Shooting a 3D documentary: differentiating left from right

In the world of 3D filmmaking, keeping left and right straight can be a mega pain. We discovered just how confusing it can get while prepping to shoot

We discovered just how confusing it can get while prepping to shoot our first 3D documentary.

From cameras to lenses to batteries to cables to monitor ports, we struggled to keep everything straight in-house.

So avoiding this headache in the field – the implosion of the Fonte Nova Stadium in Salvador, Brazil – seemed difficult at best, impossible at worst.

With so much at stake for this groundbreaking episode of the explosive demolition series Blowdown, we seriously needed a system.

So we colour-coded everything.

Left is red, right is blue … and it doesn’t end with the gear.

We’re also colour-coding our data files so the editor can instantly recognize which footage corresponds to which eye.

Now when there are excavators crunching, drills grinding, and chaos everywhere, the crew will have one less thing to wrap their heads around.

Shooting a 3D documentary: differentiating left from right

In the world of 3D filmmaking, keeping left and right straight can be a mega pain. We discovered just how confusing it can get while prepping to shoot

We discovered just how confusing it can get while prepping to shoot our first 3D documentary.

From cameras to lenses to batteries to cables to monitor ports, we struggled to keep everything straight in-house.

So avoiding this headache in the field – the implosion of the Fonte Nova Stadium in Salvador, Brazil – seemed difficult at best, impossible at worst.

With so much at stake for this groundbreaking episode of the explosive demolition series Blowdown, we seriously needed a system.

So we colour-coded everything.

Left is red, right is blue … and it doesn’t end with the gear.

We’re also colour-coding our data files so the editor can instantly recognize which footage corresponds to which eye.

Now when there are excavators crunching, drills grinding, and chaos everywhere, the crew will have one less thing to wrap their heads around. 

Shooting a 3D documentary: stereo kill cams

One of the types of cameras we’ll use to shoot our first 3D documentary will be kill cams.Though some of our systems will be used the entire month we’re down in Salvador, Brazil filming prep and implosion of the Fonte Nova Stadium for the explosive demolition series Blowdown, these six units won’t be called on until shot day.

Here’s how it works: we’ll mount them in various locations in the stadium right before the implosion – based on story points and/or high-octane visual potential.

After Controlled Demolition Inc. pushes the button, these cameras (12 in all) will go down with the structure – and hopefully capture gold before they’re annihilated.

Here are two kill cam shots from a previous show – the implosion of Ocean Tower condominiums, on South Padre Island, Texas, late last year:

 

 

Our stereographer, Sean White, will rig twice the number of kill cams, fixed on  on a side by side rig, to capture these moments in stereo.

Shooting a 3D documentary: stereo kill cams

One of the types of cameras we’ll use to shoot our first 3D documentary will be kill cams.Though some of our systems will be used the entire month we’re down in Salvador, Brazil filming prep and implosion of the Fonte Nova Stadium for the explosive demolition series Blowdown, these six units won’t be called on until shot day.

Here’s how it works: we’ll mount them in various locations in the stadium right before the implosion – based on story points and/or high-octane visual potential.

After Controlled Demolition Inc. pushes the button, these cameras (12 in all) will go down with the structure – and hopefully capture gold before they’re annihilated.

Here are two kill cam shots from a previous show – the implosion of Ocean Tower condominiums, on South Padre Island, Texas, late last year:

 

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Our stereographer, Sean White, will rig twice the number of kill cams, fixed on  on a side by side rig, to capture these moments in stereo. 

3D documentaries in the news: Parallax Film Productions in the Vancouver Sun and Victoria’s Times Colonist

As the crew gets the lay of the land in Salvador, Brazil to film our first 3D documentary, two stories about the mission have been freshly pressed here in Canada:

Film production firm Parallax forwards 3-D vision

The Vancouver Sun’s Marke Andrews spoke to me about our 3D vision, and the challenges of getting stereoscopic material from capture to broadcast.

 

 
President Ian Herring and stereographer Sean White (left) test custom-made equipment that will be used to shoot Parallax Film Production’s first 3D documentary

Quotable quote:

“So when I contact Ian Herring, founder and president of Parallax Film, the obvious question is: Given that it will cost as much as 50-per-cent more to make the show in 3-D, why bother?

‘It’s a bit of a cart before the horse, I guess. But this is a creative industry with vision, and if somebody doesn’t do something visionary, we’re never going to advance,’ says Herring.”

Read the full Vancouver Sun article here.

Documentary director experiments with custom cameras as TV filming moves into a new dimension

Mike Reid, reporter for Victoria’s Times Colonist, also interviewed stereographer Sean White, focusing on what it’s going to take to master this 3D crash course in the field, shooting the implosion of the Fonte Nova Stadium for the explosive demolition series Blowdown:

Stereographer Sean White hones two Canon 7Ds on a side by side rig – gear that will be used to shoot elements of Parallax Film Production’s first 3D documentary

Quotable quote:

“Their first challenge was finding the ideal 3-D camera to capture such footage for TV.

‘What do we use? Oh, let’s just use the 3-D camera that doesn’t exist,’ recalled White, laughing. ‘It’s a major investment on Parallax’s part to be so pioneering and at the forefront of this technology.’

White and his collaborators at the firm, which specializes in production of science and history programs for Canadian and international broadcast, have spent a long time researching and developing ‘stereoscopic’ systems to pull it off.

During the event, 40 cameras — each a customized system — will roll simultaneously.”

Read the full Times Colonist article here.  

Shooting a 3D documentary: wiring a ContourHD POV system

One of the issues we ran into while getting ready to shoot our first 3D documentary was controlling our POV cams on without knocking them out of alignment.

We chose two ContourHDs to capture POV footage on this shoot – the implosion of the Fonte Nova Stadium in Salvador, Brazil for the explosive demolition series Blowdown – over the two GoPro HDs because the ContourHD’s shape (round) allows for a smaller interaxial distance than the GoPro HD’s (boxy).

The ContourHD’s lasers also allow the crew to confirm the cameras are aligned horizontally after they’re placed on our custom-made aluminum side by side rig and before they’re mounted on a Magic Arm or tripod.

The one problem with these cameras is that the switches are big and cumbersome – our stereographer, Sean White, was concerned about knocking the cameras out of alignment when it’s time to record.

So we’ve had a single switch hardwired into both camera’s circuitry.

Now we can turn both on at the same time without having to worry about alignment issues.

Sean with the wired ContourHD POV system, and some other 3D gear:

 

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Shooting a 3D documentary: crew packs for Brazil

Big day today: our stereographer Sean White and 3D technician Rory Lambert packed up all the gear we’ll need to shoot our first 3D documentary.

They fly out tomorrow morning for Salvador, Brazil. More of the field crew will head down later this week and, as mentioned, I’ll be joining them next week.

Together, we’ll capture the prep and implosion of the Fonte Nova Stadium for the explosive demolition series Blowdown.

Managed to get video/stills of some of the gear before it was boxed/bagged, including our POV cam, one of the kill cams, and data management components – will share in the next few days.

Mini beam splitter is among the gear, but boxed and separate from the cameras – want to wait until it’s all set up in the field to snap pics of it.

For today … it’s all about the anticipation.

Sean and Rory pack the gear:

Rory on the great unknowns:

Sean on the next steps:

Adeus, crew.