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3ality Technica working with Remotes, Cranes & Heads



The 3ality Technica line of 3D rigs have been used extensively with all types of cranes and heads. To date the Quasar has been mounted on the 15'/20' Technocrane, 30'/50' Supertechno, 74' Stradacrane, Chapman Hydroflex Arm, Russian Arm, Ultimate Arm, Panther Foxy Crane and Louma 2. The crane heads that have been used, and have bracket systems for, are the ZHead, Libra Head, Scorpio, G3, Panther Phantom remote head and Flight Head.

To see more of our rigs in use with cranes and heads, click here.

Quasar in Side-x-Side Configuration:



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Quasar in Beamsplitter Configuration:



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Mounting Technica 3D Rigs
The Technica 3D rigs provide not only legendary rigidity from their construction of aircraft-grade CNC machined aluminum as well as stainless steel and carbon fiber, but are designed to mount the entire array of digital cameras, large and small, in both side-by-side and beamsplitter configurations. In beamsplitter, the rig can be easily transformed from over/thru to under/thru modes.

The Quasar uses an Arri compatible dovetail with the ET Hybrid Core as a means of mounting individual cameras to the rig as well as for fore/aft (along optical axis) adjustment of the individual cameras. (Most cameras utilize a secondary interface specific to the camera to connect it to the Hybrid Core). All of the interfaces are designed and fabricated with rigidity and security in mind so there is no measurable mechanical compliance.

Because ET 3D rigs can be configured in both side-by-side and beamsplitter modes, there is a wide range of lens focal lengths that can be accommodated, including zoom lenses. The Quasar has been designed to accommodate camera/lens combinations as long as 24” combined (such as a Sony 1500 full body with a medium range B4 zoom), and the rig can be very easily scaled by replacing two structural parts to accommodate much larger/longer packages.

Broadcast Configuration
The explosion of live sports coverage in 3D has not only challenged OB production crews with providing high quality stereoscopic images to their viewers, but also to fit 3D camera packages into camera positions designed for standard OB camera/lens combinations.

The Element Technica Quasar rig’s broadcast configuration has solved that problem by providing a camera and lens 3D stereo pair in much the same form-factor as a typical 2D OB camera package. Broadcast configuration pairs a full-featured OB broadcast camera with a minimal-featured, but optically and electronically identical, box-style camera. Monitoring, intercom and other familiar operator features are available on the larger camera body, while the smaller box-style camera body is mounted under the Quasar’s mirror in under/thru configuration. The result is a 3D camera package no taller than a standard OB camera package, minimizing the number of event attendees’ views that are blocked.

By minimizing the total weight of the stereo pair of cameras, payload needs of the pan and tilt head are reduced. Lowering the center of gravity through the under/thru configuration also simplifies balancing the payload on the pan and tilt head.

Crane Mounting
Crane mounting of 3D camera rigs provides some of the greatest production values to motion picture and live event coverage. Not only can camera moves be made in multi-dimensions, but cranes enable numerous camera positions that would be impossible to achieve via handheld or floor mounted operation. Recent interfaces developed between Element Technica and leading crane makers have added ET rig I/O and convergence adjustments to the crane’s positional programming, allowing the precise repeatability necessary for complex effects work.

The ability of ET’s 3D rigs to quickly configure to over/thru and under/thru modes speeds setup, and makes reconfiguring the crane package a breeze.

Though crane shots are typically smooth looking to the eye, crane operation can put a great deal of torque on the camera payload, and crane operation, especially with telescopic cranes, can often result in jolts. This is where the legendary robustness of the Technica 3D rigs pays huge dividends. Technica 3D rigs not only provide precise stereoscopic mounting of camera pairs in exact alignment to deliver realistic 3D images, but maintain that alignment during the duration of a long production day.

Crane mounting of 3D rigs is generally done with the 3D rig in over/thru mode, with the camera payload in an underslung position allowing for ground level shots. Unlike many of its competitors, the Element Technica 3D rig design keeps all parts of the camera payload in a compact package, allowing them to fit comfortably into standard crane baskets, and to simplify balancing the crane. ET’s Quasar rig has been mounted on the Chapman, Supertechno, Technocrane, Russian Arm, Ultimate Arm and Libra. ET also has an interface that allows the tilt drive to mount directly to the CofG of the Quasar to minimize the size.

The Technica 3D Hand Controller allows the convergence puller to operate I/O and convergence in either a wired or wireless fashion, and at a comfortable distance from the crane itself. Maximum range in wireless mode is 300’, while in wired mode that can be stretched to 1,600’.

The Technica 3D Quasar rig, designed for the largest digital cine cameras and lenses, has now been joined by the Pulsar and Neutron. This provides a full spectrum of crane mounted options, from the largest cranes down through smaller jib-arms and pole-mounted camera arms.

Dolly Mounting
Mounting a stereoscopic pair of cameras and lenses on a camera dolly is one of the greatest tests of 3D rig rigidity, because over a production sequence the dolly is likely to experience a series of bumps and jolts as it is being moved and repositioned. Technica 3D rigs provide a structural rigidity to maintain precise camera alignment throughout a production day, even through these inevitable bumps and jolts.

With three members in the Technica 3D rig family, designed to stereoscopically mount the largest through the smallest digital cameras and lens combinations, there is a Technica 3D rig that is a perfect match for the range of camera dollies, from the largest, most heavy duty models, to small dollies running on a miniature track.

Camera Stabilizers
Introduction of the Pulsar and Neutron provides a production utilizing a stabilizer with a choice of 3D rigs that bring a stereoscopic camera package into the payload range of modern stabilizers and their operators. A Pulsar equipped with a pair of Sony HDCP1 multi-purpose compact cameras and ENG style lenses weighs in at around 35 lbs, and a Neutron equipped with a pair of SI-2K cameras with C-mount lenses weighs just 25 lbs, both comfortably within a stabilizer operator’s range.

The Technica 3D Hand-Controller wireless option makes it easy for the convergence puller to adjust I/O and convergence while untethered from the stabilizer itself, and at a distance of up to 300’. Technica 3D rigs not only provides precise stereoscopic mounting of camera pairs in exact alignment to deliver realistic 3D images, but maintains that alignment during the duration of a long production day.