MYRTLE CREEK, Ore. – Jan. 10, 2011 – Answering the growing demand for 3D elements for television and film, Artbeats, a leader in the production of high quality stock footage, announces the immediate availability of their rapidly growing Stereoscopic 3D (S3D) stock footage library. The initial offerings include a variety of nature shots, plus the first S3D aerial stock footage available to the royalty-free market. New 3D content will be added monthly, including pyrotechnic, city scene, establishment, winter scene and additional aerial collections.

“For over 20 years, Artbeats has specialized in footage that has high production value and is often difficult to shoot,” explains Artbeats President and Lead Cinematographer, Phil Bates. “In this case, we couldn’t ignore industry demand, so we’ve set our sights on providing the 3D content that our customers require but may not be able to shoot themselves.”

In keeping with the company’s reputation for innovation, Artbeats became the first production company to utilize Pictorvision’s gyrostabilized eclipse 3D aerial rig, capturing aerials of downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Long Beach and the shores of Catalina. On this shoot, two RED MX cameras with Optimo 17-80mm lenses were used to obtain nature imagery and dramatic daytime and nighttime shots of Los Angeles skyscrapers. “With a 6.5″ interocular, the distance between lenses, we stayed close to our subjects to get the deepest stereo effect,” says Bates. “Our all-pro crew included stereographer, Ken Corben, DP, Doug Holgate and pilot, John Tamburro. The combination yielded some incredible footage that is now available on our website. Although we’re excited about our initial offering of 3D footage, it is only a small sample and more will be made available in the coming months.”

Artbeats’ 3D equipment, which includes RED MX cameras on a stereo rig, will expand to include RED Epic cameras and a beamsplitter rig later this year. “We’ll be shooting fire effects, urban settings, establishments, and much more,” adds Bates. “We have a very busy year planned. In addition, our 3D library is growing to include content from outside producers.”

Artbeats’ S3D stock footage is offered as Quicktime movie files with formats that include HD stereo pairs (both sides squeezed horizontally into a single HD frame), separate HD Right and Left views and 4K versions (when shot on RED). Available via the company’s website, Artbeats provides helpful metadata specific to each S3D clip including the positive parallax percentage, interocular separation measurements, and the maximum display size, which is the largest suggested screen size on which to display a clip. Artbeats also offers a helpful S3D Video Guide, and a free downloadable full HD resolution S3D clip to help editors gain a feel for the high quality and ease of use that Artbeats footage is known for.

For additional information about Artbeats’ S3D footage, and to download the free clip, please visit www.artbeats.com/S3D.

Pricing and Availability

Royalty-free pricing for S3D HD footage is $449 to $799 USD, per clip. Artbeats FootageHub rights managed S3D HD clips range in price from $499 to $1,999 USD. Pricing includes separate left and right views, as well as a side-by-side stereo pair. Most of the S3D clips are also available in high-res 4K versions.

To purchase Artbeats’ S3D footage, or to preview the clips, either as an anaglyph movie or by the cross-eyed viewing method, please visit www.artbeats.com/S3D.

About Artbeats

Artbeats, founded in 1989, is an award-winning provider of royalty-free stock footage for broadcast, feature films, commercial, multimedia, game development and independent producers. The Artbeats library encompasses an extensive array of royalty-free NTSC, PAL, HD and RED high-resolution clips in a variety of subjects including aerials, cities, nature scenics, special effects, medical animations, international locations and much more. Introduced in 2009, Artbeats FootageHub is a diverse, ever-growing online conglomeration of 100 unique brands of stock footage that expands creative possibilities for any project or budget.

Artbeats is headquartered in Myrtle Creek, Ore. with a staff of artists, producers, technicians and marketers. Some of Artbeats’ clients include Dreamworks, Comedy Central, BBC, DirecTV, American Idol, Pixar, CNN, Activision and many more.

For more information, please visit www.artbeats.com, follow Artbeats on Twitter, or become an Artbeats Facebook Fan.