The Mercedes SLS - Great Car(s) matched with great kit and a fantastic crew makes for a top show.
On the AR, well what a great crew... Amongst others, special mention goes to Geoff Boyle as DoP with Geoff Harrison operating as Stereographer and Lewis Craggs as Stereo Technician.
The rig is the same as that used/developed for Dark Country and this specific manifestation (and there are a few) needed a few realtime modifications to get it working in the AR rings on the MK-V Nexus Steadicam (despite originally being designed to do so!).
The first was to remove around a mm or two of metal work from the (brand new) machined sides to the 3D rig (look closely and you will see the newly exposed brightwork). The second was a riser specifically to get the camera rig nodal in the AR but also to provide necessary clearance for the rear camera (remember, there are two: left eye and right eye). Interestingly, the riser came courtesy of Inition via their 3D printer. If you look closely, you’ll see the resin coloured riser under the 3D rig inside the rings.
So, what’s the configuration? Its two SI 2K cameras, in this case fitted with 8mm lenses mounted into the 3D rig. An MDR (in this case via a Scorpio lens control system) is used to remotely control convergence of left and right eye by the Stereographer ad the whole lot channels out through some fairly hefty cables to the recorder being lugged around by the Stereo Tech.
This is where the second mod came in. We had to beg/borrow/steal right angled lemo cables to allow the 3D rig to turn in the AR rings as those supplied where straight and wouldn’t have allowed rotation.
Overall, it was a great shoot and a pleasure to work with seasoned 3D professionals.
The clips below show one of the finished sequences and some behind the scenes material from the shoot.
More pictures in the gallery.
Click here for the HD Magazine’s coverage of the shoot (page 26/27). Look closely, I’m in a couple of pictures and get a mention too!
