Berlin Film Festival Marks Worldwide Premiere of 3D Film The Mortician

Shot on location in New Orleans, Louisiana, by cinematographer Michael McDonough, the psychological thriller, written and directed by Gareth Maxwell Rogers starring Method Man, showcases the capabilities of Element Technica’s Quasar rig.

The rig used for “The Mortician” was one of the first Technica 3D Quasar rigs manufactured by Element Technica, and was supplied to the production by equipment rental company OFFHollywood. “I’d heard of this new rig from Element Technica,” said McDonough, no stranger to indie and low-budget production. He knew the importance of a 3D rig being able to hold the stereoscopic camera pair in rock-solid alignment. “An important consideration in 3D is to avoid torquing of the camera bodies once the rig is set up, as this will throw out all of your careful lens alignment. I found Element Technica’s rig to be quite rugged.”

During prep, OFFHollywood’s Mark L. Pederson worked closely with McDonough and stereographer Keith Collea to outfit the rig with the right support gear for this post-apocalyptical tale to be shot in New Orleans. The filmmakers took advantage of the historical buildings and the still visible remnants of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. Tricked out, the ET 3D rig topped out at about 105 pounds, heavy enough to handle the stress of an active shoot yet light enough to allow the team to make some tricky moves.

“I remember one sequence where we were fighting daylight and we needed the Hydro Techno Crane up and running under the rain towers, with no time to do serious critical alignments,” recalls Collea. “Within minutes the ET rig was up, aligned and shooting. Crane – no problem. Remote head – no problem. Rain – no problem. 3D – no problem. The shot went off without a hitch. The alignment procedures with the ET rig are a snap. And, once the rig is aligned, it stays that way over the course of several setups, including serious jolts from riding on the process trailer.”

To date, Element Technica has delivered 160 combined of their Quasar, Pulsar, Neutron and Atom rigs.