Tweet

Much of the talk these days is around shooting in 3D vs. doing 3D conversion in post-production. One works (see: Avatar) and the other clearly does not (see: Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender). And ever since it was announced that Michael Bay’s Transformers 3 would be released in 3D, the assumption has been that it would be done in post-production. That’s not the case, says a new report.

The assumption originated with director Michael Bay‘s need to have cameras that possess a certain level of agility. Bay has said numerous times in his opposition to the 3D format that shooting with the bulky cameras is too slow for the fast-paced scenes with which he fills his movies. That, and the man’s a purist — he likes to shoot his movies on film. But according to this new report, it looks like someone has convinced him otherwise.

Vince Pace, the man who worked with James Cameron to develop the Fusion 3D rigs used on Avatar, talked to MarketSaw this week about what he’s got coming up. Among the productions placing orders is Transformers: “Trying to lay low and do what I do best,” he said. “We took delivery of the first Alexa cameras for Hugo [Cabaret, directed by Martin Scorsese] and have 23 more on the way. Transformers has also signed on to shoot 3D throughout the film. I am working on a big Disney film but can’t mention the name and are lining up five more films. Just wrapped on additional photography for Resident Evil and Tron. Currently in Hawaii and flying out to London for Hugo.”

In my opinion, this takes things to an entirely new level. The Fusion 3D rigs, as we’ve experienced with Avatar, are said to be some of the best 3D rigs around. That being on top of the fact that by simply shooting Transformers 3 in 3D, Michael Bay has given himself a healthy start on making a film with visual depth. And as opposed to the trash we’ve been seeing from the post-production 3D films, it could turn out to be very cool.