Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and 6K capture the last MisterWives concert

MisterWives' 'Superbloom: The Live Dream' concert used Blackmagic Design cameras to create a production halfway between a feature film and a live event.

The concert Superbloom: The Live Dream of the band MisterWives was filmed entirely with units Pocket Cinema Camera 4K y 6K of Blackmagic Design. Its broadcast to thousands of followers around the world provided the opportunity to see the group in a show that turned out to be a mix between a feature film and a live event.

MisterWives is an acclaimed American band with millions of fans around the world, known for their spectacular live performances. After the release of Superbloom, their third album, in mid-2020, the group was not able to tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to publicize their most recent work, they decided to create The Live Dream, which mixes the energy of their shows with high-quality narrative cinematography, which tells the story of the album visually and includes various sets, costumes and choreography.

With a clear creative vision from MisterWives lead vocalist and songwriter Mandy Lee, the band decided to turn to director Matty Vogel and the person in charge of photography Carrie Stalk. Vogel is known for his work with artists such as Thirty Seconds to Mars and Billie Eilish, and collaborated with the group to create the concept that led to the broadcast. The team that accompanies the band on tour, led by production director Noah Almekinder, was fundamental in preparing all the technical aspects of the show.

“This was a very special project that combined the energy of a live show with high-quality cinematography, made by a team that had never broadcast concerts before,” says Vogel.

"I would love to do more work like this. They present a creative challenge, offering fans an interactive experience in a completely different way," Stalk said.

Superbloom: The Live Dream was filmed over five days at the Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) Magic Spell studios, following the order of the songs on the album in order to offer viewers a review of the emotional experience of its making.

Vogel was responsible for directing and Stalk carried out the filming with a unit Pocket Cinema Camera 6K on a manual stabilizer, with the help of two students from the institute in charge of two other units Pocket Cinema Camera 4K mounted on tripods.

The shoot included a live performance with high-quality surround lighting, various effects, a huge projector with a screen showing the graphics Vogel created for the show, radical changes between day and night, elements illuminated by moonlight, and a dance group dancing around the band.

“Even though we had a limited budget, we managed to produce a high-quality production, and the Pocket Cinema Camera units played a fundamental role in this regard,” says Stalk. "Its compact size and wide dynamic range were a major advantage for us. We were able to get close-ups of the band and move around the stage without interfering too much. The cameras allowed us to record the material without creating a barrier between the cameramen and the group."

A subjective view

In a series of shots, the camera follows Mandy Lee, the band's lead singer, through some trees that had been placed on the stage to turn it into a misty forest.

"In these scenes, I wanted to convey the idea of ​​two people running through a field, like in period films, where the camera acts as if it were another character running alongside them. My goal was for viewers to have the same feeling, with Mandy running through the forest, although we were actually in a recording studio. The Pocket Cinema Camera models' compact design and high dynamic range allowed me to capture the images just as I had imagined," he adds.

Another advantage of the cameras was the dynamic range. High-contrast lighting was used for the performance, as directed by lighting technician Brian Lareau, and the flexibility of the footage allowed the team to make decisions to highlight or tone down certain areas of the image during post-production.

"The cinematic look you got from the camera and the logarithmic profiles were fantastic. The additional dynamic range, resolution and bit depth, especially on the Pocket Cinema 6K model, helped me capture the information needed to achieve the desired look in post-production," said Stalk.

"The Pocket Cinema Camera models and this project have given me a lot of creative possibilities. In the case of live shows, before I worked more with photographs, but due to the pandemic, I had to find other alternatives, and with these cameras I have been able to start a new business creating video clips and broadcasting live concerts," highlights Vogel in conclusion.