3 Cities in 3D is a new national TV show being shot in Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevier County TN.
This show will be captured in 3D and will be aired late Summer 2010 on WealthTV.
PRODUCER-DIRECTOR: RANDALL P. DARK
Photo by Lindy Michelle
Back in 1986, Randall P. Dark was given the opportunity to view High Definition in Toronto for the first time and knew it was the future of images. A few short years later, after working on the High Definition production, Chasing Rainbows for CBC, he founded HD Vision in New York City and Dallas. The company’s mandate was to specialize in the growth of High Definition, launching Dark into a position of technological and creative visionary. An undisputed pioneer in the emerging industry, In 2007, Dark opened Randall Dark Productions, headquartered in the popular, Indy-friendly city of Austin, Texas and has recently opened a new company that is headquartered in China. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and is one of a select few members of the Consumer Electronics Association’s Academy of Digital Pioneers, a group recognized for their efforts implementing Digital Television in the United States. Dark also received one of the International Electronic Cinema Festival's top honors: The Pioneer Award, bestowed in recognition of extraordinary contributions to the success of HDTV. Dark also serves as the Artistic Director for the Macao China International Digital Cinema Festival which he co-founded in 2009 to showcase films from around the world. Over the years, Randall has also been the cover story for many industry magazines.
Recognized globally as an expert in emerging technologies, Randall has spoken to audiences at events including: MIPCOM, CASBAA-Hong Kong, Tokyo International Film Festival, Banff World Television Festival, National Association of Broadcaster's Convention, International Electronic Cinema Festival, Infocomm, Consumer Electronic Show, HDExpo, World Television Forum, creaTVty Zurich, Canadian Association of Broadcasters Convention, Hollywood Post Alliance, New York State Bar Association, Bear Stearns Media Conference and NATPE. Randall recently gave a Key Note address at the Creative Storage Conference in Las Vegas, the HD Summit in Los Angeles and the Production Innovations Forum in Toronto, Canada
PRODUCER: S. SHANE MARR
With extensive background in film and television, S. Shane Marr has strong roots in the entertainment industry. His formal education includes training at a one-time film school in association with Steven Spielberg at Universal Studios Florida. After a thorough film education, he chose to remain at Universal Studios Florida where he opened an office in the Universal Studios Film Complex building 22, produced and directed many award winning short films and documentaries, and began teaching film classes at Full Sail University. He then moved his company to Santa Monica, CA where he continued to produce and direct before moving his company back home to the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. With a solid film background and interest in new technology, Shane began shooting in High Definition and has now worked in that medium for over ten years. Since 1999, Shane has served as the CEO of Cinemarr Entertainment, a High Definition post-production facility and the head of Big River Pictures. Thus far in his career, Shane has won 9 FMPTA Crystal Reel Awards, Thirteen TELLY Awards, Two AXIEM Awards, a Videographer Award of Distinction, a Two- Time winner at the Houston Worldfest for Best Director, and the Charleston International Film Festival. His directorial credits include full-length feature film “BELL WITCH: The Movie”, short films, and a variety of television, music videos and commercials.
About WealthTV
WealthTV is the premier lifestyle and entertainment network —the destination for exclusive and original programming, simultaneously transmitted in high definition and standard definition.WealthTV delivers to viewers informative shows that provide invaluable insights on what every American dreams of – from travel secrets to fast cars, from fine dining to financial advice, and much more. The network fills a television vacuum by delivering intellectually stimulating, thought-provoking entertainment and always-unbiased news from an insider’s perspective.
Using the Panasonic AG-3DA1 to capture the picturesque Smoky Mountains for 3 Cities in 3D.
July 7, 2010
By John Merli
Even people who have spent much of their lives in the picturesque Smoky Mountains will tell you they’ve never seen their surroundings quite like this before. While 2D HD probably would have done justice to the many natural and man-made attractions of Gatlinburg, Sevierville and Pigeon Forge in Tennessee, capturing it in stereoscopic 3D brings an added dimension to subject matter in more ways than one.
Now in postproduction after a spring shooting schedule, the idea and principle photography for the documentary 3 Cities in 3D throughout the Smoky Mountain region was conceived and shot by veteran HD cinematographer Randall Dark (above). Other principals for the marketing tool include locally based Cinemarr Entertainment of Sevierville, and CineForm, a software integrator and post house based in Solana Beach, Calif.
The 3D tourism production is earmarked for an initial airing on Wealth TV, a six-year old network based in San Diego. Although Dark set up one of the nation’s first HD production houses and continues to run his own shop — Randall Dark Productions in Austin, Texas — this was his first major 3D project. He said his biggest challenge was simply defining what the look and feel of the documentary should be.
“A knee-jerk reaction would have been to punch through that ‘fourth wall’ and do the familiar one-trick pony effect. But 3D needs to be more than objects floating in front of your television,” Dark said. “The animation studios have proven for years — and recently [Avatar] director James Cameron did, too — that a willing suspension of disbelief can happen in 3D and your audience can have a cathartic response to the storytelling. So I want the effect to be a pay-off, not just a trick.”
Dark said he’s always been driven to create video content using cutting-edge technology — which explained his early passion for the then-emerging medium of HD a couple of decades ago. But 3D technology for its part, is hardly new. “Since 3D has been around for many years, I thought there was nothing new I could bring to the party. The latest pioneers of 3D were already creating very cool content and had established successful workflows. But then I saw Panasonic's version of [the computer-generated Pixar movie] ‘Wall-e.’ The idea that a 3D camera could be really portable and truly user-friendly greatly appealed to me.”
Dark had worked with Shane Marr, the head of Cinemarr Entertainment, on a PSA featuring Dolly Parton (whose Dollywood theme park is located in Pigeon Forge). So Dark successfully pitched the 3D documentary to Wealth TV. Marr said while seeking out a dual-lens 3D HD camera suitable for occasionally arduous field work, they selected the Panasonic AG-3DA1.
“This camera made post [production] much easier because there’s no need to sync anything up,” Marr said. “Image files aligned perfectly, once the footage was loaded into the computer. Marr said in post-production, he’s using Cineform’s Neo3D to mux left- and right-eye views in order to make any convergence tweaks necessary to highlight something in particular special. The CineForm software also is being used for color correction. “Once that's complete, we import the files into [the editing platform] to start the cut.”
Yet neither Marr nor Dark is exactly tossing HD aside for the challenges and artistic allure of 3D. “The AG-3DA1 is like shooting two projects at once,” Marr said. “You're shooting both 3D and two ‘2D HD’ views simultaneously — that is to say, the left- and right-eye views. It reminds me of something an old instructor of mine use to say. ‘Shoot as much as you can. You can always take away, but you can't add.’ So I say shoot in 3D and even if you only use the 2D version, you’ll have the option of going back to the 3D version later,” Marr said. (Using just the Left- Eye version of a stereoscopic 3D shoot usually produces acceptable HD 2D content.)
Introduced by Panasonic last April at NAB, the AG-3DA1 will become available by late August. Panasonic’s Jan Crittenden Livingston, the new camera’s product manager, envisions the compact unit as “broader-basing” the world of 3D to far more users. “We reduced the cost of entry with the price points, along with the technical wherewithal that’s normally required for dealing with 3D stereography. For 3D right now, we’re really helping expand accessibility to television projects, and that’s saying something,” Crittenden said.
Still, Crittenden cautions, there are some 3D-centric idiosyncrasies that have to be considered when shooting. “This little [6.5 lb.] camera only burdens the stereographer with two things… one being the parallax aberrations or anomies that you need to look out for, such as objects getting too close to the camera and creating visual distractions. So operators have to take steps to avoid it. The next thing to pay close attention to are possible framing problems, where, for example, some object enters the frame and at first can be seen by only one eye, left or right. That and other anomalies can be very disturbing in a number of ways — with your brain and your eyes telling you two different things,” Crittenden said.
Although not all 3D projects are shot and post-produced in the same way — Crittenden said 23 different cinema projector configurations were necessitated by screening Avatar in 3D globally — eventual 3D content typically is edited in 2D (HD) as independent Left Eye and Right Eye. Then a final “conform” in 3D is created at the end of post. But since the 3 Cities in 3D project used CineForm’s Neo3D software in post-production, content can be viewed in 3D during the editing process.
According to CineForm CEO David Taylor, “This edit technique allows the elimination of 3D ‘conform’ entirely and the ability to handle prints directly from the editing timeline to electronic 3D distribution or projection files.” 3 Cities in 3D is now in the midst of being editing in real time with full frame-rate playback to external 3D monitors. Taylor said his software firm’s key Neo3D application (dubbed “First Light”) can work in tandem with Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, and Avid Media Composer.
“We’re within a day’s drive of two-thirds of the U.S. population and we’re very much a tourist destination,” said Lori McMahan Moore, executive director of the Smoky Mountain Tourist Development Council. “So from our perspective, it’s completely marketing. So far I’ve seen maybe a minute of the 3D footage and I was absolutely blown away. So much of 3D is simply depth perception — not objects coming out at you off the screen. It was truly amazing,” Moore said.
Field-Testing the Panasonic AG-3DA1 3D Camcorder
DP Randall Dark on Cost-Effective Stereo Storytelling
By Bryant Frazer
June 21, 2010 Source: Film & Video
Photos of helicopter rig and penguin habitat by Shane Marr
Veteran cinematographer Randall Dark isn’t content with existing technology. A pioneer in HDTV production since 1986, Dark says he’s always keeping his eye out for something that will rev up his creative gears and throw him into a new world of images, workflows, and storytelling possibilities. When he saw the first images of Panasonic’s new AG-3DA1 3D AVCCAM camcorder, he knew he had found it. “That thing looks like Wall-E,” he remembers thinking. “Physically, seeing that camera, I was excited.”
In late May, Dark inaugurated the Macao, China International Digital Cinema Festival as artistic director, and beefed up the program by flying in 3D experts from around the world. All that high-end talk about stereography helped ready him for shooting his latest project, 3 Cities in 3D, a stereo-3D documentary on three Tennessee cities: Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. He flew back from China, spent a leisurely day and a half at home, and then headed out on location for the new shoot, having wrangled an early 3DA1 from Panasonic, where officials were aware of his status as a power-user of early-adopted technology. “It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind, but a great learning curve for me,” he says. Film & Video asked him about putting the $21,000 camera, which ships on a made-to-order basis this fall, through its paces.
FILM & VIDEO: Talk a little bit about how 3 Cities in 3D came together.
Randall Dark: When I flew to NAB, I had this project in my back pocket. I had talked to the three cities, asking, ‘If I shoot this in 3D, is it something you could use?’ And I talked to my friends at Wealth TV, which is going 3D, and I asked, ‘If I direct this program with this prototype camera, will you guys air it?” So I was moving all these chess pieces around. And then I went to NAB and saw the images, saw the camera, and thought, “I’m there.” It’s the best of all possible worlds.
I’ve got this camera, and I’m in places that are outrageous for a 3D rig. In one shot, I’m holding the camera shooting down a zip line. Then I’m in Ripley’s [Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg] in the penguin area shooting extreme close-ups from a tiny little space that would have been impossible to get into with an F35 or a Red [stereo rig], but this camera is unique. And the images look spectacular.
Historically, you’ve got a beamsplitter and these huge rigs and it’s a different way of shooting. This is so interactive, it is so real-time, that just by looking at my rushes coming back in — I've got the Panasonic [BT-3DL2550] 3D monitor — I go, "OK, in the last two weeks I've gotten way better at shooting 3D." It inspires me.
Other than simply squeezing into tight spaces, what's another example of something you can do with a 3D camcorder that you can't do with a two-camera stereo rig?
I shot Chinese acrobats. Part of 3 Cities in 3D is shot in a theater with these incredible performers. I shot in 3D and looked at the pictures and thought, "Oh my goodness — do they have a contortionist?" So I went back and brought the contortionist on stage. Because [the shooting process] was so fluid, I could direct her. I could move the camera into eight set-ups in 35 minutes because of the nature of the technology and the interaction I have with the camera and talent. Had this been a traditional rig, it would have been a different methodology.
Were there any limitations of the form factor for you?
In the early years of HDV, because of how light these cameras were, I was always concerned. When you’ve got a really light camera and you’re trying to do smooth pans and tilts it doesn’t have the weight. This camera has got enough weight behind it. And because you’ve got two lenses at the front, you can balance the camera. I haven’t had an issue. Most people like light things. I’m the opposite. But this camera doesn’t present any issues with not being able to put it on Jimmy Jibs. I had it in a helicopter on a gyro mount.
So the footage doesn't look like it was shot with a Handycam.
Images are really about lighting and framing. I can have a $180,000 camera, and if I don’t know what I’m doing it’s going to look like garbage. Or I can have an $8,000 HDV camera and I can make it look really good because I understand lighting. I don’t see any limitations in form factor. In fact, just the opposite. Historically, these shots would be difficult with other types of cameras. When was the last time Steve Schklair or Vince Pace held onto a 3D camera and went down a zip line? It’s another tool in the toolbelt. If I’m going to shoot a $300 million movie, I’ll use equipment that’s perfect for that. If I’m doing a documentary for Wealth TV or Discovery or National Geo, all of a sudden there’s a new option that puts it in another technical realm and another financial realm.
It sounds like you’re happy with the quality of the stereo this camera captures.
I am very happy. But it doesn’t matter what I think. More importantly, I bring my client in and say, “I just shot this for you. What do you think?” And they’ve been blown away. Panasonic is genius. I look at the physics of this camera and I’m blown away by it, by the images, and by how it converges in the field. But if my client walks in and looks at a 3D monitor and says, “What’s the big deal?”, then there’s a concern. Do I want to keep working with this camera for a number of projects? Absolutely. Is it perfect for every project? No, of course not. No technology is. But it’s been a while since I’ve been excited about something. Are there stories to be told that we haven’t seen before? Absolutely. For product launches or point-of-purchase launches, you can say, “I can do this in a cost-effective way.” Look at what’s been happening in the last four years in the 3D world. People are going, “This is fun. I want more.” And I’m going, “I’m willing to shoot more!”
People sometimes look at this camera and, because it's such a new thing, they assume it's a novelty — that it's not built to the same standards as a proper broadcast camera.
Everything has its limitations and drawbacks. When I look at this camera, I’m definitively saying I will do many more projects with this camera because it works and I think the images look phenomenal with this technology. That being said, I haven’t blown things up on a 70-foot screen. I just shot with the camera and I’m going into post. But the images in post blow me away. Is it right for everything? Don’t know yet. I’m still testing. Will I do more projects? Yes. Do I like the camera? Yes. Is it fun? Yes.
As a cinematographer and camera operator, are there new adjustments you have to make and be aware of on the camera that relate to stereography?
There’s a learning curve. I always say, “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” But if you take this camera and put it through rigorous testing, and if you’re talented, you’ll figure it out quickly. There are things that work better than others. I have a style of shooting, just like any cinematographer or director. I can’t wait to see other cinematographers use this camera and see what they do. It’s all about storytelling, lighting, and framing. As a storyteller, I think you have to be careful of using 3D. It’s not all about having something come out of the TV. At times I don’t think that’s the right shot in the storytelling. At times I think the 3D has to happen behind the fourth wall.
And this camera allows you to determine where that wall is in your footage?
Absolutely. This camera allows me to look at the fourth wall, the proscenium wall, and be in front of it or behind it. It’s my choice. I decide that. Because of the nature of some shots, nothing is going to be popping through. But you use it as a technique. I directed a dance sequence that is being shown in the documentary. There’s an ending to it that’s not in the dance routine, per se, but it will be in the documentary. The 3D is all happening behind the [screen of the] TV, and then, at the end of the sequence, the cowboy hat that she’s dancing with pops through the TV as the final statement. Nice touch, looks great. You create that moment. You don’t want people to be constantly reminded, “It’s 3D! Look at us!”
Earlier, you said you have a commitment from Wealth TV to run this. Is that a 2D commitment?
No, that’s a 3D commitment. They’re switching over to a 3D channel. Everyone’s lining up to switch over. It’s the next toy for the consumer and for the professional.
So for you at this point, it’s very real. It’s not a theoretical business.
I don’t do things just because they could be interesting. I would have not have gotten this camera from Panasonic if I did not believe in it fully. As a matter of fact, I’ve started my own 3D stock footage library, working with Footagebank, because there’s going to be a huge demand for it. If the math doesn’t make sense, you can’t do it. James Cameron’s world is not my world. I’m a meat-and-potato kind of guy. I love new technology, but the projects I’m going to do have to make sense financially and the funding has to make sense. With this new technology, 3D is viable for everybody. Distribution channels are being created as we speak. One of the things I’m talking to cities about is, in their tourist centers, putting in a high-def TV and when people walk in they watch a program, and they can decide where to spend their money. There are lots of ways to use this technology cost-effectively today.
For more information: cinemarr.com/3citiesin3d.html; www.panasonic.com/business-solutions.
PRESS RELEAS FROM MACAO, CHINA INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL CINEMA FESTIVAL May 12, 2010
WealthTV taps Randall Dark Productions for 3D Content
3D Content Production underway for Lifestyle and Entertainment Network
SAN DIEGO, CA – May 10, 2010 – WealthTV, the premier luxury lifestyle and entertainment network, today announced that it has concluded a deal with Randall Dark Productions to produce a travelogue in 3D. The initial 3D episode scheduled for airing on WealthTV later this summer, will capture the awe-inspiring natural wonders of the Smoky Mountains along with thrilling theme park attractions and exciting entertainment found in three Tennessee cities.
"With WealthTV's internal crews up and running with 3D production, we're now turning to proven production partners to assist us with growing our 3D content. Randall and his team contributed to WealthTV's successful 24/7 high definition launch back in 2004. We value Randall's cinematographic expertise and have turned to him once again for ramping our 3D content," stated Charles Herring, president of WealthTV.
WealthTV is currently building a library of 3D content featuring travelogues, under its WOW! series, to exotic car shows, under its Wealth on Wheels brand, to nature related programming designed to thrill viewers with the stunning life-like beauty. WealthTV will begin airing 3D content later this summer.
"You'll always find me on the leading edge of new image capture technology. Partnering with a broadcaster like WealthTV who shares the vision makes it even better," stated Randall Dark, president of Randall Dark Productions. "The Smoky Mountain region is visually spectacular and also working with Tennessee based Cinemarr Entertainment makes it more enjoyable," concluded Dark.
WealthTV taps Randall Dark Productions for 3D Content
3D Content Production underway for Lifestyle and Entertainment Network
SAN DIEGO, CA – May 10, 2010 – WealthTV, the premier luxury lifestyle and entertainment network, today announced that it has concluded a deal with Randall Dark Productions to produce a travelogue in 3D. The initial 3D episode scheduled for airing on WealthTV later this summer, will capture the awe-inspiring natural wonders of the Smoky Mountains along with thrilling theme park attractions and exciting entertainment found in three Tennessee cities.
"With WealthTV's internal crews up and running with 3D production, we're now turning to proven production partners to assist us with growing our 3D content. Randall and his team contributed to WealthTV's successful 24/7 high definition launch back in 2004. We value Randall's cinematographic expertise and have turned to him once again for ramping our 3D content," stated Charles Herring, president of WealthTV.
WealthTV is currently building a library of 3D content featuring travelogues, under its WOW! series, to exotic car shows, under its Wealth on Wheels brand, to nature related programming designed to thrill viewers with the stunning life-like beauty. WealthTV will begin airing 3D content later this summer.
"You'll always find me on the leading edge of new image capture technology. Partnering with a broadcaster like WealthTV who shares the vision makes it even better," stated Randall Dark, president of Randall Dark Productions. "The Smoky Mountain region is visually spectacular and also working with Tennessee based Cinemarr Entertainment makes it more enjoyable," concluded Dark.
About WealthTV
WealthTV is the premier lifestyle and entertainment network —the destination for exclusive and original programming, simultaneously transmitted in high definition and standard definition. WealthTV delivers to viewers informative shows that provide invaluable insights on what every American dreams of – from travel secrets to fast cars, from fine dining to financial advice, and much more. The network fills a television vacuum by delivering intellectually stimulating, thought-provoking entertainment and always-unbiased news from an insider’s perspective. For more information, please visit www.wealthtv.com
Photos From Production
Randall P. Dark with Penguins Photo taken by Shane Marr
Shane Marr and Randall P. Dark
Randall P. Dark and Shane Marr
Shane Marr and Randall P. Dark in 3D Post
Panasonic 3D Camera
Shane Marr
Randall P. Dark
Shane Marr and Randall P. Dark at Dollywood
Aerial Support Provided By Scenic Helicopter Tours Sevierville Tennessee
Founded in 1996, Personal Computer Systems, Inc. is one of the largest technology providers and computer systems builders in the Southeast, providing products to a wide array of corporations, educational and governmental agencies, and resellers.”
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With awe-inspiring natural wonders and plenty of thrilling attractions, 3 Cities in 3D will feature the beauty, fun and excitement of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 3D.
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