special report fibre in a 3D world
that can be attached to smaller- format 3D rigs is enabling a great deal more versatility and portability for events such as sports, but most of the engineering for a 3D production takes place at the control station away from the camera. Without fibre, there is no easy way to connect the 3D camera to the engineering station or control room without having to use large bundles of heavy copper cable. Panavision, the worldwide market leader in the design, manufacture and rental of digital and film camera systems, recently converted to fibre for its on-location 3D motion picture shoots. “We tried to work with copper coax on a couple of 3D jobs, and we kept ending up with a big, unwieldy mess of cables,” said Tom Kinyon, engineer, Panavision Hollywood. “Plus, every time we needed to reposition the rig, the process of disconnecting everything and then reconnecting it at the new spot was not only risking cable damage but was very time- consuming - and everyone knows that time is money on a motion picture shoot. There had to be a better way, and fibre was it.” One innovative solution is Telecast Fiber Systems’ new CopperHead 3400, a fibre optic connectivity system specifically designed for high-end 3D production. The compact CopperHead
Example
illustrating four 3D camera rigs multiplexed electrically and then optically onto a single strand of fibre.
To date, fibre optics have provided signal transmission between the cameras and the production trucks for virtually every major live 3D sports, entertainment, or motion picture shoot.
3400 camera unit mounts directly onto a dual-camera 3D rig, allowing producers to harness the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of tactical fibre for transporting high-quality stereoscopic HD signals over long distances. The fibre cable carries all of the signals to and from the two HD cameras and the 3D rig's control system to a base station at the control room or truck, and also carries a return 3D HD/SDI signal back to the camera operator. Thus, the system affords full control of both cameras from the base station and also enables the convergence operator to control the 3D rig's interocular convergence - all over a single lightweight fibre optic cable. Both Panavision and 3ality Digital are longtime users of fibre optic transport gear from Telecast Fiber; in fact, 3ality Digital recently used the CopperHead 3400 to produce the AFL (Australian Football League) rugby championships in Australia - a situation in which limitations in the stadium’s fibre optic infrastructure ruled out the use of TAC-6. “In that instance, cutting down on the number of fibre strands was really important. But with the 3400, we can multiplex all the signals for both cameras from the 3D rig, as well as a pair of signals for the rig’s control linkage, onto a single two-fibre cable,” said Postley.
“It’s pretty unheard of to find a solution that can multiplex so many packets onto a single fibre pair, but that’s the big advantage of the Telecast gear - it allows us to do more with fewer fibres and fewer cables.” For the upcoming motion picture The Darkest Hour, which recently wrapped its location shooting in Moscow, Panavision supplied Telecast’s Python II and POV fibre transceivers as part of its fibre-based 3D camera systems. Thanks to fibre’s ability to carry high-quality, high- bandwidth signals over long distances, the equipment enabled the production team to save time and effort shooting scenes that would have been difficult, if not impossible, with copper. “In one example, we were shooting a scene in a submarine, which required a cable run that would have been much too long for coax,” said Kinyon. “In another, we were shooting in the rear of a very large apartment building and needed to do some establishing shots in the front. Instead of having to move the entire operation, we were able to run 1200 feet of fibre to the camera rig in the front - which saved a huge amount of time.”
To summarise
The age of 3D production has arrived - putting added pressure on broadcasters and film producers to meet consumers’ ever-increasing demand for the new format. No one knows if the current enthusiasm will maintain traction in the home, theatrical, or live-event marketplaces. The good news is that the latest fibre optic technology is making high- quality 3D production more affordable and reliable than anyone would have thought possible just two years ago. To date, fibre optics - whether part of the venue’s pre-wired infrastructure or run specifically for the production - have provided signal transmission between the cameras and the production trucks for virtually every major live 3D sports, entertainment, or motion picture shoot.
42 l ibe l january/february 2011 l
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