REAGAN Shot and Posted Using Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton September 25, 2024
0 Comments
Christian Sebaldt, ASC, shoots new biopic using URSA Mini Pro 12K and Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro.
Blackmagic Design today announced that the feature film REAGAN was shot with Blackmagic Design cameras, as well as conformed and color graded using DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.
Directed by Sean McNamara, with cinematography by Christian Sebaldt, ASC, REAGAN follows the title character, played by Dennis Quaid, from the glitter of Hollywood to the world stage, where Ronald Reagan overcomes the odds to become the 40th president of the United States. The complex film, which covered 400 scenes and an 80 year storyline, was a welcome challenge for Sebaldt.
It was a very ambitious and challenging project, said Sebaldt. I shot a lot of footage in prep, testing different lenses, different styles. My colorist, Picture Shop's Paul Westerbeck, and I developed about seven different looks (CDLs) with two different lens packages, different nets behind the lenses and different ISO settings.
Sebaldt used a variety of camera packages, but leaned heavily on several Blackmagic Design cameras, including the URSA Mini Pro 12K and the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro. The 12K worked a lot, particularly as an instant crane' camera, added Sebaldt. Since the movie took us to so many places, we could not afford to have a Techno' type crane available at all times. So our Key Grip Brandon Jones supplied a jib arm which we could put on tracks at any time, and our B Camera Operator Andrew P.C. Smith had a Ronin 2 gimbal. We mounted the URSA 12K on the Ronin and it lived there. When a crane would beef up the production value of a scene we would hang the 12K on the crane and we were ready to go.
Relying on the small size yet high quality images from the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro, Sebaldt found numerous uses for the camera. With the appropriate lens I could add a cool angle in just minutes at any time with those small and lightweight cameras. Often they were mounted on the ceiling, like in the Oval Office, looking straight down with an ultra wide prime. We also found we could capture additional angles of extended dialog scenes where we needed solid coverage for editorial.
Sebaldt is accustomed to the reliable nature of Blackmagic RAW, and used it throughout the REAGAN shoot. Blackmagic RAW is a codec of amazing quality. I always shoot constant quality Q0, and know that later, because we have so much latitude, we can easily manipulate the images in the color suite. Blackmagic Design color science has such natural skin tones and fantastic reproduction of challenging contrast and detail in any scene.
The final color grade, done by Westerbeck, was a continuation of a long relationship between the two creatives, and Westerbeck enjoyed the challenge of grading REAGAN in DaVinci Resolve Studio.
REAGAN' covers an extensive historical timeline, which presented the unique challenge of matching footage shot on all cameras as well as with hundreds of archival clips from Reagan's era, he said. Achieving a cohesive look across such diverse sources was crucial for the film's visual narrative.
Specific tools within DaVinci Resolve made the process of matching original footage to archival clips easier for Westerbeck. I found the new Film Look Creator in DaVinci Resolve Studio 19 to be invaluable for matching the various periods to the contemporary material. The new AI noise reduction was not only fast but also highly effective, and the face refinement tool significantly enhanced the final look.
The post production team, including Conform Editor David Schneider, Westerbeck and Assistant Colorist Larry Yunger, used the collaborative features in DaVinci Resolve Studio to streamline their workflow.
I had my first experience with collaboration mode while working on the movie REAGAN,' and it has significantly improved our workflow, said Westerbeck. While I was focused on color grading, David was able to add new shots, make changes to the cut and add subtitles and credits in the background. My color assistant worked on a third system, staying ahead of me by updating color on new shots based on the previous shots in the timeline.
In the past, the editor worked on updates on an isolated system, and when he or she finished, we had to pause our work while the assistant integrated new shots into the project. We also had to manage media across two separate storage systems for editing and color grading. Collaboration mode in DaVinci Resolve has effectively eliminated these disruptions and simplified media management, allowing us to work more efficiently.
To watch the official trailer for REAGAN, click here. Visit Reagan.Movie for ticket information.
September 27, 2024Toronto, Amsterdam Take Center Stage Still waiting for the technology to catch up with the idea. I
September 24, 2024Sleight of Hand Artist Shin Lim's Las Vegas Limitless Show Completed with Blackmagic DesignBehind the Scenes: Shin Lim takes us behind the scenes to show
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, and your first and last name below!
-- Sign up: * indicates required
Email Address *
Name
--
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
REAGAN Shot and Posted Using Blackmagic Design 
