Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Opera Grand Rapids & Colvin Theatrical Film Stinney: An American Execution Opera with Blackmagic Design

15/01/2025

Opera Grand Rapids & Colvin Theatrical Film Stinney: An American Execution Opera with Blackmagic Design

Brie Clayton January 15, 2025

0 Comments

Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 and DaVinci Resolve Studio used to create one of the first streamed multicam cinematic live opera films.

Blackmagic Design today announced Opera Grand Rapids and Colvin Theatrical used Blackmagic Design cameras, switchers and DaVinci Resolve for editing and grading the cinematic opera film Stinney: An American Execution. The film, which premiered on PBS, is one of the first live operas to be shot cinematically, using six Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 digital cinema cameras and DaVinci Resolve editing, color grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software for editing and color correction.

Opera Grand Rapids is the longest running professional opera company in Michigan, and since 1967 has engaged some of the world's most talented artists, stage directors, conductors, choreographers, set designers, costume designers, and others, in addition to the regional Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, and Opera Grand Rapids Chorus and Children's Chorus.

Stinney: An American Execution spotlights the agony of the injustice of the 1944 wrongful execution of George Stinney Jr., the youngest person to be legally executed in America. The opera was composed by Frances Pollock with libretto by Tia Price and Pollock.

Opera Grand Rapids has been one of the world's first opera companies to jump into cinematic filming and streaming of operas, and was the first company to complete a streaming production of a live opera in 2020.

Executive Director Emilee Syrewicze has grown Opera Grand Rapids to become one of the world's most respected and forward thinking opera companies, through the use of film and streaming, as well as new programming, such as Hip Opera, to help new audiences connect with the art form.

She explained how Stinney builds on that vision: Grand opera is meant to be big and impressive just by its volume. It is spectacle. Stinney' is different. It's a contemporary work that is deep and visceral with a social message.

When Opera Grand Rapids announced its production of Stinney, Syrewicze met with filmmaker Cody Colvin to develop a film capture concept for the contemporary opera. Colvin, the founder of Colvin Theatrical, a film and media company with experience in cinematic multicamera captures, directed the film capture and managed the film production process.

Colvin explained the planning, pitching and advantages of shooting cinematic opera performances: When Emilee and I began discussing Stinney,' I felt it would shine if shot on cinema cameras, but couldn't find an example of a full length opera filmed that way. Opera captures have been traditionally shot with broadcast cameras, which are more forgiving than cinema cameras. Cinema cameras, which use shallow depth of field and require high precision operation, are typically considered too difficult to deploy in live environments. However, my team and I had used Blackmagic cinema cameras in live theatre environments before, and felt comfortable using the Blackmagic cinema workflow for Stinney.' We are very happy we did.

He continued: Shooting with cinema cameras provided us with a level of detail that we think will set a new standard for filmed opera going forward. Capturing performers' minute expressions, shifting focus from one actor to another, and capturing opera's ultra dynamic lighting fixtures are all possible using Blackmagic Design gear. Additionally, Blackmagic's competitive and affordable price point makes this kind of capture accessible to smaller regional performing arts companies.

Specific features of the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 were also instrumental in helping Colvin shoot with a full audience. The Pockets are tiny, even when they're fully rigged, and they fit on light tripods. We were able to shoot without interrupting the live audience's experience, and the compact size of the Pocket helped us make sure we didn't block anybody's view.

Colvin also cited the Super 35 sensor of the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 as an advantage in shooting live performances. The crop factor of the Pocket 6K allowed us to shoot with affordable 70-200mm telephoto lenses, giving us a functional focal length of 300mm plus, which was very helpful when filming from the audience.

Following filming, Colvin had to meet a very tight PBS deadline. To do this, he used DaVinci Resolve Studio for everything from editing to color correction, and made extensive use of DaVinci Resolve Studio's multicamera editing feature. He was able to use DaVinci Resolve Studio to adjust the final version to meet PBS's strict broadcast standards, as well as formatting the footage to render the film with PBS mandated interlaced delivery. With Resolve, we can export a public television version, a web version, and a cinema version all from one timeline. Using Blackmagic's built in broadcast safe' and gamut limiter' features allowed us to spec the film for public television quickly, while retaining our other color grades for digital and theatrical delivery.

The reaction from the first audiences was breathless stunned silence and then thunderous applause. Syrewicze explained: This is a new way to experience opera. A good example is that we were able to get in close to the main character, George Stinney, and zoom into his eyes. You felt his pain at an emotional level that was more powerful than what you feel sitting in the audience. And to say that about an opera, which is already one of the most emotional theater experiences you can have, is amazing.

Stinney: An American Execution is available to stream at pbs.org.

January 20, 2025Sonnet Announces Industry's First
LINK: https://creativecow.net/opera-grand-rapids-colvin-theatrical-film-stin...
See more stories from creativecow

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

27/08/2026

ESPN Adds College Football Saturdays to Disney+ This Fall

ESPN and Disney are launching College Football Saturdays, adding two college football games per week to Disney for U.S. subscribers as part of their existing ...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: Zixi to Showcase Live Video Platform and Broadcaster v19

Zixi will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 5, Stand 5.A76, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), demonstrating the Zixi Platform and the latest release of Zixi Broadcaster, ...

27/08/2026

NDI Surpasses 1.2 Million Hardware Nodes as IBC2026 Showcase Expands

NDI has announced that its ecosystem has surpassed 1.2 million NDI-enabled hardware nodes worldwide, spanning products from more than 200 hardware brands across...

27/08/2026

Clear-Com FreeSpeak Cell Trialed During Rio Carnival Before Commercial Launch

Clear-Com conducted a pre-launch field trial of FreeSpeak Cell during Carnival 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with Brazilian systems integrator Savana C...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: BVH SportsBox Remote Mixer Becomes Reality

BHV returns to IBC 2026 with an important milestone for its own SportsBox: the broadcast industry's smallest remote vision mixer and format processor has mo...

27/08/2026

TOGETHXR and Snapchat Announce Second Snap the Gap Athlete Cohort

TOGETHXR and Snapchat have announced the second cohort of their Snap the Gap content creator program, welcoming nine athletes as Snap Stars. The program provide...

27/08/2026

CNBC UK Selects MediaKind Beam for Live News Infrastructure

MediaKind has announced that CNBC UK has selected Beam to modernize its contribution and distribution infrastructure for live broadcast operations. The deployme...

27/08/2026

Monitor Engineer Chris Dwight Deploys Sennheiser Spectera on Puscifer and A Perfect Circle Tours

Monitor engineer Chris Dwight has deployed Sennheiser's Spectera wideband bi...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: Telestream Expands UP Platform

Telestream has announced an expansion of its UP cloud-native platform, adding capabilities for orchestrating Telestream services, third-party technologies, and ...

27/08/2026

Swerve TV Signs Multi-Year Partnership with GLORY Kickboxing

Swerve TV has signed a multi-year partnership with GLORY Kickboxing, bringing live GLORY events and library programming to Swerve Combat, Swerve TV's free a...

27/08/2026

AFP and Dalet Integrate AFP Content Into Dalet Flex Newsroom Workflow

Dalet has announced a new integrated content experience with Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Dalet Flex, designed to bring AFP's editorial metadata into the p...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: Grass Valley to Demonstrate Integrated Live Production Environment

Grass Valley will demonstrate an integrated live production environment at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), combining K-Frame, Maverik X, ...

27/08/2026

NWSL and Roku Expand Partnership with Sunday Night Streaming Package

The National Women's Soccer League and Roku have announced an expanded partnership, with the Roku Sports Channel becoming the exclusive streaming home of ei...

27/08/2026

Fubo Adds ACC Network Extra and SEC Network+ to Streaming Service

FuboTV has announced the launch of ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) and SEC Network (SECN ) on the Fubo streaming service at no additional cost to subscribers with En...

27/08/2026

Moment Branding: Using Sound to Create More Powerful Fan Experiences

Sports marketers have entered the experiential age. Today, sports teams, leagues, and venues are increasingly using immersive interactions and real world events...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: MultiDyne to Debut MDoG-8800 12G Fiber Transport Module

MultiDyne will introduce the MDoG-8800 at IBC2026 (Stand 11.C12, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), extending its openGear portfolio with a high-density fiber tra...

27/08/2026

IBC 2026: JT-DMF To Host Ask Me Anything' Sessions

The Joint Task Force on the Dynamic Media Facility (JT-DMF), an initiative of AMWA and the EBU, will host a series of informal Ask Me Anything sessions during...

27/08/2026

Homestream Syncs Duke, Auburn and Georgia Tech Football, Basketball Radio Calls to Live TV Broadcasts

Homestream, a mobile app that automatically syncs a team's local radio broad...

27/08/2026

Spikes Under the Lights Brings Collegiate Volleyball to AT&T Stadium in a Made-for-TV Event Built for Scale

A packager for TNT Sports, Kwokman Productions is on hand for the unique event w...

27/08/2026

25 Seasons of New York Yankees on YES Network: The Day 1 Crew Looks Back on a Quarter Century in the Bronx - and Stamford

After more than 3,000 games, five members of YES Network's original staff re...

27/08/2026

Dreamtonics unveil Instrument X orchestral alternative

Physical modelling orchestral instrument announced Following their recent cryptic hints, Dreamtonics have officially revealed the latest addition to their s...

27/08/2026

Apple update the Mac mini & Mac Studio

M5 Ultra-equipped Studio most powerful Mac to date Apple have just announced a design refresh which they say makes the Mac mini fiercer and more versatil...

27/08/2026

Bitwig Studio 6.1 now available

Sampler receivers major upgrades Bitwig's latest DAW update brings some major changes to the Sampler device, kitting it out with new slicing options, tw...

27/08/2026

Arturia release Pure Sub

Designed specifically for hard-hitting modern bass Designed specifically for bass-heavy electronic music, the latest plug-in from Arturia aims to offer an a...

27/08/2026

Gracenote's first DSP integration brings show-level content intelligence to The Trade Desk

Advertisers gain granular CTV targeting and turnkey reporting across eligible in...

27/08/2026

Boland Debuts ST 2110 Option for its 4K HDR Monitors

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Adele Hixon-Day Joins C-SPAN as Chief Development Officer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Profuz Digital presents intelligent AI workflow orchestra...

Profuz Digital makes a mark by launching a powerful upgrade to its Profuz LAPIS digital media management platform this IBC in Amsterdam at Stand 8.A88. The late...

27/08/2026

DHD to Introduce its Third-Generation Audio Mixing Consol...

DHD.audio has chosen IBC 2026 as the launch venue for what it defines as one of the most radical advances in the companys 30 year history. Every broadcast trad...

27/08/2026

FOR-A integrates with CuePilot for dynamic automated prod...

Direct connectivity between planning, production and graphics for creativity and streamlined workflows...

27/08/2026

New Photoshop innovations bring you more choice and control at every stage of your creative process

New Photoshop innovations bring you more choice and control at every stage of yo...

27/08/2026

First Two Seasons of Vertical Series Vultures Shot on Blackmagic Design Cameras

First Two Seasons of Vertical Series Vultures Shot on Blackmagic Design Cameras Brie Clayton August 27, 2026 0 Comments Director and DoP of Vultures ...

27/08/2026

3Play Media data shows audiences are embracing AI dubbing

For years, the media and entertainment industry has hesitated to use AI-voiced dubbing due to concern for audience experience. New data from 3Play Media, a glob...

27/08/2026

Starfish adds voice synthesis support to Advantage AD in...

Starfish Technologies has announced the forthcoming V9 release of its Advantage AD workstation, adding support for voice synthesis services and giving Audio Des...

27/08/2026

Lightware UBEX Helps Rental Teams Deploy Faster And Saf...

Lightware's UBEX is a powerful AV-over-IP product well suited for rental and staging workflows where systems must be fast to deploy, easy to repurpose, and ...

27/08/2026

Lightware extends TPN platform to 100 endpoints with TPN-...

Lightware has expanded the scalability of its 10G TPN AV-over-IP platform with the introduction of the new TPN-MMU-X100 Matrix Management Unit, enabling systems...

27/08/2026

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Some FCC Political Ad Discount Rules

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Zixi To Demo Hybrid Workflows At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Study: Americans Spend More Time Watching YouTube Than Live TV

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

Magewell To Highlight Newly Released Director Plus At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/08/2026

PlayBox Neo continues to shape the media landscape by ini...

PlayBox Neo Stand 7.C29 IBC2026 - 11 14 September Well-established global specialists in media playout, automation, and streaming solutions, PlayBox Neo ...

27/08/2026

Rise Academy Invites the Industry to Join Race 4 The Futu...

Rise Academy, the broadcast and media skills charity dedicated to delivering practical media technology learning experiences, careers resources and work experie...

27/08/2026

Mediagenix Takes Title Management Beyond the Catalog at I...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase the latest evolution of its ...

27/08/2026

Screen Australia opens applications for Global Fellowships Program

Screen Australia opens applications for Global Fellowships Program 27 August 2026 Applications are now open for the Screen Australia Global Fellowships progra...

27/08/2026

Sir Grayson Perry and Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka Self Esteem) to host the third annual Sky Arts Awards at the Roundhouse on 13 October

Thursday 27 August 2026 Sir Grayson Perry and Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka Self Est...

27/08/2026

Riedel Evolves Leadership and Global Go-to-Market Organization

Wuppertal August 27, 2026 Riedel Evolves Leadership and Global Go-to-Market OrganizationRiedel Communications is strengthening its leadership and global go-to...

27/08/2026

Exciting updates for Sneaky Sasquatch come to Apple Arcade - UPDATE - Posted on 27 August 2026

More Sasquatch, more fun: Today, the sneakiest crossover of the summer lands exc...