Semear Filmes produced a documentary using Blackmagic cameras to capture an intimate, behind the scenes look at one of Brazil’s most respected contemporary dance ensembles.
Creative studio Semear Filmes in Rio de Janeiro has produced a documentary capturing an intimate, behind the scenes look at one of Brazil’s most respected contemporary dance ensembles, the Esther Weitzman Dance Company. The dancers performed the latest staging of The Stories We Invent About Ourselves (Histórias que Inventamos sobre Nós).
Recorded at the historic Carlos Gomes Theatre in Rio de Janeiro, the performance marked the company’s 26th anniversary and brought together 22 dancers from multiple generations to reflect on memory, identity and the human body through movement.
Specializing in capturing live performances with a cinematic perspective, Semear Filmes used Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K digital film cameras, as well as an iPhone equipped with the Blackmagic Camera app. The performance was produced by Semear Filmes’ Beatriz and Angélica Oliveira, along with Sound Technician Jorge Cabide.
Layers of Memory
“The Stories We Invent About Ourselves visualises the layers of memory and identity we carry,” said Director and DP Guto Neto, owner of Semear Filmes. “To do justice to that intimacy on camera, I needed tools that were both technically powerful and artistically flexible. Also, as both director and operator, I needed a setup that was lightweight, unobtrusive and easy to manoeuvre, especially during rehearsals and backstage sequences.
“The Pocket 6K Pro recorded a cinema grade image in a body compact enough to move freely, often at eye level with performers, without attracting attention or breaking the atmosphere. I could work in a natural way, adapting quickly to the expressive needs of both the stage and documentary. Its combination of Blackmagic RAW flexibility, DCI resolution, gyro stabilization, built in ND filters and visual LUT monitoring made it suitable tool for capturing a performance where time, body and memory needed technical precision and artistic freedom.”
Dual Camera Coordination
During the performance, Guto and DP João Costa, captured a wide master shot with a Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, while a second Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro were used handheld for medium shots, detailed body movements and expressive close ups. Guto also used the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagic Camera app for observational shooting and behind the scenes footage for the documentary.
“The Blackmagic Camera app was used as a flexible, strategic tool during rehearsals and behind-the-scenes moments, especially in situations where space was limited or a discreet presence was required. The app allowed me to capture footage with cinematic intent while remaining agile and unobtrusive, a crucial advantage when documenting spontaneous interactions, transitions between rooms or very specific clips during the dancers’ creative process,” noted Guto.
“The ability to shoot in 10 bit Log with full manual control, using the same principles of exposure and colour management as the cinema cameras, made sure that the footage could be integrated smoothly into the main timeline with no aesthetic rupture.”
Multicam Post Production
Post production was completed in DaVinci Resolve Studio, including multicam editing, colour grading, sound design and final delivery, with a DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor and DaVinci Resolve Micro Color Panel supporting the workflow. Guto described how DaVinci Resolve Studio’s AI tools were essential for quickly refining sound and visuals. He used Relight FX, for instance, to subtly control background exposure in interviews without additional lighting, as well as voice isolation for cleaning up spontaneous recordings captured backstage, where noise and reverb were unavoidable.
“Though the project didn’t call for heavy VFX, Fusion played a role in creating clean title animations and a few retouching tasks, like removing signage or fixing background inconsistencies,” Guro said.
“Fairlight, however, was a core part of the process as all dialogue was balanced, equalized, and treated for clarity. I also layered ambient sounds from rehearsals and backstage recordings to create an immersive soundscape and used spatial effects, like reverb and panning, to place the viewer within those spaces. The loudness monitoring and bus routing features were critical for preparing mixes across multiple outputs, from stereo to online platforms.” www.blackmagicdesign.com
