San Francisco State University Film School uses Blackmagic Design solutions

San Francisco State University (SFSU) uses several digital cinema cameras Blackmagic Design, as well as DaVinci Resolve Studio, in its classes, workshops and laboratories at the Film School.

The institution uses more than 40 Blackmagic Design cameras and adapts its curriculum by assigning equipment according to the level of knowledge of students in introductory film courses, graduate thesis, graduate courses and real productions.

Christopher Wooten, profesor de la SFSU, la Escuela de Cine utiliza cámaras de Blackmagic Design desde 2015, destaca que “la transición del celuloide a la tecnología digital requería herramientas que permitieran crear una estética cinematográfica, y fue precisamente lo que las cámaras de Blackmagic nos permitieron lograr desde el primer momento. Claro que existen muchas opciones en el mercado, y los cineastas tendrán sus propias opiniones sobre las cámaras, pero a los estudiantes les resultaría difícil encontrar una solución más versátil. Su facilidad de uso, su calidad de imagen y su precio competitivo las convierten en una excelente alternativa, tanto para instituciones como para principiantes en el ámbito de la cinematografía”.

Wooten is a film and animation generalist. As such, it is linked to a large number of courses that cover the introduction to cinematography, film laboratories, production design and the film creation process that are part of the theses, among others.

"SFSU has a long history of producing experimental, documentary and narrative film, which involves a wide spectrum of perspectives and capabilities, both in the initial phase and in post-production. Therefore, I need to adapt to different disciplines, and I need tools that adapt with me and provide me with the quality and stability so that my students can develop their creativity regardless of their approach. This is where the Blackmagic Design cameras come into play, with their ease of use and professional features," he explains.

SFSU employs approximately 30 units Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, six Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and five Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2as well as various devices DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel along with the program DaVinci Resolve Studio para el etalonaje y la creación de paquetes de cine digital (DCP) en sus salas especializadas.

“En nuestras clases, se asignan equipos específicos para cada nivel de aprendizaje”, señala Wooten. “A medida que los estudiantes avanzan en el curso y aprenden a usarlos, les brindamos acceso a otros de gama alta”.

"The Pocket 4K are used in introductory courses, and the 6K models, mainly in documentary creation, but they have also been incorporated into cinematography and thesis courses. For their part, the URSA Mini Pro cameras are used in higher-level and postgraduate classes that include narrative and documentary productions. Resolve has been present in all subjects related to cinematography, and I have also implemented it in my editing courses," he adds.

Post-production

Regarding post-production courses, Wooten values ​​DaVinci Resolve Studio's diverse toolset and noted that editing, color grading, and visual effects play a prominent role in his classes and labs.

"There's no doubt that Resolve's chromatic features are exceptional, and once students master them, they love them and use them more. I'm learning a little about the Fusion module and I encourage students to do the same through the online training program. The new Fairlight tools in version 19 have impressed students, particularly the voice isolation and mixing tools. I wasted an entire day of class talking about them, in a good way," he says.

"Innovation has been a strength of every new version of Resolve and updates to Blackmagic cameras. The consistency between devices, the clarity of the Blackmagic OS menus, and the seamless transition to post-production have been helpful for inexperienced students getting started in the process, and valuable for students and teachers at higher levels," adds Wooten.

Para finalizar, comenta que “la situación actual de la industria nos ha abierto los ojos a perspectivas alternativas con respecto a las herramientas que utilizamos. A medida que los estándares evolucionan, me entusiasma apoyar a nuestros nuevos creativos con herramientas que amplían su vocabulario visual con menos distracciones y mayor competencia. Como docente, me gusta mucho la transición que veo en los estudiantes hacia la creación desde una perspectiva visualmente atractiva y expresiva”.