The Chilean production company AGTV uses Ursa Broadcast cameras for the production of the soap opera 'Amor a la Catalán'

In order for the successful series to come to life through high-end production without exceeding the budget, AGTV decided to implement a work dynamic with Blackmagic Design products, starting with the URSA Broadcast cameras.

The Chilean producer AGTV used several teams of Blackmagic Design, including six cameras Ursa Broadcast, in the filming of the successful soap opera Catalan love to Canal 13, the second oldest chain in the Andean country.

Catalan love is a romantic comedy created and directed by Vicente Sabatini, an acclaimed television screenwriter and director, and Pablo Avila, producer and owner of AGTV. It premiered on Channel 13 last summer, and filming for the second season is already underway. The plot revolves around Fernando, a baker who hides a secret from his family for more than 30 years.

For history to come to life through a high-end production without going over budget, AGTV decided to implement a work dynamic with Blackmagic Design products, starting with the URSA Broadcast cameras.

César Norambuena, operations manager at AGTV, comments that “when seeing the way in which Canal 13 had used Blackmagic products in Precious, we wanted to recreate this work dynamic to achieve the same quality. In the case of Catalan love, we divided the cameras into two groups: the first included three units that we used as main cameras in the studio, while the second consisted of another two that we used during outdoor scenes. The rest served as backup for the team.”

By using three cameras simultaneously in the studio, Norambuena and her team were able to shoot scenes in a single take, thus avoiding the need to repeat the recording to capture different angles and reactions of the actors. For their part, the units in the second group were always ready and with charged batteries, which allowed them to be used outdoors immediately whenever necessary.

To end of maximize efficiency During production, the team turned to a device ATEM Camera Control Panel to monitor image quality andadjust the color balance, the shutter speed and other parameters, which gave the cameramen the opportunity to concentrate on other necessary tasks.

“Each shoot can last up to 10 hours, and the URSA Broadcast cameras never failed us,” says Norambuena. "They are extremely reliable, and our team was able to quickly adapt them and use them efficiently during these sessions. Many operators were accustomed to regular television cameras, but this model also offers cinematic capabilities, in addition to including traditional television controls."

vivid images

Apart from recording in 4K resolution, Norambuena and her team benefited from the intense colors and sharp images that the camera allows to obtain. Likewise, they took advantage of its compatibility with different codecs and the possibility of using the lenses they already had.

On the other hand, AGTV used mixers ATEM Television Studio Pro HD y ATEM Production Studio 4K, a device HyperDeck Studio Mini for each group of units URSA Broadcast, in order to make additional recordings, a monitor SmartScope Duo 4K and a converter ATEM Talkback Converter 4K. The latter allowed the operators to remain in communication with the director, even when moving away from the cameras so that the action developed without interruptions.

"Using Blackmagic equipment on this production has been an incredible experience. We have been able to integrate it into our workflow without any problems, and the quality is phenomenal. We are excited to start a new season of Catalan love, and once again we will trust Blackmagic Design products to achieve extraordinary results,” concludes Norambuena.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOLpo3RkFKY