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.