On the set of “The Mortician,” cinematographer Michael McDonough uses an Element Technica Quasar 3-D camera rig. Photo by Cook Allender.
For more than a century, the term “low budget” was never applied to 3-D production. Making 3-D content was always tricky, complex and expensive. And like with any nascent technology, equipment costs usually take a while to become affordable, and production values improve over time.
However, highly skilled 3-D production is already being applied to a wide a variety of projects, some with limited budgets, as professionals find new cost-effective tools to get the job done. A good example is the new Panasonic AG-3DA1 handheld 3-D camcorder that costs $21,000. These tools are limited in their scope (they are not going to be used to shoot a major feature like “Avatar”), but they provide the effect audiences are coming to expect.