Blackmagic brings warmth to nature in ‘Oyaji Camp Meshi’ series

Prime Video and YouTube are hosting episodes of ‘Oyaji Camp Meshi’, a series featuring the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and DaVinci Resolve Studio software as key parts of its production.

The Oyaji Camp Meshi series tells the story of Akio Sakamoto (Yoshimasa Kondo), a one-time Chinese restaurant owner who lives a lonely life and camp life, but still cooks wonderful dishes. The focus of the program is on interacting with people who camp and occasionally visit him, and on showing how easy it is to cook Chinese food while camping. Masaki Masugi, director of the series, talks about how the project came about: “During the 2020 pandemic, there was a period I had no work. When I wanted to do something, I thought about creating a show that provides 30 minutes of chill time in the midst of not being able to go out. I wanted to make a drama series where you can watch it without getting too immersed in the story. Something you can enjoy while feeling nature and delicious food. Then I approached the lead actor Yoshimasa Kondo and people I really wanted to work with to make the production happen.”

The first two seasons of the series were shot with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K model, but for the third season of the series, the decision was made to shoot with Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro units. Oyaji Camp Meshi’s director of photography, Yasushi Yamauchi, explains this decision: “The Pocket Cinema Cameras have a slightly amber tone, giving me a very warm feeling. I prefer a filmic tone, and I thought the Pocket Cinema Cameras would be suitable for camping videos. Additionally, it is a tremendous advantage that Blackmagic RAW can be captured internally. Since we shot with two cameras with a very small crew of three, grading was essential, so I wanted to shoot in RAW.”

“Furthermore, the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro proved useful in low light situations. The crew was able to adjust the RAW bit rate ratio, using 8:1 for daytime shoots and 5:1 when shooting in darker areas at night, to maximize the effectiveness in post production. “The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro has a built in ND filter and dual sensitivity, so it’s helpful even in night scenes,” adds Yamauchi.

Oyaji Camp Meshi, color corrected with DaVinci Resolve

Colorist Naoya Morimoto was in charge of color grading the third season of Oyaji Camp Meshi, using Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve Studio software and a DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel. In collaboration with Masugi, Morimoto was tasked with creating a warm look that conveyed the feeling of sitting in front of a campfire with a lantern. Initially, Morimoto color-keyed the footage, working alongside Yamauchi and Takashi Goda, lighting director.

Working with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro was key to the Oyaji Camp Meshi creative and technology team meeting their goals: “When you have to shoot alone, and yet you don’t want to compromise the quality, this is the camera you need. If you know how to shoot and color grade, even with a very small crew of two or three people, you can create works like this show.”