AACTFest 2021 broadcasts 11 plays filmed by Colvin Theatrical with Blackmagic Design

Colvin Theatrical has filmed and post-produced eleven community plays that were part of the AACTFest 2021 festival using Blackmagic Design solutions.

Colvin Theatrical, a production company specializing in multi-camera video recording and webcasting, is one of the first companies to provide a specific service to a wide variety of community and school theaters in the country.

For AACTFest 2021, an annual national festival organized by the American Association of Community Theaters (AACT), Colvin and his team recorded eleven theatrical productions, which were selected by the association to be streamed live over the Internet during the event. The films were shared with viewers around the world via the Broadway on Demand platform.

Blackmagic Design workflow

Colvin Theatrical traveled for two weeks to the venues of the eleven selected theater companies and shot their plays with four Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and Video Assist 5″ 12G HDR monitors. An ATEM Mini Pro Extreme ISO mixer was used to alternate the signals from the different cameras, which recorded the material into DaVinci Resolve Studio files. The footage was then edited in DaVinci Resolve Studio in the “Editing” module and the clips were color-keyed. The six-person team shaped the work with a combination of close-ups, wide shots and moving shots.

Colvin’s new Theatrical Multicam services include broadcast, recording, color grading, mastering and post-production of content, which, thanks to Blackmagic Design equipment, can be largely replicated in any type of theater, whether school, community, regional or even Broadway-caliber.

Cody Colvin, director of Colvin Theatrical, is confident that this workflow will be extended to breathe new life into theatrical products thanks to the versatility of Blackmagic Design: “Blackmagic cameras give you a cinematic look and are affordable, easy to use and are designed to be used anywhere. So we can get right into the heart of the performance. Pick a LUT from the camera, learn how to use the ATEM switcher and learn how to use Resolve with its free version. We have proven you can get a two hour film of a live play shot and cut in a week thanks to Blackmagic.”