for Shondaland and Jerry Bruckheimer TV (“How To Get Away With Murder”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”, “Lucifer”) as well as theatrical feature films (“Resident Evil: Apocalypse”, “REAGAN”, “Feardotcom”, “Final Destination: Bloodlines”). And so, I will always choose a camera that won’t let me down at midnight when we’re in the middle of a scene! I have used Blackmagic’s cameras for ten years now, immediately falling in love with their color science and image quality. They produce very natural and pleasing tones and I find they’re equally strong for network shows and big theatrical screens. They deliver on image quality and there’s no headache in final color correction.
Going with a full frame 3:2 12K sensor on the URSA Cine is simply genius. I honestly don’t want to go back to Super 35 now. Just being able to shoot wider or tighter on the same lens by changing the sensor mode (and slightly cropping), saves me when every second on the set counts. This camera can shoot Super 35 (4-perf equivalent) in 9K at 100fps and FF 8K and 4K (2.4:1) at 220fps! With that extra resolution you can even shoot 12K 3:2 open gate at 80 fps and 12K 2.4:1 (12,288 x 5112) at 120 fps! The amazing thing is, being able to shoot in 4K, 8K, or even 12K, using the entire sensor without cropping and still retaining the full field of view of your lenses.”
I recently shot a beautiful, moody night setting with an amazing Flamenco dancer and Spanish guitarist. It was designed to have challenging lighting that would test the sensor and the camera’s dynamic range. We had candles and torches, which can be very tricky at night for lesser cameras. I created contrast with lots of mood for these shots. I was just amazed at how beautiful the images were, especially all the different slow-motion speeds, but especially how the URSA Cine holds the highlights in the flames of the torches. The highlight roll-off is excellent and so is the color science with this camera.
Straight out of the box, this camera can capture amazing images. It has tremendous latitude. I deliberately made the lighting hard for the camera, and it still ‘wowed me’ with how much range it has. As the dancer in slow motion moves past the bright flame of the torch, I can still see detail in her dark dress and hair, which is surprising. I think this camera leaves everyone else behind in terms of its development.”
Below are the settings that were used for the shoot.
Codec: Blackmagic RAW Q0, 3:1
Sensor: 12K 3:2 open gate (12288 x 8040), 8K 3:2 open gate (8192 x 5360)
Lenses: 36mm, 72mm, 120mm Altas Mercury (1.5X)
FPS: 23.98, 36, 60, 120
ISO: 800, 1600, 2500
Shutter: 180°, 210°
White Point: 3200K
LUT: Blackmagic Gen 5 Film to Extended Video
NDs: Electronic Internal ND
Color Science: Generation 5 Color Science
