Director, producer and Oscar-winning writer John Ridley of “12 Years a Slave” uses the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4K on several television and film productions, including the mini-TV series “Guerrilla” which he is currently filming in London.

Ridley often adopts a spontaneous shooting style for which the URSA Mini 4K is ideal. “My experience so far with the URSA Mini 4K has been great,” he said. “It’s an incredibly versatile piece of equipment that allows me to use it at every stage of production, in a variety of ways.”

Using the URSA Mini 4K for previsualization (previz), Ridley notes that the camera’s flexibility allows him to shoot quickly with his thoughts focused on the scenes he’s shooting, rather than the complexities of the shoot. “I get really stressed out before a shoot, and I need professional gear that’s creative without hindering my spontaneity,” he explained. “It’s important that I don’t want to be carrying around bits of gear on set just in case I need it. The small size of the URSA Mini 4K allows it to be there at all times.”

Ridley, as a director, is known for his tendency to grab a camera to film additional footage himself. “The flexibility of the URSA Mini 4K allowed me to use it as a secondary camera during production,” he said. “With the camera in hand, I was able to capture additional footage on the fly without affecting the original shots.”

He added: “The choice to use the URSA Mini 4K has proven invaluable when our workload requires a second camera crew but is financially prohibitive. Although camera operation is not my strong suit, with the URSA Mini 4K, I have been able to get the broadcast-quality footage I needed and seamlessly integrate it into the rest of the shoot.”

As a self-taught camera operator, Ridley appreciates the ease of use of the URSA Mini, but notes that professional technicians use it with equal enthusiasm. “The camera is extremely capable of fine-tuning and can capture the best shots in a variety of lighting conditions, from ‘hard to very low,’” he said. He adds, “I’ve converted shots in minutes for preview, and also put them through a post gauntlet that required international QC. In all cases, I’ve not been disappointed.”

Ridley concluded, “The URSA Mini 4K is a reliable camera with great capabilities, and in less than a year, it has become an integral part of my work. I look forward to further exploring and testing its seemingly endless possibilities.”

blackmagic_authorized_reseller_1line

Check out the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4K at a special price at Comart eshop

Comart is an Authorized Reseller and Authorized On-line Reseller of Blackmagic Design and other leading audiovisual products and solutions companies, has long experience and a specialized sales and support department as well as high expertise in installations of audiovisual event coverage systems, video, production & post-production and broadcast.