All Men Are Wicked Western Shot with Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks were put to the test during intense desert shoot.
Independent western “All Men Are Wicked” focuses on three outlaws who find themselves bound and hanging upside down in the desert after being accused of robbing a stagecoach. The scenes were shot practically, with the three lead actors hanging feet first in the air for nearly 40 pages of dialogue. For Director Michael Hansen, this feat required a camera kit that could provide maximum flexibility.
“Having two cameras was essential as it provided maximum coverage for our actors. We only had about eight minutes per take to run as many pages as possible before it became a safety issue,” explained Hansen.
For the film, Hansen and DP Zak Ray selected two Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K digital film cameras. “We shot our daylight exteriors without flags, bounce or diffusion of any kind. We relied on the dynamic range of the sensors and the flexibility of Blackmagic RAW, and timed our scenes with sun position.”
The ranch gate that suspended the actors was constructed in the desert of the San Luis Valley in Colorado, with logs purchased from the Amish.
“There were only dirt roads and no utility power. On dry days it was dusty and on wet days it was muddy. We dealt with a lot of bee stings, but no complaints; it’s a wonderful place.”
Capturing the Darkness
In contrast to the harsh outdoor desert scenes, the crew also shot in an authentic silver mine from the 1880s. According to Hansen, “We shot deep in the mine, in total darkness, and created all sunlight and moonlight using a single Aputure 600 diffused through muslin. The Pockets’ dual native sensors allowed us to shoot at 3200 ISO and run the light at only 1 percent intensity. It’s these little advantages that were crucial on a micro budget production.”
The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K’s dual native ISO also came in handy when shooting in a historic cabin without supplemental light or diffusion. As Hansen explained, the cabin is part of a living history museum and required the crew to be extremely low impact. “The space itself was quite constrained and, similar to the mine, would not have been conducive to a larger camera kit or more elaborate rigging. The Pocket’s portable design kept our footprint small. There were also some angry geese roaming the property and it was nice to have a lightweight setup if we needed to make a break for it,” he said.
Continuing Blackmagic RAW in Post
Hansen noted that throughout production the team could rely on the Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks to expedite every process and always produce an exemplary image. They continued to rely on a Blackmagic RAW workflow throughout post production, using DaVinci Resolve Studio to edit, color grade and finish the film.
Hansen concluded, “Resolve’s all in one workflow was a dream for a production with a small post team. Features like DCP creation were invaluable when balancing a tighter budget.”
The film, which was produced by Bodycool Media, is available now on Tubi.
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