Blackmagic Design Products Indispensable to Finishing Indie Feature Film, Being Michael Madsen

By Taylor Warren, Owner of Sunrise Pictures and Editor/Sound Designer

When Sunrise Pictures and Mean Time Productions needed a cost effective way monitor HD video during the edit of their new feature, Being Michael Madsen, we turned to Blackmagic Design products. We wanted to be able to view the HD camera masters at 1080/24 PsF. Using an HDLink (an HD monitoring converter for DVI and HDMI monitors), we were able to take the HD signal directly from our Avid Media Composer HD and monitor it on a widescreen LCD monitor. It worked flawlessly.

Being Michael Madsen tells the story of a Hollywood star who exacts revenge on an abrasive paparazzi photographer by hiring a documentary film crew to follow him 24/7 and, in essence, turn the tables on him. Starring veteran actor Michael Madsen, as himself, the film features guest appearances by Virginia Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Harry Dean Stanton, Lacey Chabert, and Paige Davis.

We actually wrote the script first and got it to Michael through his producing partner. Michael really liked the concept, and has a history of supporting indie filmmakers. Once he agreed to do the film, he and the director sat down and did a rewrite of the script to incorporate Michael's life history and personality. Michael's family also participated in the making of the film: Virginia, his sister, gave us a stellar performance as well, and his mother, Elaine, an author and documentary filmmaker also appeared on camera to great effect. They're all quite passionate artists and they seem to have a strong generosity to support other artists.

The film was shot in 1080/24 PsF HD video using Sony’s F900 CineAlta camera, and posted at Sunrise Pictures’ studio in Middletown, Connecticut. We offlined in standard definition compressed resolution [15:1], then relinked to online high definition files for the fine cut. At that point the HDLink became indispensable for us … all subsequent video passed through the HDLink to a Dell 2407wfp monitor which enabled us to see the detail of the picture.

Our director, Michael Mongillo of Mean Time Productions, was blown away by the image he saw through the HDLink. He told me, “the depth and detail was stunning. I actually made content decisions based on things we saw through the HDLink that we couldn’t see in the [SD] offline.”

One of the things I really liked about the HDLink was the ability to create custom luma curves for the RGB color channels. It allowed me to get very close to the color response I get from my 30 fps broadcast monitor on the LCD. So much so, that I was able to do some qualitative color correction on the HD timeline that I feel pretty confident in.

In addition to the HDLink, a Multibridge Extreme was used to provide the capability for HD playback of effects designed in After Effects, as a video source on the Digidesign Pro Tools sound design and mix sessions, and as a means of creating SD downconverts of the finished master.

Blackmagic Design products were a critical link in our post production pathway. They really made finishing Being Michael Madsen possible.

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