Mark Roberts Motion Control Launch S3 Stereoscopic 3D Module

The Academy Award winning team at Mark Roberts Motion Control are pleased to announce the up-coming release of a vital tool for any stop-frame animators looking to produce in 3D Stereoscopic.
The field of 3D filming and animation is growing at a tremendous rate, with the CEO of Dreamworks predicting all movies will be made in 3D "within a reasonable period".
The success of such movies as Coraline, Monsters versus Aliens, UP and many 3D features in the pipeline including the much anticipated 3D movie Avatar from James Cameron, as well as features from Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Tim Burton, Robert Zemeckis and so on.
But with over two million 3D-ready TVs already on the market, 3D is no longer limited to cinema distribution and more and more TV production is gearing up for the 3D revelotuon.
The basic technology for 3D live-action filming normally consists of using two cameras separated by a distance known as the inter-ocular distance and a variable angle known as the convergence. By varying these, different special effects can be created for the viewer.
For stop-frame animation, the use of two cameras is often not just costly but impossible or unnecessary. Often because stop frame animation is of scaled models, the cameras need to be very close together (closer than they can physically fit). Because there is no live-action it is simpler and more cost effective to use a single camera and slide it side to side to take the two images necessary for each eye.
This makes the camera package smaller by needing only one camera and lens, eliminates differences in the image due to two lenses having different lens distortions, allows the inter-ocular distance to be as small as needed without problems due to camera and lens sizes.
This principle can also be used for 3D nature photography or timelapse of slow moving events. The only issue is how to accurately control the side to side motion of the camera.
New Mark Roberts Motion Control have announced the release of the new S3 Stereoscopic 3D Stepping module. This intelligent, low-cost, portable unit can accurately control the motion and triggering of the camera for any stop-frame 3D filming. It is designed to carry a variety of DSLR and filming cameras and has the following features:

• Strong rigid construction using high quality bearings
• Simple user interface with backlit LCD screen
• On-board FLASH memory
• User programmable inter-ocular distance
• Can trigger the camera or can be triggered by the camera
• For use with or without a motion control system
• Up to 3" (75mm) of travel on standard unit
• Can carry large and small cameras
• Extremely precise and repeatable motion

The unit is very simple to use - attach the camera, attach the unit to a tripod (or a motion control system). Set the required inter-ocular distance using the on-board display, attach the camera trigger cable and you are ready to run. Every time the unit receives trigger (from any of a number of sources including intervalometers, motion control software, remote switches motion sensors) it will trigger the shutter for the left eye view, move the camera for the right eye view, trigger the shutter and then move back to the left eye view ready for the next frame.
(KMcA/BMcC)