[Consumer Electronics Net]
… So when Cassell attempted to break a world record by swimming underwater from Catalina Island to the California coast — a dive of 30 miles — they assembled a support crew and armed them with an array of 2D and S3D video cameras, which included Sony XDCAMs, Sony HXR-NX3D1Us, Panasonic AG-3DA1s, a Panasonic HDC-Z10000 and multiple GoPro 3D Hero rigs. In addition, they used Canon EOS 7D Digital SLRs to shoot both 2D still pictures and HD video. Their documentary, 30-Mile-Dive, is currently in production. …
Cassell learned that shooting stereo footage underwater requires a different approach than he was used to. “You really need to be aware of distance so that you can get the (stereo) convergence right,” he explains. “Instead of rushing toward things to film them, you need to keep 5-8 feet distant from what you’re shooting — otherwise the convergence will be off. It’s really exciting to see underwater subjects in 3D. Things swim. They hover. All the debris is floating, so you really are in a 3D environment.”
Another lesson Cassell learned was that all of that floating debris can look like a snowstorm if it’s not lit properly. “S3D requires a little more light. It’s been difficult to figure out how to light things,” he says. “You don’t want too much, because you have a lot of floating particles; with more light, they look like a blizzard. So lights need to be farther away, positioned to the side and a little below where you’d normally place them. It’s been quite a learning experience, but it all makes me feel like a kid again — something new to play with and learn.” …
“We had 5 or 6 terabytes of storage on the boat,” says Faires. “We had to be sure to stabilize all of the cards and hard drives so they wouldn’t go flying off the deck when the boat tossed in the waves.”
The PA logged everything, keeping track of what was shot under and above water. …
To assemble and edit all of that footage, Faires turned to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. “The GoPro, Sony, Panasonic and Canon cameras all shoot HD video, but they save it in different formats. Premiere supports all those formats natively, so I could bring them into my timeline, without having to convert them to another format,” he explains. “Plus, Premiere integrates with GoPro Cineform Studio Premium — software that allowed me to edit the stereo footage.” …
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