PS-Micro 3D Rig Goes Underwater to Mexican Caves

Thousands of caves are scattered over the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. German archaeologists and divers have contributed to the exploration and image capture of these underwater labyrinths since 2009. In 2012, a 3D documentary production has set out from 3D film specialists Chroma Media to produce stereoscopic images of these fascinating and dangerous caves.

The caves are filled with water, some more than 100m deep and often have very narrow entrances. All equipment must be transported considerable distances through the jungle to reach the caves, and therefore has to be as small and lightweight as possible.

Until now, stereo 3D underwater cameras systems have been either very large or heavy, or smaller fixed setups that had limited options for stereo adjustment. These limitations challenged the Chroma Media team since ready-to-shoot setups were not available. As an experienced production partner for stereo projects the company owns several P+S Technik Stereo 3D rigs, among them the PS-Micro Rig – a very small, lightweight, fully adjustable mirror rig. They decided that the PS-Micro Rig would be a suitable basis for their underwater system.

The team members explained, "When working with previous systems with a fixed stereo base, we had to keep a distance of at least 2m from objects to get good shots in 3D. With the mirror rig, the stereo base can now be flexibly adjusted according to the situation. The new unit can handle brilliant spatial close-ups, quite important especially in underwater productions, all in 2K resolution."

The resulting ‘DeepSee-X’ underwater housing made it possible to submerge a complete stereo 3D camera system composed of various modules to depths of 80 meters. The system is completely independent of the land; all of the gear fits into a single compact aluminium housing. DeepSee-X can also be operated with an underwater scooter as a means to capture long, smooth underwater tracking shots.

The system, developed in cooperation with the for underwater photography specialist, UK-Germany, consists of a P+S Technik PS-Micro 3D rig, plus two sinaCAM cameras. sinaCAM is a small remote head HD studio camera for 2D/3D broadcast and cinema production. The built-in camera equipment is interchangeable with various current models up to a 2K resolution. A recorder, a monitor and batteries complete the configuration.

This underwater system had its premiere at the shoot of a documentary for Blue Note Productions about the underwater cave system in Mexico, a great challenge for people and machines. Chroma  Media has provided not only their new recording system, but also cameramen, stereographers and workflow specialists who will continue to support the production above and below the water. www.pstechnik.de