IMMERSIVE TECH
I TREAT THE natural history WORK I SHOOT like drama ”
NATURAL TALENT The team had to use some innovative technology to achieve a uniquely immersive viewing experience
“The optical rig was based on a prism block we had developed previously for IMAX 3D,” Parks explains. “We did a film years ago called Bugs! . At the heart of the optics was this prism block which gives you one lens barrel and the ability to bolt cameras on.” The cameras bolted on were RED V-RAPTORs, after it was discovered that Blackmagic’s URSA Mini Pro 12K could not genlock at the required frame rate. “We redeveloped the rig after that – it had been out to Borneo and other places – and I used that central block as a basis for this, then redeveloped the optics out the front.” All this work, Parks says, helped the VR result be as immersive as it could be. “Whenever someone’s talking about a natural-history production with macro close-up, you always have that
Solving this problem would require some original thinking, provided in this case by Chris Parks of Vision3, whose experience in 3D includes Jack the Giant Slayer , No Time to Die and Gravity . “Rob and I have worked together a lot,” Parks says. “Rob was brought in for stereo time- lapse on some of the Sky 3D shows. He uses technology for his natural-history work, whether that’s drive systems for gantries or exploring new ways of lighting things. He’s got a very strong problem- solving background.”
“We did an initial test to confirm a hunch I had,” Parks continues. “It was an optical approach which might allow us to shoot macro, 180° 3D. We’re effectively taking two light paths down a single lens and splitting that off to the two sensors. Doing that enabled us to create a separation between those light paths, and that’s what gives you the stereo separation. We want to feel like we’re down in the bugs’ world and the same size as them. Our interaxial distance was around 5-10mm.”
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