USA – Blackmagic Design today announced that Creative Director and Producer Gina Gizella Manning and Director Mike Pecci’s latest award winning film, “Metanoia,” was shot using the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K digital film camera, with post production completed in DaVinci Resolve Studio. The film is built around fashion, weaving rhythms and surreal imagery, and has won numerous filmmaking awards, showing at the London Fashion Film Festival in 2026.
Starring David Dastmalchian (“Dune,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Oppenheimer”) and actress, model and fashion designer Sedona Legge, “Metanoia” tells the story of a man being drawn through dreamlike rituals and surreal spaces to confront his fear, longing and shame until he begins to realize that what he desires may not be dangerous but deeply true.
Initially created as a photo series by Manning, the project grew into a short film and will eventually become an immersive gallery experience.
To create the highly detailed images that used costumes and sets as a living environment, along with the acting talents of Dastmalchian and Legge, Pecci and DP David Kruta relied on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K.
“When I was asked to direct the film portion of Gina’s project, I knew the costumes and makeup would be impeccable,” explained Pecci. “We had a lot of conversations about color and the details we wanted to capture from the outfits. David Kruta and I had to figure out what was the most evocative thing on screen? How does it inform the character? And how do we light it?”
“From using Blackmagic Design cameras in my other films, I knew that the camera and shooting in Blackmagic RAW would be able to get us the images David, Gina and I came up with.”
The film includes shots of incredibly intricate costumes and natural props, such as peakcock feathers, chainmail and bejeweled headpieces. Each piece tells a story as important as the actors’ expressions and movements.
Pecci and Kruta experimented with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K’s full frame sensor and low light capabilities to ensure they could capture the envisioned images, and then fine tuned the footage in DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Pecci explained how he approached shooting the details: “The benefit of using the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K’s full frame sensor was that it made the focus even more shallow and rich. There is one shot where Sedona Legge leans across the table, and the camera pushes in as her eye twitches. Blackmagic allowed us to capture that moment perfectly.”
“This film is built on details. That is how I have always seen the world, and most of my memories are based on them. The bark on a tree, the fur on the back of a jacket, the way light leaks through the cracks in blinds; I notice all of those things through my eyes every day.”
“We were excited to explore every technique, every idea that might normally be seen as too ambitious or too experimental. We wanted every frame to feel like you could touch it, and at the core of the process was a commitment to doing everything practically. Sets were designed and built by hand; lighting rigs moved like dancers; nails were sculpted into tiny works of art; bodies transformed through practical manipulation.”
One of the hardest objects to shoot was a crystal headpiece and an intricate dress worn and designed by Legge. Pecci described how he brought the scenes with the headpiece to life: “We fell in love with it the moment she brought it to set. She makes those by hand herself. As soon as she pulled it out, I kept thinking of ‘Blade Runner’ and was instantly visualizing the sound effects we would use in the edit.”
“When we put that outfit under the moving light setup, everything evolved. The way the light glinted through the crystals and shimmered in the shadows was just stunning to watch in the raw takes.”
“To shoot this, I was able to capture some great macro work by pairing a Fotodiox lens adapter with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K. Then I used Resolve extensively to match the grading from some stock footage to what we shot. I also used a lot of blur and prism filters in Resolve to help match the look of the large format lenses we were using.”
Pecci completed the editing and color correction himself using DaVinci Resolve Studio. To create the look of the film, Pecci worked closely with Manning, who brought years of color focused experience through her fashion photography.
Pecci explained, “Gina has always been a color focused person. All her photography is meticulously graded, and she often uses unorthodox methods to get the results she wants. I knew I had to grade the film in our studio so I would not drive a colorist insane, haha.”
“It was a blast for me. I plugged in my DaVinci Resolve Micro Color Panel, and man, that made all the difference. Grading goes from dragging a mouse and clicking to almost a musician’s touch with the dials and rollers. It completely changed the game for me. From there, it was all about Power Windows, grain management, film grain application, and lots of RGB separation and prism filters.”
