I’ve chosen cameras to test with our 3D Film Factory BS Indie Rig, two main parts of the B cam system we’ll need to shoot our first 3D documentary.

We plan to mount two Canon 7D DSLRs on the Indie Rig, a mid-sized model that’s currently being shipped to our production house.

Our stereographer, Sean White, chose the middle-of-the-road rig because he was worried that a small one wouldn’t allow for enough coverage when using a wide-angled lens, that the cameras would “see” the inside of the beam splitter box.

And a large rig was out of the question for the event-based, run-and-gun industrial-worksite shooting that’s required Blowdown, the explosive demolition series we’re going to shoot. Our stomping ground will be a huge, condemned sports stadium in Brazil!

But there’s a huge potential downside to our mid-sized, non-refundable rig – if the Canons don’t work, logistically or qualitatively, we won’t be able to mount larger, higher-calibre video cameras because the rig’s not big enough.

But it’s a gamble we have to take – as far as we can tell, there aren’t any other systems like this … no documentary has been filmed this way, using a hand-held self-contained unit.

When we try to go the conventional route (a term I throw out VERY loosely, considering all the uncertainty surrounding 3D in general, even with established production, post and conversion systems), we run up against equipment that’s weight, size, and/or cost eliminate it as an option over and over and over and over again.

That said, I actually really like cracking new technology, marathon-troubleshooting it, and figuring out how it can work to push my team and the shows we produce to the next level.

If we can mount and successfully retrieve footage that’s captured ships being sunk (from inside the vessel), high rises crashing to the ground (from the 33rd storey), and a rocket tower being imploded (from the drop zone it fell into), then this should be a piece of cake, right?

Well, at least we know it will be a piece of something.

Can’t wait for the Canons to meet the Indie Rig.