CASTER
USES BLACKMAGIC DESIGN CAMERAS AND DAVINCI RESOLVE STUDIO

  URSA Broadcast G2 and Blackmagic Studio   Camera 6K Pro shot the drama's fictional news segments.

Manchester, United Kingdom - Friday, September 19, 2025 - Blackmagic Design today announced that the popular Tokyo Broadcasting System’s (TBS) Sunday night drama “Caster” used Blackmagic Design cameras, DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software, and DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel. Set in a TV news station, the drama used Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 and Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pro as studio cameras for in show news program scenes, while the Blackmagic PYXIS 6K digital film camera was used as an ENG camera for on location and news footage in the series.

“Caster” is a social drama set in the world of journalism that explores the tension between power and the mission of journalism. Starring Hiroshi Abe, Mei Nagano, and Shunsuke Michieda, the series reflects real societal issues through a fictional narrative. On the set of the fictional news program News Gate, Blackmagic Design cameras were used along with various accessories including the Blackmagic Focus Demand, Blackmagic Zoom Demand, Blackmagic URSA Studio Viewfinder G2, Blackmagic URSA Cine Handle, and Blackmagic URSA Cine EVF. Additionally, the production setup incorporated the ATEM SDI Pro ISO live production switcher, ATEM Camera Control Panel, and both the Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter and Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter.

Junichi Kobayashi, head of the drama production and camera department at TBS ACT, who oversaw the shoot, said, “We wanted the in show studio to look slightly futuristic, so we looked for cameras that matched that atmosphere and chose the URSA Broadcast G2 and Studio Camera 6K Pro. We also used the PYXIS 6K as a field camera. While the PYXIS was mainly used as a prop, the studio cameras were actually used to capture the news footage shown in the drama.”

Kobayashi continued, “We mounted the cameras on cranes and dollies, and sometimes operated them handheld. The URSA Broadcast G2 was great because it served both purposes. It can be quickly switched between ENG and system camera styles just by changing the adapter. This kind of flexibility is a big advantage when you’re working with limited equipment.”

Yuki Okita, also from TBS ACT’s camera department, added: “Blackmagic Design cameras are easy to integrate into a system. For this shoot, we used the Camera Fiber Converter and Studio Fiber Converter, which allowed us to transmit signals like tally through a single cable, making the setup incredibly simple.”

To maximize efficiency in post production, LUTs were applied on set, and footage was recorded externally. DaVinci Resolve Studio was used for online editing with editors Yuya Monden and Tatsuro Kai from TBS ACT handling post. While they had used DaVinci Resolve Studio for grading and beauty work before, this was their first time using it for full online editing.

Monden commented, “With other editing software, tasks like skin retouching often require long rendering times, but DaVinci Resolve handled it smoothly, which significantly shortened the overall work time. For shots where the subject’s eyes appeared reddish, I used a Power Window to isolate the eye area and corrected the color toward blue to neutralize the redness. We did a lot of this kind of detailed work, but overall, editing took less time than usual. The ability to test and play back immediately without rendering was also really helpful.”

Kai added: “I also fixed shots with dead pixels and replaced photos. In one shot where a crew member was reflected in a window, I copied a part of a building from the same shot and pasted it over the reflection to cover it up. Fusion’s tracking was very accurate, so I used it often for stabilization. We didn’t do full grading, but for shots that needed slight color adjustments, we used the DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel, which allowed us to make quick and precise changes.”

PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY

Product photos of URSA Broadcast G2, Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pro, PYXIS 6K, Blackmagic Focus Demand, Blackmagic Zoom Demand, URSA Viewfinder G2, URSA Cine Handle, URSA Cine EVF, ATEM SDI Pro ISO, ATEM Camera Control Panel, Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter, DaVinci Resolve Studio, DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/media/images

ABOUT BLACKMAGIC DESIGN

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk

