Deakin University Uses Blackmagic Design to Bring Film, Television and Animation Program to Life

Deakin University’s Bachelor of Film, Television and Animation program is powered by a suite of Blackmagic Design products, including ATEM live production switchers, URSA Broadcast G2 cameras and DaVinci Resolve editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.

The three year program is designed to train the next generation of Australian creative professionals. This includes students getting the unique opportunity to produce live broadcasts of Women’s National Basketball League games that are streamed on Fox Sport and Kayo and Victorian Football League games streamed on Seven Plus.

For these games, students work alongside trained professionals in Deakin University’s own OB van, which incorporates Blackmagic Design technology to create a professional production environment. Students develop real world experience on high quality industry equipment including URSA Broadcast G2s equipped with URSA Studio Viewfinders, Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 digital film cameras, ATEM Camera Control Panel, ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K and ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K live production switchers, HyperDeck Studio Mini broadcast decks, SmartView Duo 2 monitors and Micro Converters SDI to HDMI.

The Deakin University team began its Blackmagic Design journey more than a decade ago, when the team began to utilize Davinci Resolve to create digital screening packages.

Dr. Simon Wilmot, head of group, film, animation and performing arts, said: “What makes our course different is our focus on developing real world skills, using technology that our students will encounter in a professional setting. We pride ourselves on fully integrating our students into the workflow of a real, valuable product: operating cameras, auto cues, EVS, floor managing, assisting with audio and lighting, etc. The relationships the students are able to develop with professional crew have created pathways for many of them to gain paid employment in the broadcast industry.”

The quality and pricing of Blackmagic Design’s products and the ongoing development of the DaVinci Resolve platform gave the team the confidence to invest into Blackmagic Design technology.

“The menus and layout of the cameras make them very accessible and easy to use in teaching compared to other cameras,” said Dr. Wilmot.

He continued, “We are always interested in supporting a local company. Over several years we have purchased Blackmagic Design equipment to do specific tasks, such as the HyperDeck. But the development of DaVinci Resolve really cemented the company in our minds as the ideal platform for our students to learn professional level skills. This became a key part of our workflows, and the rest of the technology stack has come together from there.”

Dr. Wilmot concluded, “The URSA was an ideal camera for us to create a class set of production cameras to develop intermedia skills on. The cost was such that we were able to purchase eight cameras and kit them up for production. The Pocket Cinema Cameras were an ideal camera to develop an introductory class set to introduce students to cinematographic concepts, including changing lenses. When we developed the OB van, once again, Blackmagic’s quality and pricing was hard to beat.”