American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 38

◗

Total Immersion

Right: The production occupied two stages at Warner Bros. Studios in Australia. In the Forward Base set (pictured), “there was only 5 feet of clearance between the set and the studio wall,” notes O’Loughlin. Below: Capturing stuntmen at work in Dante’s Inferno are Ian Thorburn (foreground left), operating the B-camera beam splitter, and the A-camera beam splitter on a Lev Head and Super Technocrane.

Stereographer Chuck Comisky (Avatar) controlled the 3-D technology from a facility dubbed The Pod, a modified shipping container that featured a 46" JVC passive 3-D monitor, a 2K digital projector outfitted with a Real-D system, and an 8'-widesilver screen. Live camera feeds enabled Comisky to monitor in real time, directing IO settings and convergence points, the latter of which were generally
38 February 2011

coupled to focus settings. Pace controllers were used to adjust both IO and convergence during a shot when required. In keeping with the filmmakers’ desire for a realistic look, Comisky used conservative settings for the interspacial distance between the lenses “so as to provide a sense of scale to the images, to make them feel life-size and not miniature,” he says. Adding the two beam splitters to
American Cinematographer

the F950s reduced the cameras’ effective ASA to 160. “If we’d shot Sanctum on 500-ASA 35mm negative, I would have needed 3½ times less light!” notes O’Loughlin. Data from the F950s was recorded onto two SRW-1 decks per camera rig. Both the left-eye and righteye images were laid down to a single HDCam tape at 4:2:2 compression, with the second tape serving as instantaneous backup. One of O’Loughlin’s initial concerns was the increased depthof-field inherent in the F950’s 2⁄3" chip. “There are quite different schools of thought when it comes to depth-offield and shooting 3-D,” says the cinematographer. “Some believe 3-D is best served by deep focus. My view is that selective focus with short depth-of-field is a powerful tool in 3-D, just as it is in 2-D. We still want to direct the audience’s eye, and the focus plays a role in that, as do lighting, camera movement and staging. The only answer was to shoot almost wide open, at T2.” He also discovered that very specific care was required with camera moves. “At times, the nature of shooting 3-D is restrictive either physically, because of the size of



American Cinematographer - February 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2011

American Cinematographer - February 2011
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: God of Love
Production Slate: The Way BackThe Last Lions
Masked Men
Total Immersion
Behind the Music
A Cinematic Passport
Post Focus: MTI Films
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
In Memoriam: Robert Steadman, ASC
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Barry Markowitz
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - American Cinematographer - February 2011
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 1
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 2
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 4
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 5
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 6
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 7
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 9
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 11
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Short Takes: God of Love
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 13
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 14
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 15
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Production Slate: The Way BackThe Last Lions
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 17
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 18
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 19
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 20
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 21
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 22
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 23
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 24
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 25
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Masked Men
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 27
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 28
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 29
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 30
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 31
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 32
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 33
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 34
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 35
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Total Immersion
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 37
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 38
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 39
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 40
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 41
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 42
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 43
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 44
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 45
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Behind the Music
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 47
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 48
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 49
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 50
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 51
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 52
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 53
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - A Cinematic Passport
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 55
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 56
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 57
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 58
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 59
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 60
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 61
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 62
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 63
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Post Focus: MTI Films
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 65
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 66
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 67
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 69
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 70
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 71
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 72
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 73
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 74
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 75
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 79
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - In Memoriam: Robert Steadman, ASC
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 81
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - 83
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - ASC Close-Up: Barry Markowitz
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - February 2011 - Cover4
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