Black Magic Cinema Camera 2.5k - Guide The Black Magic Cinema Camera (BMCC) offers filmmakers the possibility of shooting highresolution images, with a wide dynamic range in an uncompressed RAW image. Kit contents: 1 x Black Magic Cinema Camera 1 x BMCC Viewfinder hood 1 x 480Gb Sandisk SSD 1 x SSD Card reader 1 x 24-70 mm 1 x Mains power adaptor 1 x Hawk-Woods Sony F-970 Battery adapter 2 x sony batteries 1 x Manfrotto tripod plate.
As with all cameras, there are some good points and some bad points. Dynamic Range: The BMCC has a wide dynamic range, meaning the camera can see more shades of grey before it see s solid white or solid black. The result in your image is more details in the shadows and highlights. When recording in film mode it captures 13 stops of dynamic range and when using the video profile, 10 stops of dynamic range. If you use the film profile you WILL HAVE to colour correct your images in post production. The RAW image will look very flat, almost grey-scale and lacking in contrast. DaVinci resolve is recommended for doing your colour correction and grading, however you can also do basic corrections in Avid and premiere pro.
Resolution: RAW mode also records 2.5k resolution and the Prores/DNxHD codecs record 1080p. While 2.5k (2432 x 1366) is a higher resolution, all university assignments are limited to 1080P (1920 x 1080), so shooting at a high resolution means the post-production process can be slower when compressing to submission standards. Record format: The BMCC can record in RAW, ProRes and DNxHD. RAW DNG: 1 minute footage = 8Gb Data When shooting at 2.5k the BMCC records RAW files, only in the film dynamic range. This means there is no compression, resulting in extremely large file sizes, 1 minute of footage is around 8Gb in size. Handling this kind of data volume requires a lot of storage capacity, and then double that when it is backed up to a second location. When shooting RAW, the BMCC does not record a video file, it is a digital negative (DNG) image sequence, which means for every second of footage it will record a number of images in line with your frame rate e.g. 25 fps, 25 images are stored. As this format is also shot in film dynamic range, you have to colour correct your footage in DaVinci resolve. If you choose to shoot in RAW, know your submission requirements, and be prepared for a lengthy post production process but an excellent final result. Pro s: Excellent image quality. 13 stops dynamic range Ability to change white balance, exposure and LUT in post production. Con s: Large file size, needs lots of hard disk space for storage and backup. Takes longer to process and will slow your computer down, slowing you down when editing. Hard to preview the recorded file unless you are doing so in camera, or in davinci resolve. Images HAVE to be colour graded in post.
ProRes & DNxHD: 1 minute footage = 1.4Gb Data The BMCC records at 1920 x 1080 resolution in ProRes or DNxHD. ProRes: An apple codec ideally suited for editing in Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro (FCP not supported in the media centre). It compresses the recorded information to a more manageable file size, speeding up your post production workflow. DNxHD: This is a codec native to Avid Media Composer and is the recommended format for you to shoot with for university assignments. Avid will be able to fast import these files, meaning less time waiting for transcoding to complete. Audio: The BMCC is not great with audio, it is possible to capture in camera audio BUT DO NOT RELY ON IT. It should only be used as an aid to help sync the recorded audio from a field recorder. You should always record external audio with a field recorded where possible and always make sure you use a clapper board, this will really help speed up the sync process in post production. SSD storage: Most cameras record to an SD card, due to the size of the RAW files, the BMCC needs to be able to save these files quickly and so requires an SSD sata drive. Luckily the university provides a 480Gb SSD in the BMCC kit. This should allow for around an hour of continuous recording. We also provide a hard drive dock to allow you to copy your files from the disk to a computer. Handling the camera The BMCC form factor is less than friendly, heavy and not easy to hold. We recommend you always use a shoulder rig or tripod when using this camera.
Formatting the SSD drive. It is now possible to format the SSD drive using the black magic camera. 1 Press the menu button to open the dashboard, or to open the settings menu on Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera. 2 Select format disk by tapping on the touchscreen. 3 As the university uses Apple Mac computers with OSX, we recommend using the HFS+ format option 4 A warning will appear asking you to confirm the format. Select yes, format my disk to continue, or cancel to cancel the format. 5 A progress bar shows you the progress of the format. Complete will appear when the format is done. It is important not to remove the SSD while it is formatting. 6 Select the done icon to return to the dashboard.
Retrieving your data from SSD drive. The BMCC comes with a disk caddy to connect with a computer. Ensure the camera has been switched off, open the side door and remove the SSD. Place the SSD in the caddy, with the connectors facing down as shown below Once the USB cable has been connected to the computer, the drive will show up in finder or windows explorer. Copy your files. Make sure the drive is properly ejected from the computer before disconnecting the cable, just like any normal USB/flash drive. You can now insert the SSD drive back in to the BMCC, ensure the logo is facing towards the back of the camera as shown in the pictures. Turning the camera on or off To turn the camera on, press the power button To turn the camera off, press and hold the power button.
On screen display Touch Screen Once the camera is powered on, you will see the on screen display along the bottom of the screen. This shows your recording format, aperture, frame rate, SSD status, timecode, ISO (ASA) setting, shutter (speed) angle, white balance and battery status. To change the settings, press the menu button just next to the power button. Camera Settings: Do not change the camera name, ensure the date and time are correct before you start shooting. This will help you with file organization later. ISO: 200, 400, 800 (native) and 1600 ASA White Balance: 3200 (tungsten), 4500, 5000, 5600 (Daylight), 6500, 7500. Shutter Angle: 45, 90, 108, 144, 172.8, 180 (1/50th equivalent), 216, 270, 324, 360. Smaller shutter angles have minimal motion blur, high shutter angles have more. 180 degree shutter is equivalent to 1/50th shutter on a DSLR and is recommended.
Audio Settings: As previously mentioned, the BMCC does not handle audio very well, so we recommend you only record reference audio for sync with externally recorded audio in post. Microphone input: this is the level of the internal microphone, we recommend using a small external shotgun mic instead of this. CH1 input: Input level of channel 1 jack input. Ch 2 uses Ch 1 input: unless you are recording two separate audio sources, leave this on. CH2 input: Input level of channel 2 jack input. Speaker Volume: Playback volume of interval speaker. Recorder Settings: Recording format: RAW, ProRes, DNxHD (recommended for Avid users) Dynamic Range: Film (requires grading), Video (No grading required) Frame Rate (fps): 23.98 (NEVER USE) 24 (NEVER USE) 25 (ONLY USE THIS FRAME RATE) 29.97 (NEVER USE) 30 (NEVER USE) Timelapse interval: Changes time between frames when recording timelapse.
Display Settings: Dynamic Range: Changes the dynamic range you see on screen, independent of recording. Selecting Video here is helpful to check the colour in your shot, like a preview of the colour corrected film image. Brightness: Screen display brightness. Zebra: Changes the sensitivity of the zebra stripes when showing over exposed areas. SDi Overlays: Changes what you see on an external monitor when using SDi output. Shooting: Set the ISO as low as possible while maintaining a good exposure. Set your white balance appropriately 3200k for tungsten lights, 4500k for fluorescent lights, and 5000 75000k for varying daylight conditions, use a white balance card to check this. Set your shutter angle to 180 degree. Check your focus. Press the focus button (top right of display) to show focus peaking indicators. Edges will highlight when in they are in focus, experiment with this before you rely on it. Set your aperture. This can be done automatically (unless using a manual lens), by pressing the Iris button. Or you can stop up or down in one stop increments using the transport I< or >I buttons. A good method is to over expose your subject (e.g. actors face) so you see the zebra bars, then stop down until they all disappear. You may still have clipped highlights but your actors face will be well exposed. Start recording use the record buttons either on the left side under the screen, or the large square record button on the front of the camera. To play back your clip, press the play button. To skip through clips press the transport buttons I< and >I To return to shooting, press the menu button.