Symphony of Smoldering Chaos Shot on Blackmagic Design Cameras

Symphony of Smoldering Chaos Shot on Blackmagic Design Cameras

Brie Clayton March 10, 2025

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An ensemble drama based on real life comedians created with Blackmagic Design.

Blackmagic Design announced today that its cameras, including the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro, and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K digital film cameras, were used to shoot Symphony of Smoldering Chaos. The film follows a group of comedians led by the duo Tamonz as they navigate their struggles in pursuit of success. DaVinci Resolve Studio was used for color grading.

Symphony of Smoldering Chaos is inspired by real life comedians affiliated with Yoshimoto Kogyo entertainment company. In Omiya in the Saitama Prefecture of Japan, these comedians perform at a Yoshimoto theater and form a unit called the Omiya Seven, striving daily to improve their craft. Among them, the comedy duo Tamonz find themselves struggling to make a breakthrough while their peers rise to success through competitions and online platforms.

Toshiya Chimura, the film's cinematographer and colorist, has been a devoted user of Blackmagic Design cameras since the release of the original Blackmagic Cinema Camera.

When the Blackmagic Cinema Camera first came out, I was experimenting with DSLR cameras, trying to record in RAW. The fact that I could own a camera capable of direct RAW recording to an SSD was truly valuable, Chimura said.

He continued: As a creator, I found this project deeply relatable. Our entire team worked to capture those emotions on screen. Even with limited resources, we were committed to achieving high quality visuals, and having cameras that we personally owned was a huge advantage. I used my URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, along with another crew member's Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro. Owning the cameras allowed us to experiment in advance, and we were able to maintain a high level of expertise with the equipment and a deep understanding of unique characteristics of each camera, ensuring we could capture exactly what we envisioned.

Additionally, all stage act scenes were filmed using a multi camera setup. Stage performances are often shot this way, and since those scenes had a strong live element, we wanted to capture them as authentically as possible. Using three cameras made it easy to control the shoot, Chimura explained.

Director Shinsuke Tachikawa and Chimura also emphasized handheld cinematography to capture raw, emotional moments. Since the film was meant to be screened on big screens, we had to ensure the camera shake wasn't excessive. We used Cinesaddle and gimbals to stabilize the footage while maintaining a handheld feel. For scenes like a comedian walking home at night or fans waiting outside after a show, we wanted the camera to move continuously around the subject. To achieve this, we mounted the Pocket Cinema Camera on a small gimbal, and I filmed while riding a Segway.

As the film's colorist, Chimura used DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel for grading. I paid close attention to saturation, fine tuning the parameters to create vibrant colors while ensuring natural skin tones. I also used masks to isolate and refine details on the face and hands.

Finally, Chimura shared one of the most memorable scenes for him: There's a scene in the latter half of the film where no natural light is present. We had limited lighting equipment, and increasing the sensitivity of the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 would have made filming easier. However, I was determined to shoot at ISO 800, which was a challenge. We adjusted the lighting setup to make that possible. The final result, even during grading, turned out to be beautifully atmospheric and deeply emotional.

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