Dimension Plus Uses AJA KONA 3G and FS1 on First IMAX 3D Film for Asian Markets
“Flying Swords of Dragon Gate” (FSDG) broke new ground in the Asian filmmaking industry as the first Chinese Wuxia [martial arts] film shot entirely in IMAX 3D. Directed by Tsui Hark, starring Jet Li and Zhou Xun, the film received seven nominations at the 2012 Asian Film Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. China-based 3D film production company Dimension Plus helped the filmmakers facilitate their on-set and post production workflow with RED ONE cameras. The Dimension Plus team used AJA’s FS1 universal converter and frame synchronizer, AJA Mini-Converters, and two AJA KONA 3G cards to capture high-quality video through a QTake HD system for editing in Apple ProRes on Final Cut Pro, and for playback and review on monitors.
To capture stunning Chinese Kung Fu performances, Dimension Plus employed a sophisticated 3D stereoscopic workflow. Dimension Plus provided two on-set engineers to assist with camera rigs and video assist equipment during the desert shoot to ensure that everything ran seamlessly while capturing complex fight sequences.
“For most of the movie we were shooting outside in the desert in extreme outdoor conditions, our shooting distance was often 300 meters away, moving along bumpy terrain. To capture such fast moving action under these conditions, we really needed capable, reliable and stable 3D monitoring, and it was great that AJA’s KONA 3G cards were up to the task,” said Stego Zhang, the General Manager of Dimension Plus. “We are also looking forward to using AJA’s Io XT to help facilitate monitoring and playback as part of the package supporting our Thunderbolt? workflow on our next stereo 3D film.”
The FS1 was also used on-set for 3D format support and to ensure top image quality for closed captioning. He continued, “Out in the remote desert, we needed FS1s help to work with varying signals and formats and it could easily work with full 10-bit broadcast quality video and 24-bit audio.”
AJA’s HD5DA Mini-Converters helped enable seamless shooting from long distances, and compact HD-SDI/SDI distribution for monitoring.
Zhang has been working in the Asian production industry for 13 years and specializes in stereoscopic production. “We have been using AJA’s gear for so long, we believe AJA always does deliver the highest quality content for 3D filmmaking and helps multiple broadcast productions operate more successfully throughout China and Asia,” concluded Zhang.