Georgia’s iMint Media Leverages Blackmagic Design for Jacksonville Jaguars Content

Based in Brunswick, Georgia, iMint Media is a boutique video production company that produces corporate and commercial content for digital and broadcast. Current clients include the Jacksonville Jaguars and clothing company Draper James.

“We are small but mighty thanks to our flexibility, personalized service and arsenal of professional equipment across production and post production,” said Producer and Director TJ Thompson.

With a firm foundation in all forms of production, TJ’s work has been featured on MSNBC, ABC Sports, PBS, and the BBC. He began iMint Media in 2006 with his wife and partner Kimberly Thompson, an editor and producer who has worked with clients such as Bank of America, Bluegreen, Sea Island, and World Market.

“Together, we are able to handle a wide range of projects, from music videos and live productions to commercials, documentaries, concerts and more. We’ve been able to expand the business and our services in part thanks to affordable, professional gear,” TJ noted. “For example, we’ve been Blackmagic Design users since the original ATEM Television Studio switcher and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. We heard through several forums that the ATEM was a great entry point into live switching, and we jumped on it.”

From there, it was only a matter of filling in additional pieces until their workflow was complete. “In 2018, we added Blackmagic Design’s URSA Broadcast cameras, and now they are our go-to cameras for live events. The flexibility of the ENG configuration and ATEM compatibility allow us to produce shows far more efficiently than ever before. I even found that shooting content outside of a multi-cam setup with the URSA Broadcast is a pleasure,” he said.

Going Live
iMint Media currently uses three URSA Broadcasts, an ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K live production switcher, Compact Videohub 40×40 router, Video Assist monitor/recorder, and numerous converters. For live streaming projects, a flypack houses the ATEM switcher and Videohub router, and two Videohub router panels hooked up via point of entry, allowing them to quickly route sources. The camera chain consists of two SDI runs to each camera which provide video to and from, plus paint control of the URSA Broadcasts.

“When setting up a live stream, we place our flypack and cameras first. We then run the cable lines and double-check everything. Blackmagic Design has made setup time so much quicker since all of our hardware works so seamlessly together,” noted TJ.

Staying on the Ball
At sporting events like Jacksonville Jaguars games, iMint Media captures content for a variety of digital platforms. “When we arrive, we establish a base camp in the press area and set up a laptop ready for uploading footage. We then capture game day color such as fans, locators and player warm ups. This footage all gets uploaded during the game,” said TJ. “Once the game is finished, we set up in both the home and away team rooms and capture post-game interviews. When teams allow, we then travel to the locker room for additional interviews. All of the footage is immediately uploaded.”

“We cover sporting events for Stats Preform which is a company based in the UK. We are tasked with capturing b-roll from sporting events and press coverage from post-game interviews, and the URSA Broadcast has been the perfect camera for this,” TJ continued. “The ENG layout and shoulder mount design allow us to quickly move from shot to shot, and the on-board NDs allow us to shoot in direct sunlight without having to carry around a matte box.”

TJ also highlighted the camera’s B4 lens mount as it provides them with the ability to use a single broadcast ENG lens, cutting down on having to carry telephoto and wide lenses. The URSA Broadcast’s on-board XLRs provide clean audio from press mult boxes in the team rooms, and the camera even helped iMint Media save a network by providing an SDI feed to an up-link truck when the network’s camera went down.

“One of the most valuable features for us is the numerous amounts of codecs available in the camera; handing off a flat RAW image or Rec.709 ProRes file is invaluable to us,” added TJ. “Stats Preform is an international organization and requires media delivery in 1080p 50p ProRes. Having this codec built into the URSA Broadcast, coupled with the camera’s extended video profile, has removed the need to transcode clips. As soon as we finish, we can immediately begin uploading the footage which has made our client extremely happy.”

For fast turn arounds, the URSA Broadcast’s codecs and video profiles help iMint Media deliver on time without transcoding. However, according to TJ, when time isn’t a factor, iMint Media can capture beautiful 4K footage with wide dynamic range for use in promo pieces. “The variable frame rate mode provides even more flexibility for capturing epic slow motion of big plays, and we’re very excited that Blackmagic RAW is now available on the camera as well. This will help us better match cameras in post,” he said.

Looking to the Future
As iMint Media looks to expand further into the live music and concert market, the URSA Broadcast and the newly purchased URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 camera will be at the center. They have even begun to look at building out a full fiber chain. No matter what their future holds, they know Blackmagic Design will have the tools to support their needs.

“The price point and feature set of Blackmagic Design gear are second to none, and Blackmagic Design provides us with the tools we need to deliver an amazing image and quality content in a timely and efficient manner. Without Blackmagic Design, we would not be able to provide our clients with the product they expect and a cost they can afford,” TJ concluded.