by FilmInk Staff
Shot with Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF and Completed with DaVinci Resolve Studio and Blackmagic Cloud Store Mini 8TB
Blackmagic Design announce that Joseph Kahn’s new film Ick was shot and completed post with a full Blackmagic Design workflow. This included shooting with Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K digital film cameras, as well as editing and color correction with DaVinci Resolve Studio, Blackmagic Cloud, and Blackmagic Cloud Store Mini 8TB network storage solution.
Ick is a mix of over-the-top horror, comedy, alien invasion, and satire. Grammy award-winning Kahn, who wrote and directed the film, is known for amazing visuals and high-paced action, having shot some of the most iconic music videos of the past decade.
Premiering at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, Ick tells the story of the American town of Eastbrook, which for 20 years has ignored a creeping vine growth that eventually evolves and attacks. Starring Brandon Routh and Mena Suvari, the film combines practical and visual effects (VFX) to create high-quality, often humorous, grotesque images.
Ick was shot in Houston, TX, by Cinematographer David Weldon, with post-production split between Editor Chancler Haynes in Houston during principal photography and Los Angeles after, and Assistant Editors Edward Schroer and Sam Cook in Los Angeles. Color correction was done by Walter Volpatto of Picture Shop.
Remote collaboration was key to the film’s success, leveraging DaVinci Resolve Studio, Blackmagic Cloud, and Blackmagic Cloud Pod network storage solutions.
Weldon explained the creative process with Kahn, noting, “It was a bit like shooting a music video in terms of a fast-paced set and Joseph having a specific vision for every part of the film. We made it unique by using Blackmagic cameras in creative shots and placing them in tight spaces, along with the dual native ISO of the cameras to move quickly on set.”
For Haynes, this was his first feature-length edit in DaVinci Resolve Studio, where he collaborated with Kahn. “Joseph is a far-thinking filmmaker, and the ability to collaborate using Resolve and Blackmagic Cloud was a huge creative help,” Haynes noted.
Kahn used DaVinci Resolve Studio’s Fusion page and DaVinci Neural Engine AI features to mock up VFX scenes and shared these with the editing team using Blackmagic Cloud Pod and Blackmagic Cloud.
Haynes said, “The collaboration workflow just worked. The Cloud Pod let Joseph be hands-on with edits, duplicating sequences and easily sending them to me.”
Schroer added, “From an assistant editor’s perspective, Resolve and Blackmagic Cloud made it easy to bring Sam and myself into the workflow immediately, without breaking creativity.”
One advantage of the workflow was managing over 1,000 VFX shots. Haynes explained, “The Cloud Store Minis allowed me to track VFX shots from five vendors, seamlessly adding them to Dropbox for easy access.”
Ick, finished in 4K, used the URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF and Pocket Cinema Camera 6K for high-speed shots and various insert and pickup shots.
Weldon praised the cameras, saying, “The URSA Mini Pro 12K OLPF allowed us to meet 4K streaming guidelines and offered flexibility within our tight budget. We could use the URSA Mini Pro 12K and Pocket 6K alongside other cameras, and they matched perfectly across scenes.”
The team shot the film anamorphically in 8K for added flexibility. Weldon noted, “Shooting in 8K gave us room for punch-ins and VFX adjustments, with the detail needed for greenscreen work and 3D environments.”
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 post-production, while its Emmy™ award-winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated since 1984. Blackmagic Design’s innovations include 6G-SDI, 12G-SDI, stereoscopic 3D, and Ultra HD workflows. The company has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please visit www.blackmagicdesign.com/au.
