The versatility of URSA Cine 17K 65 in advertising production

The creative agency Craftshow Digital turned to the URSA Cine 17K 65 digital film camera Blackmagic Design to create a direct, no-holds-barred advertising campaign for the Southern Cancer Center, a cancer center in Alabama.

Through different media, the campaign collects the powerful stories of different patients and their experiences with cancer in an honest, clear and respectful way. Content includes 17 advertisements for television, YouTube, Meta and over-the-top (OTT) platforms, which aired in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, as well as high-resolution prints in newspapers and magazines.

As creative director and co-founder of Craftshow Digital, a company located in the city of Mobile, Alabama. Drew Hall He has professional experience that covers narrative, documentaries and commercial productions. Southern Cancer Center, a comprehensive community cancer care center, hired Hall and his team to create a series of ads with an emphasis on narrative and triumph stories that, rather than promising a cure, presented an authentic portrait of life after treatment.

“We wanted to show something real,” explains Hall. “These are human stories, and it was necessary for the campaign to have a sober, respectful and cinematic approach.”

While the emotional nuance was what drove the creative direction, it was the technical requirements of the campaign that, in turn, encouraged Hall to choose the URSA Cine 17K 65 model. While Hall and his team initially just wanted to test the camera's capabilities, they were so impressed with the image quality who decided to use the recorded material for the final edition of the campaign.

“We weren't expecting such impressive results, as we've worked with much higher-priced cameras, but the clarity and resolution of the URSA Cine 17K is unmatched,” Hall acknowledges. “Knowing that we could shoot in 17K for the printed images and then easily switch to 8K or 4K for the shots that were not going to be printed, gave us a level of flexibility that greatly influenced the final result.”

Hall points out that the camera had a great impact thanks to its design specially developed for productions, including the side screen, which allowed the filming to flow without obstacles.

Hall points out that “while I was directing and filming from the travelin, my first camera assistant could prepare for the next shot without me having to move first,” Hall observes. "That detail in terms of efficiency seems insignificant, but it allowed us to do additional shots and variations that would not have been possible otherwise. I have used all the cameras for productions and, without a doubt, this is the easiest to use. Every member of the film crew said 'Oh, I love this camera!' on at least one occasion."

A single DRP file

Post-production for the Southern Cancer Center campaign was completed entirely in DaVinci Resolve Studio. "We are a 100% DaVinci Resolve studio. We assemble, edit, assemble, grade, mix and deliver everything in a single DRP file," says Hall. "That comprehensive workflow saves us a lot of time and allows us to stay creative, without getting lost in the details of having to transform timelines. I haven't edited anything outside of DaVinci Resolve since 2021."

In addition to her work for the Southern Cancer Center, Hall has been using the model for years Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2, both for narrative works and high-concept documentaries.

“The URSA Broadcast G2 is one of my favorites,” Hall admits. “It works perfectly; the menus are intuitive, the audio settings are incredibly simple, and it allows us to focus on telling the story instead of dealing with technical barriers.” “Blackmagic Design's emphasis on systems being intuitive, easy to use and consistent from product to product and through all stages of production is extraordinary,” he concludes.