Exclusive 3D Interview: The Medieval Trip 3D

This week brings another exclusive 3D interview. I spoke with our new partner Balazs from 3D3D STEREOSCOPIC PRODUCTION.

What is your background and how did you come into the 3D space?

While living in Australia for 10 years I studied arts, design, photography and sound engineering. Shortly after returning to Hungary I got involved with film production and for the past ten years have been running my own production and post-production company working on television commercials,  shorts and feature films, 3d animations and vfx shots for movies. As stereoscopic 3d started to emerge again we started to experiment first with stereoscopic 3d animations then with stereoscopic film production. We did a lot of work on smaller productions, mainly 3D animations and kept pushing the boundaries. After extensive experimentation and studying the art and science of making 3D movies we created a new production company clled 3D3D Stereoscopic Production, specializing entirely in stereoscopic 3D work.

Which title have you produced and what are you currently working on?

Mid last year we started developing a concept for shooting a documentary on medieval survival called The Medieval Trip 3D. This special is now completed and we are in talks about licensing with some of the biggest names in 3DTV broadcasting.

My original idea was a 10 part series, but first wanted to create a one part special that could also serve as the pilot for the series. We are currently looking for co-production partners for the 10 part series.

While researching and purchasing our own 3d production rig I started on the script for our one part special which was written with 3d in mind from the very first concept. The Medieval Trip 3D starrs Scott Alexander Young who is a writer and presenter from New Zealand and Attila Müller, a media celebrity from Hungary who was willing to leave his 21st century comfort behind to try and survive amongst medieval reenactors for the time of this shoot. Scott Alexander Young is the presenter as well as narrator in this production. He is also my partner as writer on this and future 3D productions in development.

What was especially challenging in the production?

Getting all the equipment together that would be suitable for this type of factual entertainment. While 3D shooting needs to be very well planned I still wanted to keep the element of surprise to be a big part of the production. I wanted reality elements to help viewers feel part of the action. The scenes were planned ahead, but the actors and re-enactors had the chance to act on their impulses and show their true emotions. Following all the spontaneous action with a complex 3D rig was a challenge, but in the end I think it worked out great.

There is a lot of “bad 3D” in the
market, what did you do to ensure highest quality standards?

We did almost a year of research into both equipment and techniques of 3D production before starting our production. We use a beam splitter rig with genlocked HD cameras outputing to a 3D recorder via HD-SDI and constantly monitoring on a 3D display dispite the fact that every scene is measured precisely for proper interaxials.

Also thinking entirely in 3D space from the development stages and doing a lot of test shoots at all of our locations during pre-production helped achieving the highest quality standards.

I think 3D is a lot of the times overdone and I wanted to avoid using it as a gimmick. My aim as director and stereographer was to produce a comfortable 3D experience where viewers could forget about the medium and enjoy the “trip”.

What type of sales/deals are you looking for?

The Medieval Trip 3D is available for licensing as a special, but we are also looking for co-production partners for the 10 part reality/documentary series based on medieval survival. We are in development stages with several 3D productions and are also open to commissions.

Who is your distributor?
We distribute ourselves with the help of our partner, Global Media Consult. They help us in territories where we currently have no relations.