3D Steadicam

[Pedro Guimaraes SOC]

Sanjay, I think I know what movie our working on ...is it a Ang lee movie? If so we might work together. I might be working on the stereo side of that movie. We still talking but who knows.

 

If that is the movie, they I know you be using same setup as Larry....aka the Pace rig. My suggestion is that don't expect to go anywhere fast....multiple take will drain you so fast. Actors and 1st AD all should try to help you out. Staying on the docking stand until the last min. In fact that rig is so heavy we usualy roll camera and slate on the docking stand and they fly it away for the take.

 

Also with that setup, employ a dolly, a steadisegway, atv or any other device that takes the weight of your vest!

 

Here is operator Greg Smith, 1st AC Paul Santoni and DIT Brook Willard on the ATV for a long walk a talk scene on our recent movie.

 

Make sure you hardmount is strong because it will be under alot of stress. I like my Klassen mount for it's strength and adjustability.

 

 

Also you can use you existing ARRI power cable to power the bottom camera and use battery for top camera since you need weight on the back anyway. This will help alot. Naturally try to at least a full day to prep....make adjustments, and try different things out...

 

Good luck!

[Pedro Guimaraes SOC]

Pedro,

 

What a great one location cliff notes on 3D. I have been meaning to get my head around it all but you really did a nice job touching on everything. You obviously took a lot of time putting together a great resource here for the Steadicam community. Thank You.

 

Thanks, yes it did take some time. Been meaning to do it for quite some time since I see so many random posts about 3D. I figured it was about time to centralize everything in one location.

 

maybe the moderator can "pin" the thread so people can easily find it in the future.....

 

I will post more pictures and update the post as new things come out...

[BJMcDonnell SOC]

Pretty informative info. Thanks Pedro. Personally, I hope 3D is a fad that's gonna go bye bye. In the meantime guess we gotta work with it until films have stories to tell and not a gimmick. Let's hope these things get smaller and better too.

[Brian Freesh]

Very informative, thanks Pedro!

 

stories

 

I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the term, could you elaborate?

[RonBaldwin]

Very nice buddy! And I especially agree with BJ about too many gimmicks to try to hold our a.d.d. selves to the screen. Can't wait for good old fashioned storytelling to come back into style! Good thing was have chiropractic in the meantime!

 

Ron

[Pedro Guimaraes SOC]

Well, fortunately/unfortunately however you choose to see it...

 

I pretty sure we are past the the fad stage. Sony, Panasonic, Samsung have invested a major part of their companies future into 3D. They will not let it fail now.

 

The success of the world cup 3D broadcast has spurred the news of a few 3D cable networks. ESPN3D is in full swing and production, Direct TV and Comcast are launching thier 3D networks and Discovery 3D is also in full production.

 

I have also shot 4 3D commercials this year, I imagine those numbers will ramp up significantly in 2011.

 

Just that alone will call for an amazing amount of content creation.

 

Samsung and JVC have announced news of $999 40" LCD 3D tv sets.

 

The Sony Playstation 3 is currently 3D blu-ray capable and you now can play more than 300 titles in 3D. Call of Duty-Black Ops and the new Gran Turismo games are the latest big releases to have a 3D play option.

 

As an avid gamer, looking thru the scope of a sniper rifle in 3D is awesome. The 10 year old inside me would of not left the TV for hours. I think the 3D video gameplay will spur the purchase of 3D TV sets in a big way.

 

3D is a new cash cow, for producers in the movie industry, for the electronics industry and for the video games industry.

 

While I'm not going to admit that the possibility of it fading out again like it has in the past can happen again.....it certainly possible.... At this point I think that it's highly unlikely.

 

Like it or not, looks like it's hear to stay.

 

Fortunately all this mean rapid technology development that should make our jobs easier (lighter).

[William Demeritt]

Hey now, two of my favorite films from 2010 were 3D and incredible reliant on story, pacing, characters you care about, high stakes and great life lessons: Piranha 3D and Jackass 3D. Oscar contenders for sure!!

 

Pedro: incredible useful post, I'm going to give this a second read tonight!

[Sanjay Sami]

Sanjay, I think I know what movie our working on ...is it a Ang lee movie? If so we might work together. I might be working on the stereo side of that movie. We still talking but who knows.

 

 

Good luck!

 

Thats the one ... look forward to meeting you. have you worked with Claudio before? I did second unit on a movie that he was main unit DP on. Great guy.

[BJMcDonnell SOC]

Hey now, two of my favorite films from 2010 were 3D and incredible reliant on story, pacing, characters you care about, high stakes and great life lessons: Piranha 3D and Jackass 3D. Oscar contenders for sure!!

 

Pedro: incredible useful post, I'm going to give this a second read tonight!

 

 

 

 

 

Yes thank god for those films in 3D. Oh yea Piranah 3D was shot on film. Well yea those facts are there with all the 3D trend. Ive shot 3D features and let me tell you it is no picnic. Tons of Problems. The rig set ups have got to get better and most of these setups are heavy as hell. Sure I enjoy an occasional 3D film but it really needs to have a need to be 3D in my opinion. I guess Im just sour to the whole thing because everything is in the prototype phase and most of us are the test pilots. So far the only rig I liked to use was the Paradise FX rig. That one was very cool.The other ones I've flown either balance really bad, or sometimes barely work. This was Pace and Element Technica rigs. All the weight, Cables, etc. etc.Like I said though I've been flying prototypes but on the job. I guess we will all see if 3D sticks around. I think it will be here for a few more years. But hopefully it will die out or at least the rigs get smaller and work better. Pedro, did you come up in 3D? I like the knowledge you provided so I figured you work solely in 3D. Im actually headed to do another feature that is gonna be shot on film but we are framing everything to be converted. I actually like that. Shoot with the ease of regular shooting and then let them convert it. I guess Im just old school when it comes to filming. Well, like it or not right now we all are gonna be flying these 3D rigs. More Lisigav Ron and heavy drinking lol.

[BJMcDonnell SOC]

Steadicam feature in Moscow 3D. I stole a russian policemans hat.

[Sydney Seeber]

my .379 Dinar...

 

while I don't think 3D will fade out entirely, I do think it will stay at a niche level and will be relegated to specific markets. Nielsen did some research

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/purchase-intent-for-3dtv-varies-around-the-globe/

and the numbers aren't good, especially in north America. I doubt it will ever leave the big screen, when done right it's an entirely different experience. 3D television however has quite an uphill battle ahead

[Pedro Guimaraes SOC]

Yes thank god for those films in 3D. Oh yea Piranah 3D was shot on film. Well yea those facts are there with all the 3D trend. Ive shot 3D features and let me tell you it is no picnic. Tons of Problems. The rig set ups have got to get better and most of these setups are heavy as hell. Sure I enjoy an occasional 3D film but it really needs to have a need to be 3D in my opinion. I guess Im just sour to the whole thing because everything is in the prototype phase and most of us are the test pilots. So far the only rig I liked to use was the Paradise FX rig. That one was very cool.The other ones I've flown either balance really bad, or sometimes barely work. This was Pace and Element Technica rigs. All the weight, Cables, etc. etc.Like I said though I've been flying prototypes but on the job. I guess we will all see if 3D sticks around. I think it will be here for a few more years. But hopefully it will die out or at least the rigs get smaller and work better. Pedro, did you come up in 3D? I like the knowledge you provided so I figured you work solely in 3D. Im actually headed to do another feature that is gonna be shot on film but we are framing everything to be converted. I actually like that. Shoot with the ease of regular shooting and then let them convert it. I guess Im just old school when it comes to filming. Well, like it or not right now we all are gonna be flying these 3D rigs. More Lisigav Ron and heavy drinking lol.

 

FYI- For those of you who don't know the Paradise FX rig BJ is talking about is Identical to the "Dark Country rig" I talked about in my post. ET and ParadiseFX always argue who invented it....in any case. It's the same rig.

 

You could say "I came up in 3D".....it opened all sorts of doors for me and based on 2010 I'd say 80% of my work was in 3D in an out of the vest, since I'm also a Phantom tech and work as a DIT.

 

In-between the 3D gigs, I work on 2D commercials, music videos and a few shorts.

 

 

After shooting 3D so often......working on a 3D job is like going on vacation!

 

recently I came back from a feature an months working with heavy 3D rigs....first job back in town....a 7D music video.... I just about laughed out loud when I showed up at prep and saw the camera. The job went so smooth (pun intended) and I was like "I can get used to this". Then I got my paycheck....and I was like "can't wait to work 3D again".

 

:lol:

[Paul Gardner]

Incredible, Pedro. Thanks for taking the time to post all this.

[invalid username]

Great thread!

 

Tell me, was that heli shot just a single time deal, or do you work with the AS350 often? I used to fly one for Air-Glaciers in Switzerland, and I'm always interested to see it used in flim!

[Pedro Guimaraes SOC]

Great thread!

 

Tell me, was that heli shot just a single time deal, or do you work with the AS350 often? I used to fly one for Air-Glaciers in Switzerland, and I'm always interested to see it used in flim!

 

Yes,

 

Did a few Helicopter 3D shoots this year....

 

1 week in the incredible (my favorite) ASTAR....

 

I LOVE the HUGE door opening....you can swing the huge camera very well...the power at high altitude...is well legendary at we sure used every last horsepower that day! Also less problems avoiding the rotors in some of the shots not sure why.....we did have a different pilot.

 

 

1 week in a Bell 407

 

 

and a few days recently on the last 3D feature I did on a Bell Jet Ranger. (my least favorite)

 

 

 

I LOVE being in the air...Helicopter, airplanes and recently a parachute.