APUNTOLAPOSPO

_Apuntolapospo and Videoreport, two Grupo Vértice 360 companies, lead the way in 3D filming of live events

[07.05.2010]

The audiovisual group offers all the necessary technology for making stereoscopic productions for television broadcast.

First of all it was cinema, now it is television's turn. 3D is no longer a futuristic dream, and Vértice 360, leading provider of audiovisual services, has invested heavily in this technology. Thanks to two of its companies, Videoreport and Apuntolapospo, Vértice 360 was involved in the first stereoscopic broadcasts carried out in Spain by Canal+3D: the concerts of Enrique Bunbury and Alejandro Sanz and the bullfighting festival of San Isidro.

Vértice 360 provided a large amount of support for the 3D productions of those events: a mobile 3D unit with stereoscopy control, various motorised cameras fitted on cranes and pedestals, several metres of travelling track, LED screens, and so on. Not only that, the R+D department at Apuntolapospo developed a specific software called Poliphemus. What makes these stereoscopic experiences which Vértice 360 filmed for Canal+ unique is that they were all done completely live. That's all thanks to the Poliphemus system, which allows immediate analysis and stereoscopic evaluation of the image, enabling digital correction to achieve a good live broadcast.

Apart from the technology, recording in 3D requires a shift in the work of the technicians toward this new audiovisual language. Not only are the cameras different, their movements have to flow and be slower, shots have to be longer and the editing must be less abrupt than usual so that the brain has sufficient time to take in all the information.


Stereoscopy shows us the images just as they are in reality and therefore requires the simulation of human vision. To achieve this appearance of reality it is necessary to capture two very similar images with two cameras which are the equivalent of a left eye and a right eye. For the sense of depth to be realistic, the distance between the two cameras' optic axis must be the same as the distance between a human's eyes, which is about 65 mm. Nowadays, for 3D recordings, we use what we call camera points which are two 2D cameras joined together and which correspond to the two eyes. These cameras are fixed to a rig, a motorised support which enables them to move around.


To enjoy the broadcasts on Canal+ in 3D you will need an iPlus terminal, a television set which accepts the new technology, which are already being sold in this country, and the 3D glasses.