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Sharknado 2 The Second One Completed with Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Teranex 2D

Fremont, CA - July 21, 2014 - Blackmagic Design today announced that the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and Teranex 2D Processor, as well as a number of other Blackmagic Design products, were used on one of this summer’s most talked about sequels, “Sharknado 2: The Second One.”

In Sharknado 2, the horror of thousands of sharks in tornados moves to New York City after the destruction of Los Angeles in 2013. Featuring the previously not shark-devoured cast members of the first film, including Ian Ziering and Tara Reid, who join celebrities such as Vivica Fox, Mark McGrath, Judd Hirsch, Matt Lauer and Robert Klein, the new movie tells the story of a freak weather system turning its deadly fury on New York City and unleashing a sharknado.

Produced by Los Angeles’s The Asylum and directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, Sharknado 2 was shot primarily in New York City with two days of additional photography in Los Angeles. Ben Demaree, who was the director of photography on the first film, returned for “The Second One” as well. The film includes a huge number of special effects, green screen shots and footage from other sources, such as NBC’s “The Today Show.” Filming of the movie included a number of different cameras, including the Blackmagic Cinema Camera (EF Model), which was used as a B camera for pick up shots.

“The Blackmagic camera was really great because it was lightweight and produced amazing images,” said Anthony. “We could grab and go with it for quick inserts and shooting spur of the moment shots, while knowing that we would always get high quality images we could work with. It gave us images that had real sharpness and clarity and helped get additional elements needed to theVFX guys for some of the complicated shots in the film.”

Anthony continued: “With one green screen shot where the main character, Fin [Ian Ziering], was battling a Sharknado, we finished shooting and realized we had missed an important close-up of his hand grabbing a chain. The lighting was already down. But we grabbed the Blackmagic camera and went up and got the shot, using natural light without worrying about relighting or setting up again, because we knew we could rely on the camera’s dynamic range to get what we needed. And it worked great and integrated perfectly with our earlier footage.”

Sharknado 2 also used a number of other Blackmagic Design products in the making of the film, including the Teranex 2D Processor standards converter, multiple Blackmagic Design Mini Converters and various DeckLink and UltraStudio I/O devices. Teranex 2D Processors were used to convert a number of different sources shown in the film, as news stations from around the city began reporting on the horrors of sharks riding in tornados.

“Teranex 2D was incredibly easy to use and made conversions quick and painless,” said Mark Quod, post production supervisor of The Asylum. “One of the best examples is with the use of footage coming in from The Today Show, one of the big scenes in the film. We had to use footage shot by The Today Show’s production group, and they record everything in HDCam SR 59.94. Sharknado 2 is being shot in 23.98, so every frame from The Today Show had to be converted to look seamless. Our Teranex made quick work of the conversion, and is a great product.”

Sharknado 2 will air on July 30 on the SyFy Network.

Press Photography
Product photos of Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Teranex 2D Processor, DeckLink, UltraStudio and Mini Converter are available at http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award  winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/au.  

About New Magic Australia Pty Ltd (Australian and New Zealand Blackmagic Design master distributor)
New Magic Australia Pty Ltd is a recognised leader in the distribution and marketing of multimedia hardware and software, representing a carefully selected range of innovative, leading manufacturers and catering for both the professional and consumer markets. New Magic Australia established in 1993 is the Australian distributor of Blackmagic Design, Convergent Design, Hauppauge Computer Works Inc, Cubix, Matrox Video Products and Sony Creative Software. www.newmagic.com.au