Dave Grohl’s (Foo Fighters) documentary What Drives Us was filmed with Blackmagic Design 4K cameras

Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and Pocket Cinema Camera 4K were the equipment chosen to shoot What Drives Us, a documentary directed by Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters).

What Drives Us features numerous interviews with musicians such as Ringo Star, Steven Tyler, Ben Harper, The Edge E Slash to try to understand what motivates musicians to tour the world. Cinematographer Jessica Young, assisted by Todd Campana, decided that the best equipment to record these conversations was Blackmagic Design’s 4K camera models. These devices suited her goals of “keeping the lighting natural” and taking liberties “with some focus and close-ups.”

Consider that each interview was conducted at a different location, so Young and his team did not have the opportunity to get to know the location in detail before the shoot. However, she says, the Magia nera gear allowed her to adapt to each situation: “With the high dynamic range and ease of use, the cameras let me be incredibly creative while handling any of the regular challenges a shoot like this has.” In addition, “And being able to have the rest of the crew easily grab a Pocket got me a lot of great shots.”

Reliability for long shots

Young used Zeiss Super Speed lenses with the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 model, and with the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K version he switched between 12-35mm and 35-100mm MFT zoom lenses. He also used the Blackmagic RAW format with 8:1 compression, an “exceptional” codec that allowed “the film to look with a homogeneous aesthetic.”

Another key to the shoot was the ability to record long, uncut interviews, given the nature of host and director Dave Grohl. According to Young, the cameras proved completely reliable: “I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the room for probably 100 interviews with Dave. I understand the way he likes to work and how he has a conversation. We might occasionally cut and re slate once in awhile, but for the most part, this project was recording very long takes, which can always be a bit nerve wracking in the event of a corrupt file. Especially when there is no take two and likely no chance of reshooting with that particular rock star. So the reliability of the Blackmagic cameras is important.”

Post with DaVinci Resolve Studio

What Drives Us was edited and color-keyed using Da Vinci Resolve Studio, UN Progettazione della magia nera solution. “The project was finishing in DaVinci Resolve, so there was absolutely no worries about the footage translating to our post work flow,” shares Young, making his preference for the product clear.