Blake McClure shoots with Blackmagic's URSA Cine 17K 65

The URSA Cine 17K 65 from Blackmagic Design is the main camera used in the new work by cinematographer Blake McClure, responsible for the visual finish of series such as ‘The Dropout’, ‘Miracle Workers’ and ‘Loot’.

My first encounter with the camera and its large format sensor came when I saw the work of cinematographer Dylan Rucker. “I saw this demo that Dylan shot,” said McClure. “One frame stuck with me: a man sipping coffee in a kitchen, looking out over a ranch. That single image hooked me. It instantly reminded me of medium format portrait photography. I could feel the camera’s proximity to the actor, the way the background fell off so gracefully, and how naturally the skin tones rendered. The tones were perfect. A simple frame, yet incredibly effective,” recalls McClure.

The director of photography, who is used to shooting episodes for series with a very static visual style, wanted something different for this project: “In half hour shows, there’s rarely room for dynamic camera movement. I’ve always had to rely on lighting and color to bring visual interest. Coverage is usually limited to over the shoulder shots, clean singles, and the occasional wide. I was looking for something new.” To change his approach, he decided to use the 65mm sensor on the URSA Cine 17K 65 from Blackmagic, which allows you to get closer to the subject without the usual distortion. McClure explains: “We were shooting medium shots on a 55mm from about seven feet away. To get the same field of view on Super 35, we’d need a 30mm lens or be double the distance from the subject. I wanted the show to feel like a portrait, intimate and relationship driven. I’ve always loved medium format photography, and this was the closest I’ve been to that in motion.”

The advantages of the URSA Cine 17K 65’s Rgbw sensor, as well as the wide variety of compression options it offers, also allowed McClure to manage his data more actively: “We shot at open gate 8K, and the ability to shoot multiple high resolution formats without any image crop is an amazing advantage on this camera,” added McClure. “On the camera, you can also record at a constant compression setting, which is standard practice, or use the Constant Quality mode. We shot in Q3, which allocates more data to areas of high detail and less to static parts of the frame, reducing the overall data rate. You don’t notice it visually, but it means smaller file sizes. This made it an easier sell to the studio, since we weren’t asking them to approve a massive data storage footprint for the DIT or post production.”

Logan Hall, first assistant camera, highlights the versatility of the camera in adapting to different situations. Its cage system was very useful for this: “We could build the camera in almost any configuration that we could hope for, whether it be for studio work, on a Steadicam, or even on compact gimbals like the Ronin 2.” Another advantage was the second screen on the right side of the camera: “Having the two built in monitors was incredibly helpful,” added Hall. “There were many times where Blake was on set making adjustments, and no matter what side of the camera he was on, he was able to just glance at the monitor without having to go all the way back to DIT. I found the directors, assistant directors and even production assistants looking at the AC side monitor, which allowed them to see all the adjustments they were making on the fly, all while being able to stay close to the action.”

“Every time a new actor came to set, they’d comment on how close the cameras were to them during a scene. They assumed we were using super wide lenses for close ups, but once we showed them the frame, they couldn’t believe the look we were getting. The images blew everyone away,” concludes McClure.