Filming close quarters combat in the third dimension
‘Spray and pray’
With Lloydy gaining a bit of fame in for his 3D filming (he’s been interviewed by BBC Radio Merseyside) I thought it was time to talk about our 3D filming, so far, in this blog.
Last week, I found out that the Brigade Reconnaissance Force (BRF) were going to the Close Quarter Battle (CQB) range to practice their skills. So I set up a day to go down and capture them in action.
CQB ranges are pretty claustrophobic and seriously intense; as they are made to replicate urban warfare. Though for Helmand this is a thing of the past it’s still practiced, and it is ideal subject matter for a bit of 3D action. To give you an idea – here is a video we made on Close Quarters Marksmanship. Click screenshot above.
The ranges are set up in a kind of winding alley format, with lots of corners forcing the guys to practice the drills. They face all the problems that might happen in the real thing and they have to deal with them as they go.
With the perfect subject, we set about assessing gear that the production house 3Dizzy had given us. We’ve been given a p2, which is a large standard news camera, which has a large 3D lens on it. Advantages of this – great HD quality footage with complete control. Downside – very awkward to move with and fricking heavy. We also had a 3D Helmet camera, which had the opposite qualities – easy to use, but no monitor to watch the footage, to use military slang; a ‘spray and pray’ camera. We also had a 3D handycam which was in the middle of the two. [Keep reading…]
Source: britisharmy.wordpress.com