Further expanding its 3D expertise beyond sport, Can Communicate (CAN) has just delivered the first live 3D multi-camera transmission in Russia, featuring three major cultural events in St. Petersburg. The content was commissioned by General Satellite Corporation, the Russian research and production company, as a prelude to the launch of its European 3D TV channel in 2011.
The events included the premiere of a ballet gala at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, featuring some of Russia’s most prominent ballet dancers performing scenes from five different ballets, including Swan Lake and Carmen, a performance of the ballet Giselle at the world-famous Mariinsky Theatre and a premiere of a clown show produced by Licedei, a show by world renown clown Leonid Leykin.
CAN coordinated and produced each of the shoots using an active (zooming), multicamera live 3D solution. CAN provided 3D producers, stereographers, convergence pullers and 3D supervisors to ensure the quality of the 3D productions. CAN oversaw integration with French OB facility supplier AMP and the local Mariinsky OB truck to deliver the live 3D images.
The ballet gala was shot using four active 3D rigs, supplemented with a fifth rig, CAN’s own Bolt rig. Feeds from these five stereo pairs were then fed back into OB trucks where the convergence was remotely controlled via 3D boxes. CAN worked with AMP to vision mix the images in the OB trucks and the resultant programme was transmitted via satellite. The signal was received via General Satellite’s set top boxes and shown on 3D screens in a viewing room to VIPs within the venue itself; it was also beamed to the Russian Embassy in Paris to delegates, VIPs and ambassadors. The performances of Giselle and the clown show, which involved similar set ups (minus the live transmission), are to be post-produced by CAN as ten minute executions as well as full versions, and will be broadcast by General Satellite Corporation when their 3D channel goes live.
Denis Romanov, tech director of the 3D broadcast project from the Mariinsky Theatre said, “General Satellite Corporation is one of the leaders of digital broadcasting in Russia and we were insistent on working with one of the global leaders of 3D content production. We very pleased with CAN’s significant contribution to the project. General Satellite were satisfied both with the high quality of the live broadcast and with the quality of final product. The 3D live transmission gave a fantastic impression to its viewers. The event resulted in extensive positive exposure in the Russian national media for General Satellite Corporation.
CAN’s David Wooster commented, “It was a great honour to shoot such prestigious events at these amazing venues. Thanks to an extensive development, testing and collaboration period with international technical partners, we are now able to capture content with 3D zooming capability in a practical and affordable way. This 3D content can either be recorded or undergo live manipulation and correction onsite, allowing CAN to create pixel perfect 3D content that is ready for broadcast.”