Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) films the documentary 'What Drives Us' with Blackmagic Design 4K cameras

The URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K from Blackmagic Design were the teams chosen to film What Drive Us, documentary directed by Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters).

What Drives Us presents numerous interviews with musicians such as Ringo Star, Steven Tyler, Ben Harper, The Edge o Slash to try to understand what motivates musicians to tour around the world. The director of photography Jessica Young, assisted by Todd Bell, decided that the best equipment to record these conversations was camera models 4K of Blackmagic Design. These fixtures suited his goals of “maintaining natural lighting” and taking liberties “with some focus and close-ups.”

It must be considered that each interview was conducted in a different location, so Young and his team did not have the opportunity to learn about the location in detail before filming. However, according to what he says, the teams of Blackmagic They allowed her to adapt to each situation: “Thanks to its wide dynamic range and ease of use, I was able to be very creative while dealing with the challenges of filming.” In addition, “recording with Pocket units gave us impressive scenes.”

Reliability for long shots

Young used objectives Zeiss Super Speed ​​with the model URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and with the version Pocket Cinema Camera 4K switched between lenses MFT with 12-35mm and 35-100mm zoom. Likewise, it used the format Blackmagic RAW with a compression of 8:1, an “exceptional” codec that allowed “the film to be seen with a homogeneous aesthetic.”

Another key to filming was the possibility of recording long interviews without cuts, given the nature of the host and director. Dave Grohl. According to Young, the cameras were completely reliable: "I've been lucky enough to be in about a hundred interviews with Dave, so I understand the way he works and how he carries on a conversation. Sometimes we cut the shot and started again, but for the most part, the project was filmed in very long scenes, which was sometimes a little nerve-wracking, in case the file was corrupted. Especially when there is no second take, nor the possibility of re-recording it with the rock star. This is why that the reliability of the cameras was essential.”

Post con DaVinci Resolve Studio

What Drives Us was edited and graded using DaVinci Resolve Studio, solution Blackmagic Design. “The film was finished in DaVinci Resolve, so we had absolutely nothing to worry about, since we were certain that the recorded material would be compatible with the dynamics of post-production,” shares Young, making clear his preference for the product.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptc26qrtljA