3D Configuration for SI2K

[Sergio Sanchez]

Hi everyone:

I have a coming 3-D proyect, the client has a lot of experience shooting 3D features. But he never used a SI2K.

I want to ask to someone about thins to consider when shooting with two SI2K.

What do i need to sinc the two DVR´s?, Or if I go with the mini version?
How do i sync both laptops?

Anything you can tell me will be welcome.

[Sebastian Toro]

hi sergio... i dont test it but i ask and the information i have is:

the pulse for sync drive within the power so you only need to give power both cameras from the same battery or power supply. then you put one in salve and the opossite the other.

you tell me later....

que te vaya bonito!
sorry about my english...

sebastian

[Ari Presler]

Sebastian is correct.

The simple answer is you connect a sync wire between the two cameras (8-Pin), set SiliconDVR for master on one and slave on the other and they are synchronized. Press record on both systems and you have a stereo pair. You can also hook up a single stop/start button to both cameras to initiate the recording on both systems.

[Sergio Sanchez]

Where can i find the sync wire? Do you have one available?

[Ari Presler]

Connect Pin 5 (Master) to Pin 4 (Slave).

[Bhaskar Dhungana]

While we are at this topic. Can somebody help me find a cheap rig for 3D or is there a way to build a decent rig for 3D work?

What is the workflow that you would be using? Editing software, color correction, formats for editing and finally how would you deliver it?

Please help. Really interested.

PS: If there is any SI MINI owner intersted in doing 3D work as a test in the Mt. Everest region. Please let me know

Thanks

[Jason Rodriguez]

As it stands currently, with 3D you're basically doing "two of everything" . . . it's the same workflow, but done twice.

So for instance, you shoot with two cameras, A and B. Then take the footage from camera A and edit it as you would a single-camera shoot. Lock the picture. Once you have picture lock, do a media manager operation or in PPro duplicate your project file with the media offline. Point the new media-managed FCP or PPro project to the footage from camera B (this might take some data-wrangling and re-naming . . . you have to be careful at this stage and how you setup the shoot and file naming conventions in-camera will greatly influence how easy or hard this stage becomes). You should now have the exact same edit from camera A and camera B (in two different project files).

Once you have your camera A and camera B edit, you then merge the two projects together, and place the edit for camera B on video track 2, and the edit for camera A on video track 1. Then, if you're on a budget, I would suggest using something like Automatic Duck to export your footage to After Effects where you can then color-correct and do post-production adjustments to the 3D footage. If you color-correct one clip in a certain fashion or style, you repeat that color-correction for the next clip. Other DI applications like SpeedGrade DI can also handle 3D timelines natively, but AE can do the job as well if you don't have the budget for SpeedGrade DI or the rental of a full-fledged DI suite or post-facility.

You also might want to try Nuke instead of AE, as it has native 3D editing and display capabilities now with version 5.0.

Once you have completed the post-production cycle, render out camera A and camera B to individual files . . . then using your projection system, project in 3D. Of course depending on how you're going to be projecting, whether anaglyph (not suggested), polarizing filters, REAL-D, Dolby 3D, Samsung's "mesh" mode, etc. will determine how you actually output. The two-file output I'm talking about above generally works for a simple synced polarized projector setup coming from two synced sources (HD tape decks, DVD, etc.). The more complicated forms of projection and display would have their own export path and format support.

Another alternative on the editing side is to use the multi-cam modes in various NLE software to try an mirror the edits across multiple clips, but I find that the multi-cam modes in the major NLE's are typically made for "live", or true multi-cam productions where you have iso'ed cameras and are "switching" between them, not assembling a traditional edit and then mirroring it. If you do your file-naming correctly, it's probably easier to simply edit with camera A, and then duplicate the project with all the media as offline place-holders and point it to the camera B footage . . . you then have the exact same edit duplicated on the camera B side without too much hassle (I would still check your edit for any slipped clips though).

[Bhaskar Dhungana]

What about the rig for this? Are there low cost rigs available to buy? Can we build it ourselves? If we can where can we find some specs on this?

I know it may not be your area of expertise. Thought I'd ask...

[Jason Rodriguez]

Hi Bhaskar, at this point in time you'll have to build your own rig.

I have no specifications other than looking at what other people have done, and seeing the requirements that you need.

There are typically two styles of rigs: side-by-side and beam-splitter configurations. Both have their pluses and minuses. Side-by-side rigs tend to be nice and small and relatively easy to construct, while beam-splitter configurations are more complex and larger. Although the beam-splitters tend to be more versitile in what they can shoot, especially for close-focus subjects, and their size can be minimized using the SI-2K MINI, you will still loose a f-stop of sensitivity since they have to split the incoming light 50/50.

Thanks,

Jason

[Bob Grant]

Planning to shoot some 3D tests, two full SI-2K cameras. with detached Minis.
There's a connector on the side of the camera body labelled "Control".
Can we use this to sync the two cameras rather than making up power and sync cables for the Minis?

[Bhaskar Dhungana]

Bob,
What kind of rig are you using? Please keep us updated on how it goes as I am interested in doing a 3d production soon.

Thanks

[Ari Presler]

Although we had planned to do some of the 3D sync control via the 8-pin control port we opted to implement the controls all in the Mini heads. You will need a sync cable (connect pin 4 and 5) between the 2 camera heads. You can also add a Rec-SS button to initialize recording on both systems too.

[Bob Grant]

Thanks Ari,
just to be clear I'd still need to supply power to pins 1 and 2 of both Minis locally?

[Ari Presler]

Power can be derived on the Mini from either the 8-pin or from the 12pin driven with power from the SI-2K using a 12Pin-to-12Pin GigE and Power Cable (center pins used for power).

[Bob Grant]

Originally Posted by Bhaskar Dhungana

Bob,
What kind of rig are you using? Please keep us updated on how it goes as I am interested in doing a 3d production soon.

Thanks

Not my shoot, just been called in to wrangle some of the technical issue. It seems if the project goes ahead they'll be using the P+S beam splitter rig. Haven't seen it in the flesh as yet but it looks big and it is expensive. It does have advantages over running two cameras side by side and perhaps some down sides as well, I can't see how one would go about putting filters in the optical path. With two cameras side by side it seems one can run them into the one matte box and use a common (large!) filter.

From my understanding of the complexities of shooting 3D it's got many traps. I did post on a very simple bit of 3D years ago, what we got away with in that very short piece you would not want to risk at all in a feature length movie on a large screen.