
Blackmagic Design has announced that the independent feature film I'm Fine (Thank You For Asking), which had its premiere at this year's South By Southwest Film Festival, was shot on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K in Blackmagic RAW, and graded in DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Written by Kelley Kali, Angelique Molina and Roma Kong, and codirected by Kali and Molina, the film follows a recently widowed mother who, after becoming homeless, convinces her 8 year old daughter that they are only camping for fun while she works to get them off of the streets. A micro budget feature not only about the trials of a mother during the pandemic, the film was actually shot in 2020, providing unique challenges for production while ensuring a safe set. We had to shoot a lot in a little time, said producer Capella Fahoome. Our crew had to be nimble, which was what led us to our choice in cameras.
The filmmakers chose the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K not only for the quality of the image, but also because of its design. One reason I picked the Pocket 6K was the physical size, said cinematographer Becky Baihi Chen. Since we were shooting exteriors a lot, we didn't want to draw too much attention. My first AC (Junyi James Song) and I put the Pocket 6K on a Ronin S and added another handle to the rig for an easier grip. With the lead character Danny, also played by Kali, roller skating throughout the film, Chen had to find creative ways to keep the imagery organic, yet simple and easily managed, considering the small crew.
Early on there was a scene where Danny skates to the nearby kids' playground, added Chen. I realized it could be impactful to follow her as she skates. Because I had a small camera on a small gimbal, I was able to move easily with Kelley, even ducking down under the slides to get some fluid shots as she skated. That moment I realized the Pocket 6K was the perfect camera for this film. It gave me the freedom to move as much as I wanted.
Production remained organic and creative, and Chen enjoyed going with the flow as she worked with Kali and Molina. We had some improv in the film, so we usually decided the shooting angles on the day of the shoot. Kelley and Angelique gave me a lot of freedom to be responsive and spontaneous with my camera during the takes. With the Pocket 6K I could move freely, but not be intrusive as the scene flowed. You can't do that with a bigger rig.
Chen also chose to shoot Blackmagic RAW, Constant Bitrate 5:1, which gave her confidence to manage the challenging lighting conditions of a small production. We had a lot of day exterior scenes, so during the shoot I checked false color in camera regularly to make sure the highlights were not clipped. There were challenging times where the characters were standing in the shade, but the light colored walls behind them were hit by the bright morning sun. We didn't have much crew or budget to bring in the big lights for the scene, so we had to shoot with what we had. Exposing to the false color in the camera and knowing that I'm shooting Blackmagic RAW gave me confidence that I would be able to balance the exposure and bring back the highlight details in post.
Once the film was edited by Katie McLellan and Angelica Lopez, the film was conformed in DaVinci Resolve by Lopez. I loved utilizing the program for conform because it also opened up the opportunity for our colorist to manipulate any of the camera metadata, as opposed to receiving a VAM ProRes 444 file that bakes in the color bit depth and removes the ability to manipulate the exposure, camera shutter and any additional camera information to allow the flexibility in our color sessions.
Working in DaVinci Resolve, Lopez appreciated the wide set of tools available. I relied heavily on the edit page for my split and completed stabilizations, said Lopez. The recent addition of the timecode overlays makes it much more flexible to confirm embedded source timecodes of any media that didn't conform upon the import of the AAF. Once I was able to media manage all of our footage, I set up a color project for our colorist, which was essentially duplicating my conform project and then relinking to the newly consolidated media. This part I loved, because it retains all of my metadata when it comes to any resize/repos, but especially my approved stabilizations. This way I know our colorist is seeing what I am seeing in finishing.
Colorist Harry Locke IV was pleased with the Blackmagic RAW footage once he began the grade, working in DaVinci Resolve Studio. I couldn't have had a better experience working with the footage. I was blown away with how good of an image the Pocket 6K was able to produce untouched, and combined with Becky's talent, the Blackmagic RAW dailies were rich in dynamic range with wonderful preservation of highlight, skin tone and detail information that would have easily been lost in a lesser codec type.
While Chen, Kali and Molina worked with Locke using various film references for a look, the team ultimately found their own style. I feel we ultimately crafted a grade that is specific and unique to the feel and flow of this film, said Locke. I always stress to filmmakers I work with that while colorists may seem very technical, at our core we are also very keen to what is going on in the overall narrative, and we're doing our best to make sure the look we are dialing in is serving the purpose of boosting the storytelling. In this film, heat and temperature are unseen antagonists that weigh down on our lead character, so it was imperative that the look made this an almost tangible force to the audience.
Locke graded the film in DaVinci Resolve Studio and enjoyed its flexibility, as well as the extensive tools available in the system. Using PowerGrades, Locke developed looks that could be s
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
28/09/2026
The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...
28/09/2026
MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...
28/09/2026
ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...
28/09/2026
Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...
28/09/2026
Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...
28/09/2026
Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...
28/09/2026
Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...
28/09/2026
In addition to rolling out a new mobile unit for ESPN's Monday Night Countd...
28/09/2026
Bleacher Report and WWE have announced a multi-year content partnership giving Bleacher Report global highlight rights across WWE's programming slate, inclu...
28/09/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
28/09/2026
FuboTV has announced a multi-year distribution agreement with the NHL to carry four regional sports networks covering the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jac...
28/09/2026
Program Productions (PPI) has announced the appointment of Alan Ostfield as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 28, 2026. Ostfield succee...
28/09/2026
Director Josef Kubota Wladyka attends the premiere of Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! with the film's cast and crew at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026, in P...
28/09/2026
EQ plug-in can now be played via MIDI
Scaler Music have recently released a new and improved version of their patented musical EQ plug-in, kitting it out wi...
28/09/2026
New synth developed in collaboration with philterSoup
Boutique effects pedal and Eurorack manufacturer Animal Factory Amps have announced that the new compa...
28/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz adds an integrated multi-channel pulse analysis option to its FS...
28/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/09/2026
Autoscript, the leading global provider of professional teleprompting solutions, today announced Voice Controller for WinPlus-IP, a new voice-controlled prompti...
28/09/2026
IBC 2026 Technical Conference Highlights
David Kirk September 28, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy Deposit Photos
David Kirk reports from the 11-1...
28/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/09/2026
Nakadi, a global streaming technology innovator dedicated to engineering a new era of digital media delivery, today announced its Live to Theater service based ...
28/09/2026
Monday 28 September 2026
Sky launches Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps for millions of homes
Sky has launched a new Full Fibre 1.6 Gbps product, rolling out from today, gi...
28/09/2026
Arvato Systems Highlights It's Role for Automotive Manufacturers and Suppliers
TISAX
Arvato Systems has successfully completed the TISAX Level 3 assess...
28/09/2026
Crimecall, presented by Carla O'Brien, returns tonight for a brand new series at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player.
In tonight's episode, alongside appe...
28/09/2026
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AT THE HEART OF NEW IRISH WRITING
LIVE FROM POETRY IRELAND, DUBLIN AND ON RT RADIO 1 FROM 7PM
DETAILS: www.rte.ie/writing | FOLLOW: #r...
27/09/2026
New compact pedal packs in 120 effects
The latest multi-effects pedal from Boss is a compact unit that promises to give any pedalboard a massive boost in s...
26/09/2026
With short turnaround between game selections, ESPN's operations team is pla...
26/09/2026
Prime Video will use GCV's Bird and Magic mobile units for its inaugural WNB...
26/09/2026
Studio show moves on-site as network models playoff coverage on its NBA flagship...
26/09/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
26/09/2026
Douglas Keeve attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival screening of Unzipped at the Egyptian Theatre. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock for Sundance Film...
26/09/2026
Launched alongside three new expansion packs
In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Native Instruments have released a major update for their Maschine 3 ...
26/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/09/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
25/09/2026
Infront has named Ronald den Hollander as CEO of its Host Broadcast Services (HBS) subsidiary, effective 1 October 2026. The appointment follows the previously ...
25/09/2026
The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) will hold Cyber University 2.0, a full-day cybersecurity summit for the broadcast and media industries, on Tu...
25/09/2026
Alpha Networks and Ateme have delivered a joint video platform for the digital d...
25/09/2026
Encompass Digital Media has announced the migration of multiple Viaplay free-to-air channels - TV3, TV6, TV8, and TV10 - to its Altitude Scheduling platform. Al...
25/09/2026
NAB Show New York 2026 will take place October 21-22 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Registration is open at nabshow.com/newyork.
Th...
25/09/2026
NHL Network has announced its studio programming lineup for the 2026-27 regular ...
25/09/2026
Clear-Com has announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom system as part of a sanctuary technolo...
25/09/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has deployed EVS XT-VIA live video production s...
25/09/2026
BBright, a Hexaglobe Group company, has announced that dotCentral has joined as a sales and support partner in the United States.
BBright's portfolio cover...
25/09/2026
MeyerPro delivered audio, video, broadcast, and LED production for the Acumatica Summit 2026 at the Seattle Convention Center's Summit Building, January 25-...