Vinten Provides Support For 3D Pioneers

A Vitec Group brand and global leader in camera supports, is using its unrivalled experience to meet the specific challenges of the rapidly emerging stereoscopic 3D production industry.
Vinten has equipped the first 3D-specific truck to be built in Europe, for Telegenic, with tripods and heads, and demonstrated the benefits of Perfect Balance in 3D production, in partnership with 3ality Digital at NAB this year.
UK-based Telegenic, already a major supplier of outside broadcast facilities, has commissioned its first 3D-capable truck in response to a request from leading satellite broadcaster BSkyB.
Sky is to launch its first 3D channel in June, majoring on sports and live events, and has set exacting standards for the quality of its commissioned productions.
The truck is equipped with six 3D camera rigs from 3ality Digital: four mirror rigs and two side-by-side rigs. Each is paired with a Vinten Vector 950 pan and tilt head, tripod and skid. The Vector 950, already a widely used and popular pan and tilt head featuring Vinten’s unique Perfect Balance solution, has proved an ideal choice for 3D shooting, and particularly for mirror rigs.
"Obviously there is the weight of two cameras so we needed a head that would provide real stability under the big payload," explained Pete Bowen, Head of Cameras at Telegenic. "The real challenge, though, is that in a mirror rig with one camera mounted vertically above the other the centre of gravity is very high, and maintaining balance and smooth movement is tough. The Vinten Vector 950 really was the only choice for the job - nothing else could cope."
Talking of the NAB demonstration as well as the co-operation on practical applications such as the Telegenic truck, Steve Schklair, Chief Executive Officer of 3ality Digital Systems, the technology and production arm of 3ality Digital, LLC, said: "We are really thrilled with how Vinten products help to make stereoscopic 3D shooting work. As pioneers in the business of shooting for 3D, I can say that Vinten products are among the very best for this application."
(BMcN/BMcC)