This remarkable scene was the final step in an effort to equip and deliver 3D OB vans to South Africa - where no such 3D production gear was available. It was also among the last of the pre-production hurdles, as the most ambitious 3D production ever attempted is about to get underway.

There has never been anything like this in live 3D coverage: 25 soccer matches in 31 days, in five different cities, using two separate mobile production crews. The matches will be broadcast live to a global audience, via 3D-ready TV channels, digital cinema theatres, and public viewing pavilions. Highlights will be featured in 3D promotional venues, and later this year, Sony Pictures will release a stereo documentary of the tournament on the 3D Blu-Ray Disc format.

The World Cup, for soccer novices, is played every four years and is the most watched event in the world. The last tournament, held in Germany during 2006, had a total cumulative television audience of 26.29 billion. Not surprisingly, the most-watched match was the final, which attracted a global cumulative audience of 715.1 million viewers.

Sony - with a 2006-2014 FIFA sponsorship agreement - has been looking for ways to expose a global audience to stereoscopic 3D broadcasting, and this year’s tournament seemed like a rich opportunity.

But the World Cup is a gruelling broadcast challenge, even in 2D. In fact, HD was only used for the first time for the 2006 tournament.

Was the use of relatively new 3D production gear to broadcast this massive, month long, multi-city event an achievable goal? That was a question that the FIFA organization, World Cup production company Host Broadcast Services (HBS), and sponsor Sony tried to answer.

"Eighteen months ago, we started talking about the idea, but at the time, we didn’t think it was technically feasible," admitted David Bush, marketing director for Sony Professional Europe. "About a year ago we started talking more seriously." The decision was made in October 2009, and announced to the public in December.

Subhead: Gear and Logistics

HBS director of production & programming Peter Angell took on the role of FIFA special 3D project leader, and he worked closely with Duncan Humphreys, partner in UK-based 3D production specialist Can Communicate and 3D consultant to HBS for the World Cup.

With roughly five months to prepare, they launched technical trials in January, and they have been a regular occurrence for the past five months. This included shooting a series of Ligue 1 matches in France and Premier League in the UK. As testing proceeded, the team upped the levels of complexity.

A key piece of gear during the first tests was Sony’s new MPE200 image processor, which was being designed to handle a number of stereo acquisition tasks, including correcting slight mechanical misalignments, as well as making color correction match between the two cameras. This is accomplished in real time, enabling the live broadcast.

After some testing, the team was confident in the Sony image processor. They next selected Element Technica’s Quasar 3D rigs, with Sony’s HDC-1500 HD broadcast cameras and Canon HJ 22ex zoom lenses to shoot the tournament.

HBS, Humphreys, Element Technica and Canon essentially co-developed the image processor box with Sony, Bush said, adding, "It needed to integrate successfully with all of the components."

Canon was also advancing its developments, in particularly a model FPB-10 serial divider box. This technology enables the simultaneous operation of two lenses on a stereo rig, using one standard zoom demand and one standard focus demand. "There were a lot of tests done to see how well they tracked," said Canon national marketing executive Larry Thorpe. "That apparently worked out very well primarily because our digital drivers are 16-bit precision for zoom and focus, so that allowed accurate tracking."

"The big advantage was that we didn’t have to start making special lenses, because of the inherent precision of the standard digital drive units on both lenses," he said, adding that the FPB-10 would now be available as a product through Canon.

Explained Element Technica co-founder Stephen Pizzo: "We worked with Sony to integrate its box into our system. The Quasar is now controllable by the Sony box, and this project accelerated our work to open up our system."

When the team began to evaluate rigs, they needed a system that worked with the Sony image processor, which "obviously eliminated some of the usual suspects," Humphreys explained. "That might sound like a compromise, and it wasn’t in any way, shape or form. It just meant that we had to look for a product that could work with the Sony MPE200 box. Once you start doing that, in my opinion the choice narrows pretty quickly. The Quasar can be configured in a variety of modes, and at this scale, you want continuity. You want to look for a quality product with a commonality between the rigs. You want to be able to go to one supplier."

In South Africa, 3D production will occur at five out of the 10 FIFA World Cup stadiums: Soccer City and Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. The venue coverage will be divided between two separate crews that will each work with one of the two mobile OB Vans—one from UK production company Telegenic and one from France-based AMP Visual TV—that will move between the various stadiums. Both OB vans will incorporate a range of technology including Sony 3D monitors; Sony MVS-8000 production switchers; and SRW-5800 HDCAM SR decks, which offer dual stream recording for 3D capture.

Each crew will have eight 3D rigs. During matches, four Quasar side-by-side configurations will have set positions: Main camera wide, main camera tight, and goal line left/right. Four under/thru configurations will be positioned at bench left/right; and behind the goal left/right.

There might be a small amount of 3D converted footage from one or two of the 2D broadcast cameras, to gain another camera position. Decisions were still being made at the time of this writing.

Bush estimated that roughly 100 people would be on the ground in South Africa to support the 3D production. They formed the crew through their aforementioned production partners Telegenic—key production partner with Sky 3D in the UK—and AMP. "In both cases, there was quite a lot of training to be done. That was one of the reasons for the production trials," Bush explained. "There are not a lot of experienced 3D people out there, so everyone is learning."

"We will be continuing to learn through the tournament," he added. "Anyone who tells you that 3D is an easy step from 2D doesn’t know much about 3D, quite frankly."

SUBHEAD: Where to See the Broadcasts

The 3D feed from the 25 matches will be made available for broadcast on 3D channels. Confirmed channels that will carry the tournament in stereo include ESPN3D in the US, which launches on June 11, the opening day of the World Cup; Sogecable in Spain; and SKY PerfectTV in Japan.

Despite the enormous soccer fan base in the UK, the matches will not be available on the UK’s only 3D channel, Sky 3D. This is because BBC and ITV hold the FIFA rights in the UK.

Another way to view the 3D coverage: Eight matches will be fed live in 3D HD quality to digital cinemas and selected venues around the world. The number of public venues that would support the 3D broadcasts was not available at press time.

Complementing the live 3D viewing opportunities, the general public can catch some 3D World Cup promotional content shown on Sony 3D Bravia TVs in around 4,000 Sony-affiliated retail stores worldwide, including 200 Sony flagship stores.

Sony will also open viewing pavilions in seven countries where visitors will be able to watch 3D FIFA soccer match highlights, as well as additional content. That content will include new 3D music videos from Shakira and South African group Freshlyground, the 2010 FIFA World Cup Official Song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)," and Misia's "Maware Maware," (from the official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album "Listen Up").

Pavilions will open in Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, Johannesburg; at three World Cup stadiums including Soccer City, Durban, and Cape Town; and at public viewing sites in Berlin, Mexico City, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Sydney.

Coverage of the World Cup in 3D, Bush explained, is "the flagship promotional event of our 3D launch." Of course, Sony and other leading consumer electronics manufacturers have been busy rolling out 3D TVs, 3D supported Blu-Ray Disc players, and other 3D capable devices including laptops. Still, Bush admits that at this stage of the rollout, a relatively small number of fans will see the matches live in 3D. He concluded: "This is partially about making a public statement about the capabilities of 3D production. It’s also about capturing a piece of sporting history in 3D that people can watch in years to come."