Gangster mini-series features 3D bullet-time

Oct 12, 2012 No Comments by Jonathan Tustain

A mini-series charting the lives of gangsters in the prohibition era of 1930s America is the latest in a new wave of dramatic 3DTV productions in the works writes Adrian Pennington
 

Legends of the Prohibition 3D is a proposed 4×30 minute docu-drama about mob icons Al Capone, Bugsy Moran and Mickey Finn and iconic investigator Elliot Ness.
 
Not surprisingly perhaps its production team are based in Chicago. Vincent Shade, an assistant director on 3net documentary Fields of Valor: The Civil War 3D, founded Vase Production earlier this year and has partnered with fellow Chicago production outfit Eyeromp Films [www.eyerompfilms.com] headed by Philip O'Neil to develop the project.

A seven minute pilot – viewable at www.vaseproductions.com – was recently premiered at the 3D Film Festival in Hollywood with a view of drumming up funding for the show.

It includes a VFX sequence about half way through reminiscent of Matrix-style bullet time and remarkable for being produced on an apparently small budget. You can watch the sequence by skipping to 3 minutes and 28 seconds on the website video.

 
“While the outlets for 3D content producers has not changed from the 2-3 large channels [3Net, ESPN 3D, Sky 3D] which can acquire, commission and pay ‘adult’ money, producers should be thinking about dramatic shows and mini-series for VOD, for Blu-ray release and for future-proofing,” said Torsten Hoffman, who runs distributor 3D Content Hub [www.3dcontenthub.com]. “There are also as many as 40 other channels in others parts of the world looking for original 3D content.”
 
“3D Fiction has been coming from the theatrical side for a long time and is moving slowly into TV,” said Hoffman. “With the release of Life of Pi and The Great Gatsby, we may see more producers realising the creative merits of shooting drama in the format.”
 
The pilot was shot in two days using the CC3D Gen 2 rig supplied by Chicago rental house Daufenbach Camera.