Production Company Can Communicate Will Catch Action from Five Camera Positions

Wimbledon logo

Production company Can Communicate is using Sony cameras mounted on five Element Technica (ET) 3D rigs to shoot the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. Three of ET’s large-camera Quasar rigs will be used along with two more low-profile Pulsar rigs. The cameras are fed into an HD fiber adapter and controlled by Sony MPE-200 processors for convergence and alignment. The 3D outside broadcast facility is NEP Visions, with its Gemini 1 and 2 trucks.

The live 3D broadcast will be limited to the men’s semi-finals, men’s final, and women’s final, beginning July 1.

The Wimbledon rigs are configured in broadcast mode, Element Technica said. That means the vertical, mirrored camera mounted below the rig, pointing up, rather than above the rig pointing down. That allows a more conventional viewfinder placement and blocks less of the view for spectators seated behind the camera positions. Each rig and all of its attachments is powered by a SMPTE fiber cable.

The Wimbledon coverage is being broadcast by the BBC, making it the first time the BBC has broadcast 3D footage to the UK. Live broadcasts will also take place in the U.S., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden. You may also be able to watch this year’s Wimbledon coverage at your local 3D movie theater – Sony said live presentations are scheduled on more than 170 screens in 22 countries and regions. Check the listings at sony.wimbledon.com.

For more information: www.cancommunicate.com; www.elementtechnica.com; pro.sony.com; www.visions-ob.com; www.wimbledon.com.