Kenyan Pilot For BAFTA 3D Masters

Three-D film is coming to the world of wildlife programming.
Inition have teamed up with world-renowned wildlife filmmakers Deeble & Stone to shoot a pilot for their forthcoming 3D theatrical Distant Thunder.
It is being billed as a 'very British production', which drew on the expertise of Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone for direction and the technical and stereography skills of Inition. Even though some of the kit was created by the team 'in the field', the results are still said to be 'stunning'. The shoot took place in Kenya and was produced in association with equipment manufacturer P+S Technik.
The pilot is narrated by Sir Ian Holm and will be screened in the UK for the first time at 3D Masters on 22nd June at BAFTA, in London.
The stereoscopic production is a pilot for Deeble & Stone's forthcoming theatrical film Distant Thunder, which is set against spectacular Kenyan landscapes in a the film that follows a family of African elephants as they struggle to survive when drought strikes their homeland.
Filming took place in Kenya's Tsavo East and Amboseli National Parks and features a wide variety of filming techniques, from macro to hand-held gyro-stabilized to scenic time-lapses whilst following the elephant family on their epic journey.
P+S supplied a SI-2K camera, 3D Standard Mirror rig and a OneBox DIT workstation.
Silicon Imaging supplied a SI-3D camera system and a Stereotec side-by-side rig.
Initial post and stereo adjustment was conducted on Iridas Speedgrade at Inition - before finishing postproduction in Spain at ApuntoLapospo.
The sound design and mix were produced by Wounded Buffalo, with original score by Guy Michelmore.
The 3D producer and director at Inition, Andy Millns commented: "It was a real privilege to shoot in Africa with such experienced wildlife film-makers as Mark and Vicky.
"We all learnt a lot and have come away as a team with a unique understanding of how to shoot natural history in 3D."
Vicky Stone, producer and director of the pilot commented: "It was a first for wildlife filmmaking and it proved the power of the medium.
"Digital 3D is so immersive and experiential that it is perfectly suited to natural history story telling.
"We were delighted that it was possible to achieve so much in such a short time - what started out as 'proof of concept' rapidly evolved to become a short film. It was an extraordinary and very successful collaboration," she said.
Anna Piffl, Communications Director, P+S Technik commented: "This was the first use of P+S Techniks Stereo 3D Rigs for wildlife capturing in 3D.
"The results are very impressive beautiful images."
(BMcC/GK)