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Camera Corps Partners in World's First Live 3D Music Webcast

By Staff
posted Jun 2, 2009, 09:37

Camera Corps Partners in World's First Live 3D Music Webcast

Nineteen Fifteen, one of Britain's most creative television production companies, chose Camera Corps and 3D technology specialist Inition as partners in the world's first live 3D gig for piano rock band Keane. Eight HD cameras, each with a dedicated Camera Corps CCU, were supplied for the performance which was televised from Abbey Road studios in London on Thursday April 2. The multicamera shoot was also viewable in 3D on the Keane website (www.keanemusic.com) where Keane aficionados could order red and cyan anaglyphic glasses. The glasses were distributed with the band's latest 7 inch single 'Better than This'. The performance itself marked the anniversary of a Beatles live satellite broadcast. As well as feeding live to the web, the production was captured to HD videotape, fed to live to Cinema (Vue West End) and trialed on Sky TV's 3D TV platform live via a Sky box.

"Camera Corps lived fully up to their reputation for helpfulness and efficiency," comments Vicki Betihavas, Producer at Nineteen Fifteen. "They provided six Hitachi DK-32 and two Toshiba IK-HD1 cameras plus a remote control system for each camera, the production being in full 1080/50i HD. All the cameras were used in 3D-pair configuration. The Toshibas were coupled on a Steadicam. Two of the Hitachi cameras were fitted on a 20 foot Technocrane and the other four positioned in different locations around the studio. The CCUs enabled us to ensure that all the cameras were uniformly aligned."

"3D has always been technically challenging from acquisition and post-production through to distribution," adds Andy Millns, Director at Inition: "Current video hardware was not designed to handle 3D images but the ability to view and manipulate 3D pairs of HD sources is an essential tool for 3D production. Our SB-1 processor allows producers to monitor and manipulate 3D on a wide range of 3D and non-3D monitors and TVs."

"3D has been around since the earliest days of photography, film and television," adds Camera Corps' Director of Operations, Matt Frost. "It presents a series of very interesting challenges, not least in the way images are delivered to the audience. Direct-view stereoscopic displays are now on the market from several major manufacturers and could eventually transform 3D viewing from a minority activity into a serious option for mainstream broadcasting. The ingenuity and creativity shown by Nineteen Fifteen will undoubtedly encourage faster adoption of this technology."

Camera Corps specialises in providing high-volume support services for reality television programmes as well as very large-scale sports events. The company has achieved a pre-eminent reputation for its ability to acquire exciting and unusual television content from exceptionally challenging environments. Its ever-growing arsenal includes high-level cranes, HD and SD motorised tracking cameras, underwater cameras, bullseye-mounted archery target cameras and fire-proofed high temperature cameras. The Camera Corps team expands during large-scale events from eight full-time staff based at Shepperton Studios to as many as 200 specialists, including highly-skilled rock climbers able to establish camera positions in almost any location.

Camera Corps Ltd
Shepperton Studios
Studios Road
Shepperton
Middlesex TW17 0QD
Tel. +44 (0)1932 592 299
Fax. +44 (0)1932 592 674
Web: www.cameracorps.co.uk

Newsmedia contacts:
Laurie Frost, Managing Director, Camera Corps Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)1932 592 299
frost[at]cameracorps[dot]co[dot]uk

Vicki Betihavas, Producer, Nineteen Fifteen
Tel: 07785 557 971
vickib[at]nineteenfifteen[dot]com

David Kirk, Stylus Media Consultants
Tel: +44 (0)1342 311 983
stylusmedia[at]gmail[dot]com