48H Film shot with Epic3D on Atom Rig in Paris by StereoCorp3D

[Arnaud Paris]

So we took on an interesting challenge last summer: entering the 48H Film Festival in France to shoot on Epic3D!

And we wanted to share our experience and result on reduser. So here we go:

We thought it would be a good opportunity to prove that shooting Epic3D is not just for major studio productions and that it's possible to go run'n'gun indie style and have a fast post-production turn over (the movie had to be written, shot and post within 48h).

We used our Atom rig with two Epics and the Duclos Tokina 11-16mm lens; 3ality Technica provided their 3D follow focus system to the adventure (thanks to them). We tried to keep our 3D rig as light as possible to go 'shoulder style' as we needed to move fast, obviously it's the key on this kind of project. I wouldn't say it was easy but the rig was under 40lbs, well balanced and we managed to finish the movie right on time and submit it after 47h50mn of crazy work!

The result isn't perfect as far as storytelling and directing (I take full responsibility as I was both stereographer and director on this project but technically I think our team did a good job at pulling this one off. Of course it would have been nice to have more time for tweaking the 3D, color grading, sound mixing and all but that is part of the game on such contest. (You can watch the movie in 2D or 3D on Youtube, link below)

We wrote a little case study on our blog with BTS pictures to share our experience for those who are interested in finding out more. Here is the to the article:
http://stereocorp3d.com/joomla_eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=91

You can also watch the movie in 2D or 3D on Youtube3D here:

Hope this will help people consider shooting Epic3D even on a budget with less fear and a bit more excitement, it's not just for the big guys!

EDIT: If you wanna watch the movie in 2D it seems you have to watch it inside youtube as the embedded video doesn't show 3D options in here.

 

[Kendal Brenneman]

Thanks for sharing, that was very instructive. I'm considering buying two Scarlets or two Red MX to shoot (in 3D) a project I'm going to be producing hopefully in the next year. Would you say that a 3D rig like the one you're using is required to do any TV work? What would be the advantage of shooting with the Epics in 3D over the Scarlets? And when you say "on a budget" what range do you say your setup would cost per day? Thanks!

 

[Arnaud Paris]

Hi Kendal, and welcome on this forum. You seem to be quite interested in 3D, glad to see that!

The 3D rig you see on these pictures is called a mirror rig and it allows you to bring the two visual axis of the cameras closer to each other, to the point of overlaping actually.
This is quite often a requirement when you need to shoot stuff within a few meters, as opposed to shooting far away things (wide shots) which you could do with a side-by-side rig (cameras next to each other like on a slider rig).

See first the picture where I'm shooting the girl's hand in close up? if you didn't use a rig like that it would be impossible to get a decent shot of her hand at such distance.

And I'm not saying that just because I'm a picky stereographer, as a matter of fact I think that on any shoot it would be the bare minimum to have both a mirror rig and a side by side rig if you want to cover the entire scope from close ups to wide landscape shots. But if I have to chose between the two my first choice will go to the mirror rig as it clearly allows me to do a better 3D in most shoots.

Now in regards to Epic vs Scarlet for 3D use I would say that it depends on how good your stereographer is and if you want to shoot slow-mo Let me explain, the Scarlet is limited to shooting 4K and if you plan on doing a project that will be mastered in 4K then the Epic is a better choice cause it shoots 5K. This gives you that margin of 3D correction that is often necessary if you want to make some changes to the 3D effect in post. And if your stereographer didn't make perfect adjustments during filming then you have this safety, better safe than sorry.

Also the slow motion is a key reason to chose the Epic over the Scarlet (it can go 96fps in 5K), I find it to work very well in 3D and as a matter of fact this effect has maybe more impact than a 2D project. So I would really consider that aspect before deciding on your purchase.

But let me ask you this: why as a producer would you be interested in buying two Epics or even two Scarlets? This seems like a big investment as with the new price drop from Red you should be able to find an entire package at a really good price. Unless you're planning to shoot many 3D productions in the coming few years (which I would really be happy to hear I think that it would be wiser to consider renting than buying.

Now to answer your question about pricing we usually rent our rig for 3000e per week and this comes with the two cameras, 16-24-35mm lenses, follow focus and all the 3D sync gear required. I usually come with this package as a stereographer (I have a work permit for the US too) and I often take into account what kind of project I'm working for (indie short film will get a bit more discount than commercial work for instance). So pricing is quite flexible I would say. If you want to discuss this matter in detail you should probably PM me as per forum rules.

But if you have more technical questions feel free to ask!

 

[Per von Koch]

Thanks for posting!

I notice that you have the LCD upside down... I thought the flip-function was supposed to be out with the December 4.0 FW update?

 

[Arnaud Paris]

Yes we can't wait for the 4.0 update, sure there's gonna be plenty of goodies for 3D lovers!

The flip function is supposed to be part of the package in December that's correct.

 

[Kendal Brenneman]

Just wanted to say that Arnaud and I have been chatting privately over the last three weeks in regards to my 3D feature project. He spent a lot of time helping us figure out all this 3D stuff and didn't ask anything in return. He's been very helpful and knows a lot about producing and shooting in 3d. Plus his indie rig solution in Epic 3D sounds very interesting for a project like ours....

I'm mentioning this here because I think as a producer we can often disregard how important it is to plan for 3D at the very early stages of your project. I'll probably put Arnaud in touch with our writer/director so that they can go over the script and make sure that the project makes the most of 3D as a real storytelling tool

Anyway, Arnaud is just crazy about 3D I really hope we can work with him on the filming of our project.

 

[Arnaud Paris]

Thanks for the kind word Kendal. I am a bit crazy about 3D, true

I'm glad I got to help you sorting out all your 3D questions, it makes my job so much easier when people are actually taking the time to 'think' 3D from the very beginning of a project.

I hope your movie will get its financing and that you'll be able to shoot it in 3D as I think the story would definitely benefit from it. Fingers crossed!

 

[steve lustgarten]

Talking to Arnaud about U.S. 3d projects and find he is a font of useful info for indy low budget filmmakers.