First Stereo 3D Mirror Rig in the UK
3D film producer and consultant Phil Streather, of UK based PLF and Ralston Humble owner, of Pablo Post in Pinewood Studios have combined forces, under the banner PLF/Pablo Post, to provide stereo 3D consulting, production and post production services. The companies will be based out of Pablo Post’s base at renowned Pinewood Studios.
Aside from conducting the 3D Masterclass at IBC this year (11.30am to 1pm in room L Sunday 14th) Streather and Humble have bought a P+S Technik stereo 3D mirror rig, built from a design by French DOP and stereographer Alain Derobe. On to this mirror rig they have placed the fist two Sony EX3 HD cameras brought into the UK by technology provider CVP-Mitcorp, based in Brentford. 3D can either be recorded onto the onboard SxS cards for fast offline ingesting or a pair of Sony PDW-HD1500 VTRs. For the best results PLF/Pablo Post will record out to a Sony SRW-1 HDCAM SR recorder, in stereo mode, as supplied and supported by Rogue Elements films, also based at Pinewood Studios.
“I am delighted to partner with Phil,” says Humble. “He is the most experienced live action stereo 3D producer in the UK and recently I have completed work of a new version of his acclaimed IMAX 3D film Bugs!, here at Pablo Post. I have the Quantel Pablo 4K, with stereo 3D toolset and “converted” his film from IMAX 3D to Digital 3D. The new trailer for this new version will be seen at IBC, for the first time, at the 3D Showcase, after the live Jeffrey Katzenberg interview,” Humble added.
“Currently there are no other stereo 3D mirror rigs in the UK – ours is the first,” says Streather. “We have equipped it with a pair of Sony EX3s, which can produce full HD (suitable for 3D HDTV broadcast and 3D Digital Cinema) from the 10 bit HD SDI out, into a high end recorder – very exciting for such small and cost effective cameras. Primarily, we will produce product launches, high end corporates, 3D features and have already started building a stereo 3D archive.”
Phil Myers, Product Marketing Manager, XDCAM, Sony UK adds; “At Sony we always aim to help customers push the boundaries of broadcasting and 3D is an important future technology, which makes this a very exciting project to be involved in. Not only is it the first time that an EX3 has been used commercially in the UK, but also this is the first 3D project of its kind. From a product perspective, the EX3 delivers outstanding picture quality and it's the key features such as Timecode In and Genlock that meant it was the ideal choice for this type of production set up.”
PLF/Pablo Post offer its training, consulting and 3D production/post production services out of Pinewood Studios, England. PLF/Pablo Post training programmes are versions of the IBC Masterclass elements. Says Humble, “We are based at Pablo Post so we can plug the stereo 3D mirror rig directly into the Pablo and Christie CP 2000 and watch the images live on a 4.5 meter screen. We are able to shoot and get immediate feedback.” Streather adds, “We run our training and consultancy activities at a relatively high level, and aim at attracting top directors of photography, line producers, unit production managers – anyone who needs to know what this “dark art” of 3D is really about.”
