Blackmagic Design today announced that the science fiction short film Outpost, which premiered at the 2023 Dances With Films festival, was shot on the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K digital film camera, with post production completed in DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.
In a futuristic wasteland, Outpost follows an overconfident marauder and his snarky robot companion as they pillage an abandoned bunker and have an unexpected encounter. The film stars Jamie Costa ( Robot Riot, Bring Him To Me ) and Steph Barkley ( Episodes from Apocalypse, Alone ), and was shot by cinematographer William Hellmuth. The project was produced by Julianna Ulrich, Brian Ulrich, Jamie Costa and Director Benjamin Anklam.
Long time collaborators and close friends Costa and Anklam had been musing about a project together for some time. I had been wanting to do a story with this plot device for years, said Anklam. After I wrote the script I sent it to Jamie and he loved it and we said, What if we just did this?' We filmed the whole thing in one day, four weeks after I sent him my script.
It was Costa that brought aboard Hellmuth as cinematographer. He is so good at what he does and knows the vision immediately, said Costa. You can just stand back and let him go. Hellmuth opted to shoot the project on the URSA Mini Pro 12K.
I've been intrigued with the 12K's non Bayer pattern sensor and wanted to see how far I could push the color in a project, said Hellmuth. The post apocalyptic, sci fi world of Outpost,' combined with our shooting location, provided immediate inspiration and I quickly realized it was the perfect opportunity to try a stylized look.
Shooting the film in the winter, Hellmuth took advantage of the low sun angle to maximize the effect. I wanted it to have a harsh, warm look, with lifted shadows and an almost old polaroid feel, added Hellmuth. With more extreme looks like this, it's always best to expose specifically for what you want, rather than shooting neutral and finding it in post. In most cases, I exposed the camera just shy of clipping highlights, preserving as much shadow detail as possible. This way we could have flexibility in post to bring detail into the shadows without introducing noise.
In developing the look, Hellmuth contacted colorist Wes Langdon to help create a shooting LUT. Wes and I spent a few days in pre production discussing the look we wanted, said Hellmuth. I sent him stills from various films, saying things like I want the gamma curve from this film, mixed with the color of this film.' He'd send me grades using clips I'd shot before on the 12K in similar lighting conditions.
Using footage shot on the same camera, Langdon was able to produce a shooting LUT that emulated Hellmuth's preferred look, which Anklam and Costa both approved. William and I had multiple conversations about the look, referencing Lawrence of Arabia' and Star Wars' among other things. Our main goal above all was to have it feel unique and set apart from the films that inspired us, added Anklam.
Hellmuth took advantage of shooting in Blackmagic RAW to increase his flexibility in post production. Being able to shoot in Blackmagic RAW, which is such an efficient yet dynamic format, was key on a shoot like this where we were out in the elements away from a lot of typical resources. Since Wes and I were planning and shooting for a pretty aggressive grade, being able to shoot Blackmagic RAW just gave us so much security and latitude in post.
Anklam also filled the role of editor, working in DaVinci Resolve Studio, his preferred package. This was the third project I've edited in DaVinci Resolve, said Anklam. For me, Resolve seems more intuitive than any other NLE, which is the most valuable factor. The UI also feels more concise and efficient. I also like how much editing I can do without having to use my mouse, even with just a standard qwerty keyboard. My favorite keyboard shortcut is a swapping feature, where you can move a clip right or left on the timeline by swapping it with the adjacent clip. I use that a lot when editing a narrative scene.
For the final grade, Hellmuth was pleased he and Langdon had done early work on creating a shooting LUT. Because the look was worked out in pre production, we were able to focus more on the details during the grade such as lifting shadows a bit here, boosting the sky there, etc, instead of trying to define all of our broad strokes, said Hellmuth.
Langdon was able to take the visuals to another level based on his history with Hellmuth and his work. I definitely tapped into Will's love of Star Wars' by referencing Tatooine exteriors pretty early on, said Langdon. Shooting the time of day they did, framing the way Will did, really helped sell that western feel, but the production design and punchy color makes it feel more modern and sci fi. Color contrast goes a long way; there's a Hue vs Sat node in my group look to drum up teal blues out of the skies, for example.
On that note, I like to think more photographically when grading narrative, and a big part of that for me is assessing the natural color contrast in the image and trying to have it work for you rather than fight it, continued Langdon. In this case, we have so much being anchored in that saturated earth palette that little pops like the Ciff character, blasters, and even the sky really jump out of the frame already.
With the premiere of Outpost at Dances With Films, Costa and Anklam are already at work on continuing stories with the characters. Ben and I have collaborated on several previous projects and have a built in friendship that goes back to when we were roommates, so it's a classic making movies with friends' s
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
Blackmagic Design today announced that the science fiction short film Outpost, which premiered at the 2023 Dances With Films festival, was shot on the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K digital film camera, with post production completed in DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.
