New 3D production facility Pro3D is launching its own camera rigs in association with South African developer 3DRigs, writes Adrian Pennington. Unlike any other beamsplitter rigs on the market these shoot with the mirror facing towards the ground to cut out excess light exposure.
The bespoke rigs have been devised by South African stereographer and DP Russ Bowden and Pro3D Creative Director, Andy Bellamy.
“Rigs from the likes of Element Technica or P+S Technik array their cameras in an ‘L’ shape with one upright and one flat,” said Bellamy. ‘We have mounted the left eye camera on top and the right eye camera upright which means the centre blocks of the cameras are aligned in the same orientation so that they scan the image in the same way. In addition the mirrorbox faces is at 45-degrees facing downward, much like an Autocue system, so that the camera can shoot through the mirror without collecting excess light and flare.”
Two of the rigs have been built for hire at Pro3D with two others in the works.
Bellamy says he began the search for rigs to offer from his new facility but found existing ones from Element Technica, P+S Technik and Binocle either too expensive at £100,000 or more or only available for hire from the manufacturer.
Operators can also use the camera’s onboard computer and motor to calculate then adjust the correct interaxial and convergence settings.
Pro3D’s first project is likely to be an historical feature (pictured) the trailer for which has been shot by sister facility Procam Television.
