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Bits & Pieces M UNICH — In early October, Die Huberbuam became the first stereoscopic 3D documentary to air in Germany. The 42-minute production follows brothers Alexander and Thomas Huber, the world's foremost extreme speed mountain climbers, as they ascend the "Karma route" of Loferer Alm in Germany. To capture the brothers in motion, 3D film production (L-R): Anadicon head Andre Salvagnac and remote helicopter developer Christian Oberberger. Post Magazine (09,28,2011).pdf 1 9/28/2011 10:54:06 AM company Virtual Experience (www.virtual-experience.de) created a stereo rig comprising a sinaCAM 3D camera from Anadicon and Solectrix and AJA Ki Pro digital recorders, along with additional stereo gear from P+S Technik. Virtual Experi- ence also equipped a remote-controlled helicopter with the sinaCAM and two Ki Pro Mini digital recorders to capture close-up stereo footage of the climbers at extreme heights. "For this movie we were shooting outside in the sun, so we had bright light on one side and shadows on the other. With such a large amplitude of exposure, it was absolutely required that we record in 10-bit," says Alaric Hamacher, Virtual Experi- ence's stereographic guru. "We had to record two streams at the same time and sync playback for 3D. We wanted to use a high-quality codec, and Apple ProRes 422 HQ met our needs perfectly. Finally, because of the economics of broadcast production, we had to keep costs down. AJA Ki Pro gave us turn to page 46 for more news Die Huberbuam takes stereo 3D to new heights the capability, quality and cost that we needed." For 75 percent of the production, footage was captured with the sinaCAM onto two AJA Ki Pro recorders. Ham- acher built a recording system that he operated remotely via laptop and programmed a simple software app to start both Ki Pros in sync and to sync playback. The recording solution comprised a low-cost PC running Hamacher's software, two Ki Pros (for right-eye and left-eye cameras), a large battery to power three to four hours of on-set shooting and a cooling fan. Virtual Experience also worked with Anadicon, one of the developers of the sinaCAM, to mount the camera and two AJA Ki Pro Mini recorders on a small remote-controlled helicopter. "Ki Pro Minis were ideal for this rig because of their size and weight — the whole thing weighed less than 2 kilograms," says Hamacher. He constructed a special set of batteries and system power to meet the helicopter's weight requirements and mounted the Ki Pro Minis on the far sides of the helicopter with the battery in the middle. The mini helicopter made a series of seven-minute flights in one day of shooting, recording approximately 40 minutes of footage (20 minutes each left-eye/right-eye). The production was edited on Avid DS in Apple ProRes. Color-Critical LCD Monitor XVM-245W 24" 1920x1080 LCD Full 10-bit 1.07 Billion Color Support RGB LED Matrix Backlight Advanced 12-bit Signal Processing Precise, Automated Calibration Third-Party 3D LUT Import/Export 3G/Dual-Link Standard and More... 910 W. Alamada Ave. Burbank, CA 91506 sales@tvlogicusa.com www.tvlogicusa.com