BatteryEVO Shoots New Commercial with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
New digital film camera’s full frame 6K sensor and riggable design provide cinematic images and efficient workflow.
Blackmagic Design today announced that portable energy solution BatteryEVO shot a commercial for its BatteryEVO Komodo product using the Blackmagic PYXIS 6K digital film camera. The project was also graded in DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, color grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.
Co cinematographers Dan Kanes and Corey Hour were looking for solutions to provide BatteryEVO with a high quality feeling for its newest commercial, despite having a small crew and limited budget. The commercial, a love story about two campers finding a way to bond using portable power, required a high cinematic look yet a fast moving camera team. The two decided on the Blackmagic PYXIS 6K shooting with Atlas Mercury anamorphic lenses.
“My experience with Blackmagic Design color science told me that shooting with the PYXIS was going to provide excellent dynamic range in a compact size,” said Hour. “We decided that the 6K open gate 3:2 mode was perfect for this project and would showcase the full potential of our anamorphic lenses.”
“We chose the Atlas Mercury anamorphic lenses for their compact size, large format coverage, and to give the commercial a feeling of warmth and relatability,” added Kanes. “The spot was essentially a short story about falling in love, and we felt that audiences can relate to the idea of falling in love on a camping trip.”
Shooting quickly, Kanes and Hour wanted a camera that gave them high quality and ample features to help them capture the shots. “The PYXIS was incredibly convenient to use because of its quick menu system, wealth of focus, exposure, and image quality checking tools that allowed us to evaluate what we were filming and work quickly in a bright and sunny environment on a hot day, without worries of the camera overheating or malfunctioning,” said Kanes. “The false colors and side monitor were particularly useful in many scenarios to help us reference our exposure. It was bulletproof, quick, and removed the concern of technical difficulties that would slow our best and most creative work with a small crew.”
Hour particularly loved the camera’s small form factor for quick response times on set. “During production we would constantly switch from tripod, to hi hat, to handheld,” said Kanes. “The process was seamless because of the small and lightweight form factor of the PYXIS. It allowed us to move from shot to shot and make our day without the fatigue that would accompany larger, more complicated rigs.”
Hour trusted Blackmagic RAW to deliver a wide latitude, a plus when shooting outdoors without a massive gear truck to help control the light. “The Blackmagic RAW files were incredible,” said Hour. “Tons of latitude. Superb color and dynamic range. The images looked like we used a $90,000 camera. The PYXIS punches well above its weight class and offers, in my opinion, the best quality and experience of any camera in this tier.”