The new documentary “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror”, from DP Warren Kommers, was shot with Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K cameras.
The 50th anniversary of the cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” film has been widely mentioned in recent weeks, and from family and friends gatherings created to see the film and share that viewing experience to interviews with the living actors, it’s been hard to escape the whole magic of the moment. Now, we’ve some more news about that magic and how Blackmagic Design cameras were used to shoot the new documentary “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror”.
Blackmagic Design shared that “DP Warren Kommers shot the new documentary “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror” with Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K digital film cameras” adding that “relying on the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro’s form and image quality, Kommers created an effective look for the documentary.”
The new film chronicles the history of the cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” from its beginnings as a stage play in London to its rise as the longest running theatrical film release in history. Celebrating the story’s 50th anniversary, the documentary delves into creator Richard O’Brien through the personal lens of Director Linus O’Brien, his son, and features many of the original cast including Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick and Patricia Quinn, alongside commentary from Jack Black and Trixie Mattel.
When Kommers first joined the project, he worked alongside Linus O’Brien to determine the look for the film, deciding how they’d like to cut between interviews and archival footage across the past 50 years, along with present day footage of Richard O’Brien and today’s shadow casts.
Kommers detailed, “Linus wanted to use an Interrotron format for the interviews, creating direct eye contact, while having relatively deep background depth in each of our locations. It was our intention to contrast the rambunctious archival footage with consistent framing, while also creating cohesion through lighting and color.
“On documentaries, you never know what locations you will encounter, and options can be limited, so you need versatile tools from the start. For ‘Strange Journey” this was especially important for maintaining the interviews’ consistent framing and background depth, which required considerable distance between our subjects and the background. We decided to use a Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro because its shallow ergonomics and compact nature gave us the best chance at achieving the depth we wanted regardless of the locations’ limitations. Its shallow form factor allowed me to slide the main interview angle right up to the wall, maximizing camera to background distance, while delivering premium image quality. It was crucial to us getting the shot in some instances, like when we were capturing Susan Sarandon’s interview in a small loft in New York.”
For the rest of his kit, Kommers selected an URSA Mini Pro 12K for his B camera and a Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 digital film camera as his handheld verité camera.
“We used the URSA Mini Pro 12K for some of our interviews when we knew we had larger locations well in advance,” Kommers noted. “I knew the cameras would intercut perfectly because they were using the same beautiful Generation 5 Color Science. Additionally, it’s a more traditional and familiar camera when working with a foreign crew; in one case I remotely lit and framed the interview over Zoom.”
He added, “We used the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 for verité footage because of its stellar low light performance and traditional shoulder ergonomics. While I will use an Easyrig, I still prefer the handheld behavior and perspective of having the camera on the shoulder. I find there is a tendency to cradle smaller, lighter, suspended cameras well below the eyes of the subject if the camera is not on one’s shoulder. That’s not how we experience most of our human interactions, especially if you’re conveying a more objective truth, which is often the case in documentary filmmaking. I also love having my eye on a viewfinder. It really feels like you’re sitting with the audience in a dark theatre in there. It’s the best place to observe.”
“As far as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to the democratization of premium moving images. And that really is Blackmagic Design,” Kommers concluded. “The story of ‘Rocky Horror’ is as pertinent now as it was 50 years ago, and I’m so glad we have these tools to tell it.”
“Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror” premiered at SXSW Film and TV Festival 2025 and is currently in theaters. As a footnote to this information, we’ve added some more videos and trailers and a video from Entertainment Weekly, a recent interview with the stars of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ — Tim Curry (Dr. Frank-N-Furter), Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors), Patricia Quinn (Magenta), and Nell Campbell (Columbia) as they reunite to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the cult classic that forever changed midnight movies. Together, they look back on the wild early days of ‘Rocky Horror,’ from their unexpected casting stories to the unforgettable chaos on set.