The horror film 'The Cleansing Hour' used Blackmagic cameras, ATEM mixers, converters and DaVinci Resolve

Con un largometraje cuyo argumento principal ronda en torno a una transmisión por Internet, el director Damien LeVeck confió en los equipos de Blackmagic Design para crear el sistema audiovisual complejo que lidera la historia.

The Cleansing Hour, película protagonizada por Ryan Guzman, Kyle Gallner y Alix Angelis, empleó cameras, mixers ATEM y converters of Blackmagic Design para llevar a cabo su producción, así como el programa DaVinci Resolve Studio durante la etapa de posproducción, a fin de crear un show exclusivo dentro de una película de terror.

Millennial entrepreneurs Drew and Max run a popular live exorcism webcast. However, the performances are in fact a complete mockery. The two get what they deserve when their new actress is mysteriously possessed by a real demon who is holding the entire team hostage. The film premiered online on October 8 on the Shudder channel.

The concept originated from the experience of director Damien LeVeck en el ámbito de los reality show. “He observado que cuando la gente ve un video en Internet, especialmente si son de baja calidad, automáticamente piensa que es más realista. Y esto fue durante un periodo en el que se publicaban cada vez cosas más extravagantes en Facebook, solo en busca de atención. Entonces, me pregunté: ¿ Qué pasaría si alguien quiere engañar a la audiencia con exorcismos y luego se ven obligados a lidiar con uno verdadero?”

With a feature film whose main plot revolves around an Internet broadcast, LeVeck relied on the teams at Blackmagic Design to create the complex audiovisual system that drives the story. While the characters fight to control the demonic elements that affect their broadcast, the camera screens showed the action in real time. LeVeck used Blackmagic models Micro Studio Camera to capture high-quality images, knowing that said material would combine perfectly with the photography of the first unit.

“The biggest challenge was making a movie about two kids doing a show in one room, but still have some interest,” says LeVeck. “Coverage was always a challenge, as there were cameras pointed in all directions.”

Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera

With active cameras feeding directly to the monitors, the main unit had to stay out of the frame while still capturing all the action. LeVeck chose the Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera model due to its compact size and compatibility with different types of lenses. "We liked that the Micro Studio Camera units performed quite well in low light conditions. From a creative point of view, we decided to keep the set dark, so this model allowed us to get very good quality images."

The cameras were connected to the mixer ATEM Television Studio Pro HD, and this one to the monitors on set. “We really appreciated that we could control the units from the mixer, which allowed us to create an on-set studio at a relatively low price.” Additionally, the production set where the action takes place was created with additional equipment, such as two monitors SmartView 4K to display multiple signals coming from the mixer, and two converters Teranex OFF, which allowed processing other analog signals coming from the ATEM. Several devices were even used Micro Converter in order to modify the signals received and transmitted by the monitors.

Con el sistema audiovisual desarrollado en torno a productos de Blackmagic, LeVeck se enfrentó al desafío de crear la película con un presupuesto acotado y un plazo limitado.

“Tuvimos muchos obstáculos al rodar esta película. El principal fue el plazo sumamente justo. Nos tuvimos que mover rápido; realmente no podíamos perder tiempo debido a que todos los días había una combinación diferente de efectos especiales, maquillaje, dobles de riesgo y pirotecnia, cuya preparación lleva mucho tiempo. Fue todo un desafío logístico grabar todo a tiempo y de manera creativa”, añade LeVeck.

Debido a que la historia dependía de la realidad de los personajes trabajando en un estudio de grabación real, LeVeck estaba feliz de que se tratara de un set verdadero y no de utilería. “Debido a que todas las cámaras y los equipos de Blackmagic en el set estaban en funcionamiento, Kyle Gallner (Drew) tuvo la posibilidad de interactuar directamente con el mezclador ATEM para alternar entre fuentes y reproducir gráficos”. Contar con un set tangible y real lo ayudó muchísimo a fin de lograr una actuación más auténtica y natural.

Una vez que se completó la fotografía principal, LeVeck y su equipo confiaron en DaVinci Resolve Studio para el finish. "It was an extraordinary experience. Resolve is a phenomenal program for creating the aesthetics and style of the finished film while working with agility and efficiency," he acknowledges.

The team used the collaboration tools offered by Resolve to achieve more efficient processes. "The first and most important thing was that we completed the formatting without any problems. We used a system with Resolve in my office, and thanks to a shared work dynamic, there were two editors formatting tapes at the same time. They had the possibility of working on the same project simultaneously."

Una vez que se finalizó el conformado de manera interna, el proyecto de DaVinci Resolve Studio pasó a manos de Banana Post en Burbank. donde el colorista Chad Mumford creó la estética final en tres semanas, todo dentro del mismo programa. El director de fotografía Jean-Philippe Bernier aportó una variedad de imágenes fijas de otros proyectos con apariencias que quería simular en distintas partes de la película. Mumford importó dicho contenido y lo usó como capas superpuestas al etalonaje. “Bernier se inspiró en una escena en particular de SE7EN" by David Fincher, which features rapid drop-off shadows and blacks with subtle green tones," says Mumford. "Nothing beats a colorist who can bring those images into a project and compare them directly to the color settings."

Mumford applied a favorite technique in dark and sinister photography of The Cleansing Hour. "Personally, I emulate the tape format when grading. One of the plugins we managed to bring into the project was FilmConvertPro. We did a luminance selection for the deep blacks, used FilmConvert to add grain, and then inverted the selection. This is quite apparent in the scene where the stage lights burn Max (the priest). We had a lot of fun experimenting with the graininess and the HSL selection tools and masks in Resolve, which made it possible to create a subtle and unique cinematic aesthetic.”

More than 400 visual effects

With more than 400 visual effects shot for the feature, Mumford and LeVeck had to use every tool available to overcome multiple challenges during the shoot. project completion process, all in order to highlight the terrifying nature of the film. “If I think back, the creative challenge I remember most is color grading the monster that is revealed at the end," said Mumford. “The veins on this creature were modified in the Color module to look like boiling lava. It was probably one of the most noodly shots I've ever used in my life." LeVeck also emphasizes that “it turned out spectacular.”

In the end, the process was complex, but it was worth it. "The film was an incredible technical challenge, simply because of all the set and the screens on which different content was played, specific to that moment in history. In addition, there were a lot of visual effects and makeup. More than anything, the challenge was the deadline we had to finish everything. But despite this, it was the project that I had the most fun in my life, and I hope to be able to do it again soon," concludes LeVeck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUGfkayica4