Game Informer, publisher of a monthly magazine focused on video games and consoles, is using the Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro to shoot documentaries, interviews and monthly cover stories featuring top video games and game makers, Blackmagic Design said this week.
The magazine, launched as a print version in 1991, also produces an online publication and YouTube channel devoted to digital content from its monthly edition with interviews and other content that has accumulated 275 million views and won 744,000 subscribers, it said.
“On average, we generate two to three videos per week. In a world with endless feeds to scroll, our content must catch the viewer’s eye quickly, which Blackmagic Design enables us to do, helping us achieve a production quality few can replicate. Game Informer’s small editorial team, 30-year legacy, and American Midwest roots also instill an exceptional quality into our content that our audience connects with,” said Game Informer video editor Alex Van Aken.
“Whether filming in a Japanese office, a large convention in Europe or a cave in California, our interviews break through the noise by giving fans a behind the scenes look at how games are made and at the individuals, who are luminaries in their craft, working hard to make them.”
Having a user-friendly, compact camera is key for working on location, he said. Along with the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro, Van Aken also packs a Pocket Cinema Camera 4K to capture occasional B angles.
Travelling to Osaka, Japan, for Game Informer’s “Street Fighter 6” cover story, Game Informer shot a seven-part video series that required extensive conversations with the developers and lessons learned from the iconic “Street Fighter” series. While there, Van Aken shot eight interviews in only two days.
“Being able to quickly move locations and set up a shot within a five-minute break is essential,” he said. “The Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro’s focus peaking indicators and ND filters were especially helpful with this. In the past, I’ve missed out on the shot because I’ve had to manually switch out my filters. Having the ND filters built in is a game changer. I’m able to achieve the look that I want, without sacrificing the composition of the shot.”
Van Aken also recently used the camera to capture Game Informer’s three-part, 30-minute-per-episode documentary series “Making Mina.” Following “Mina the Hollower” developer Alec Faulkner throughout his day, Van Aken noted the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro’s compact size as a key benefit.
“I am able to halve the weight of my kit when I use my Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro. Instead of bringing along an external monitor, cables and chargers, I'm able to use what the camera has without sacrificing the quality,” he said.
To shoot Game Informer’s “In Search Of Perfect: Exploring Caves With Spelunky’s Creator” documentary, Van Aken followed indie developer Derek Yu into the Caves of Munits in California.
“This was a physically demanding shoot, as we were hiking up the steep cave mouth with the sun beating down on us,” said Van Aken. “The camera’s super bright HDR screen allowed me to view what I was shooting even in the direct sunlight. Some of the shots were hard to achieve physically, like when I was climbing into narrow sections of the cave, but the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro’s compact, lightweight design was a lifesaver.”
Some of the footage for this documentary originated with a drone. That footage was severely underexposed; however, Van Aken used DaVinci Resolve Studio’s color grading toolset to save the footage, he said.
Van Aken shot the three projects using Blackmagic RAW, citing the camera’s dynamic range and Blackmagic RAW’s flexibility in post-production as essential to the workflow. “Blackmagic RAW has become my favorite format to shoot in. The fact that I can record professional level footage at a reasonable storage cost is revolutionary to our production,” he said.
More information is available on the company’s website.
