Wednesday 4 April 2012

The 3d mirror rig we used for a thirteen part series



I've been asked lately about the camera rigs we have used to produce 3D shows, so I've added some pictures of one of our rigs that we use to teach the principles of shooting 3D at the Black Leopard Film Campus
Shown above is the mirror rig (also known as a beam splitter) that we used with Safari Television to film over 800 hours of live wildlife footage and subsequently used to produce a 13 part 3D series as well as a 3D wildlife dictionary dvd.


This rig was mounted on a vehicle and traversed the African bush for over twelve months, so it is a credit to the manufacturers (who built it to our own specification), that it has survived and is still in working order twelve months later.

This rig epitomises the innovation that is often needed to overcome technical difficulties, especially when operating in remote locations, and it is exactly this form of innovative thought that we encourage our students to follow.



As can be seen this is a mirror rig (also known as a beamsplitter rig) that uses two motorised cameras whose relative position to each other can be altered to affect both interoccular and convergence. In this case operator control is achieved by a locally mounted mini pc running software we developed.

How does a mirror rig work?
As can be seen, a mirror rig has one camera pointing at the action and another pointing at a mirror that is beside the first camera.
This allows the interaxial distance to be as small as required. In our case we controlled (motorized) one cameras to allow the interocular distance to be adjusted.
By adjusting the interaxial distance the 3D filmmaker can play with the scale of subjects being filmed.

I have thrown in two terms above (interocualr and convergence) which may not be familiar to some of you, so let me define these a little more. Although we obviously will go into a lot more detail on our courses.

Interocular distance
The interpupillary or interocular distance is the distance between your two eyes which gives us binocular vision i.e. allows us to distinguish depth. 3D camera rigs simply mimic this binocular vision by using two lenses and the distance between the two lenses is known as the interaxial distance.
Of-course your eyes are relatively close together (some more than others!), however some cameras are too large to be mounted side by side and still replicate the binocular effect i.e. the achievable close range is limited as the cameras can not physically converge at the required distance.
When a 3D filmmaker needs to use a small interaxial distance, they can use a mirror or beamsplitting rig. In our case, when filming the 3D safari series, we needed to converge on a presenter 1.5m from the camera and than swing to animals that could be anything up to 50m away, so we required a mirror rig.

Convergence and depth of field
In the same way that the your eyes converge at a point to help your brain establish depth, the 3D filmmaker also needs to consider convergence control.
To put this simply, if the two cameras are parallel then objects being filmed can appear two far away. To make the filmed image appear in front of, or slightly behind the TV screen, we need to angle the cameras slightly towards each other (heel to toe). The point at which the two shots of the camera meet is called the convergence point.

Depth-of-field describes how much of the image is in focus. For example a shallow depth of field could be used in 2D portrait photography to blur the background and give a pleasing effect.
However, in 3D filmmaking we want the viewer to focus on certain parts of the image that are not always the closest. In these instances, depth-of-field becomes a tricky technique to master, and is one we will practice on our course.

If you would like to learn more about 3D Wildlife Filmmaking then get in touch (Carol@blackleopardcampus.net) and join us in the African bush and we’ll set you on the road to a career as a wildlife filmmaker.

Written by Will Fox

Monday 13 February 2012

First 3D Wildlife Film School in the African bush

Black Leopard Film Campus announce the launch of the first 3D Wildlife Filmmaking courses.

“3D Wildlife films are as close to a real African experience as possible, yet until now there have been no 3D wildlife training courses available” said course director Will Fox. “We felt there was a niche for a new type of innovative training based in the African bush. Today’s wildlife filmmaker needs to be able to shoot compelling content and self-edit that content for broadcast. That is why we have created an intensive four-week course that aims to develop those skills. But we don’t stop there. Through our association with WildEarth Media, our graduates are eligible for an internship that moves them straight from our course to working on 3D productions in one step.”


The Black Leopard Film Campus team has extensive experience in producing live and post produced wildlife shows with WildEarth TV. They have been at the forefront of developing innovative wildlife filmmaking techniques and producing high quality wildlife content for over a decade. Latterly this has included 3D systems as well as LIVE wildlife TV broadcast from the African bush. And now they can pass those skills on. They have developed an innovative wildlife filmmaker course that is suitable for anyone who has a passion for African wildlife. Whether looking to start a career in film and video production, or just having an interest in learning more about wildlife cinematography.


Further Information on the Black Leopard Film campus:

Black Leopard Campus is based on the Thaba Tholo Wilderness Reserve approximately 30kms outside of Lydenburg, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

E: carol@blackleopardcampus.net
W: www.blackleopardcampus.net
T: +27 (0) 79 354 8538

Monday 6 February 2012

Take the first steps - Internship with WildEarth




The Black Leopard Film Camps aims to do more than provide wildlife filmmaker training. We want to enable our students to take the first steps on a career. At the end of a four week intensive filmmaker course, graduates are eligible for an internship with WildEarth Media.
WildEarth has always been at the forefront of technological advances in wildlife filmmaking and it is that innovative style that is so exciting, putting our graduates in a great position to go on and develop a professional career.
At the Black leopard Film Campus we follow the WildEarth way of achieving high standards even when needing to face the challenges of nature from isolated or remote locations.
We aslo provide guidance on the business side or entrepreneurship in wildlife filmaking. The industry is changing and we aim to provide you with the tools to move with the times.


Written by Will Fox
Course Director

Sunday 29 January 2012

Introducing Sebastien Rombi




Introducing 3D filmmaker Sebastien Rombi our course leader. 
Sebastien was born in Libreville, Gabon (Central Africa), where from an early age his first passion was African wildlife conservation. After studying in France, he returned to Central Africa and took an active role in a Gorilla rehabilitation project with Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).  His next step took him to Cape Town, South Africa where he operated as a tour guide, taking guided tours through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. After a few years spent on the road, he had the opportunity to work on his first wildlife documentary, “Swimming Scared” about Great White Sharks and Cape Fur Seals filmed in the notorious waters off Cape Town. After even a short time working on this film, Seb finally found his true passion which took him to the Sabi Sands Game Reserve where he operated as a 2D/3D Camera operator, editor and presenter for Wildearth.TV for their award winning live safaris. Being one of the pioneers in the 3D film industry, he was approached by world renowned filmmakers, Foster Brother Productions, to work on Dragon 3D. This 1 hour film is about scuba diving with Nile Crocodiles in the Okavango Delta and Seb was responsible for all the online 3D editing.
During his film career, Seb has edited numerous projects for wildearth.tv, his flagship being a 13 part 3D series about safaris in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.
He is now an independent wildlife film maker under Beyond Borders Productions, and he is currently producing his first documentary.
His love and passion for all things wild and free can be seen in his projects, and his kind hearted nature and approachable attitude will allow him to take you to the next level in your filmmaking career.



Written by Will Fox - Course Director