DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel Used for On‑set Grading on Two New National (USA) Commercials
Fremont, CA - September 20, 2017 - Blackmagic Design today announced that Nina Chadha, Local 600 D.I.T., used DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel and DaVinci Resolve Studio for on-set color grading on commercials for Pepperidge Farms and Virgin Mobile. Chadha, who provided a full set of D.I.T. services for the national campaigns, also used a number of other Blackmagic Design products including a Smart Videohub 20x20 router, SmartView Duo monitor and UltraStudio Mini Monitor for on-set monitoring.
Chadha has worked on dozens of feature film, television and commercial productions, including 10 Cloverfield Lane, Scorpion, Baywatch and Escape Plan 2. For the Pepperidge Farm and Virgin Mobile commercials, she provided on-set color grading, transcoding of footage for editorial and output of material for use by the final colorist.
The cart Chadha used for both spots was only 30 inches wide and included a laptop and DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel on the top, with the Smart Videohub 20x20, SmartView Duo and the Mini Monitor below. The compact design and durability of the DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel allowed Chadha to design a cart that could easily move between locations and areas on any set, while giving her the ability to quickly react to any demands by the DP or director.
“There are quite a few things I love about the DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel. First of all, it’s a damn good-looking piece of gear. The price point is reasonable, the weight and feel of the panel are great, and it simply just looks nice on the top deck of my cart. I hate to say it, but appearances matter,” said Chadha. “Also, the knobs and hot key style buttons are fantastic. Once I learned the layout, I was able to fly through clips and nodes, all while grabbing stills and making small adjustments. It definitely has made me faster and more efficient when grading on set, and when doing commercials, quality combined with speed is key.”
For the Pepperidge Farm production, which was for the company’s Milano brand, the director was looking for a sunny and bright look and feel. With the DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel, Chadha was able to color grade right on set and also work with the DP to adjust looks and quickly ensure each shot fit.
“The DP of the spot, Eric Steelberg, A.S.C., has always been very color-intensive, he likes to make sure the look for each setup is dialed in before I start transcoding. So he was intermittently stopping by my blackout tent to check out the footage I had brought in. He has a great eye for color and detail and sometimes likes to play around with color correction panels himself, and after a quick rundown, he was flying using the panel to quickly adjust shots,” Chadha said.
For the Virgin Mobile production, which was done for the brand’s Inner Circle iPhone plan, DP Cale Finot was looking for a stylized, high-key fashion look.
“With this spot, there were a few monochromatic setups in which the tonality of the ‘Virgin Mobile Red’ was very important. We were on a Technocrane on stage both days doing big, slow-sweeping moves because Cale wanted everything to feel clean, upscale and a little sexy, something way more than your typical phone commercial. The DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel let me be really intuitive and able to jump on any of the adjustments he needed to make,” she noted.
According to Chadha, being able to do high quality color grading on set has allowed her to offer a number of different services to not only the client, but also all of the members of the crew.
Press Photography
Product photos of DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel, DaVinci Resolve Studio, Smart Videohub 20x20, SmartView Duo, UltraStudio Mini Monitor and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/media/images. Story photos can be found here.
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 www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/
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 and Matrox Video products. www.newmagic.com.au.
