The spectacular ‘Kingsman’ prequel used Davinci Resolve Studio for the whole digital production process. It’s a pro-level video editor from Blackmagic Design, but no more expensive than rivals like Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro and also available as a very effective free edition direct from Blackmagic.
Resolve was used to ‘grade’ the footage by production company Goldcrest using a bespoke film emulation LUT developed in-house, and adapted during production to give scenes in the World War 1 trenches a more somber, desaturated look, while adding a “dusty yellowish” look to scenes of the Boer War to contrast with the greenness of England. Another scene in the Russian royal palace was given extra opulence using Resolve’s curves and HSL keyer tools to increase the richness of the gold and decoration.
It’s a sign of how even top movie productions are beginning to use regular camera gear, though in fairness this production did also require high-end computer workstations, a petabyte of shared storage, professional video monitors and projectors, so there's a way to go yet before we can do this on our laptops.
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Blackmagic shoots action scenes
It’s not just Davinci Resolve that played its part. Second unit director Bradley Allan used the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 6K and Micro Studio Camera 4K for key action sequences. The Micro Studio Camera was mounted on a Ronin S gimbal – another ‘consumer’ device – with a Blackmagic Video Assist 4K external monitor and Arri WCU-4 Wireless Lens Control for focus pulling.
While the King’s Man features Blackmagic software and cameras heavily, it shows the speed at which smaller and more affordable video gear from many different camera and accessory makers right across the board is working its way into the film industry.
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• Best wireless focus pullers
