Muay Thai Goes 3D

The punches came right off the screen and someone all the way back in the cheap seats got a nose bleed from a kick in the face.

The only thing more exciting than a martial arts fight is a martial arts fight in 3D.

Al Caudullo, of 3DGuy.tv and Exploreworldtv, and Ric Lawes, of Location Thailand, teamed up with Black Belt columnist and Martial Arts Odyssey host, Antonio Graceffo, to produce one of the first ever 3D martial arts shorts. It was shot in a playground in Bangkok, where Antonio gets pounded by Taiwanese Muay Thai fighter, Ulysses Chang. The two ran past the see-saws and duked it out on the slide. Perhaps Antonio was trying to steal the kid’s lunch money.

The one-minute clip is meant to be a pilot for an upcoming series of 3D martial arts videos shot across Asia. It was also part of a two-shoot screen-test for Antonio on Wealth TV, one of the first American networks to broadcast 3D content. Al Caudullo is in the development stage of a 3D adventure travel TV show, for Wealth TV, featuring Antonio Graceffo.

“Following my life in Asia is weird enough.” Claims Antonio. “Doing it in 3D puts a tiny holographic image of myself right in your living room.” The would-be TV host went on to say, “And if you fall asleep with the TV on, I might go in your kitchen and eat all your pasta and gapagul.”

With movies such as Avitar and Toy Story coming out in 3D, it is obvious that the technology has come of age and that it is here to stay. Nearly every television manufacturer in USA is producing a 3D model this year. But there is still a shortage of content.

It was Al Caudullo (3DGuy himself), one of the world’s leading experts in 3D filming, who came up with the idea of shooting martial arts in 3D. When you see the end product, it just makes sense. 3D takes something exciting and makes it even better. Al also had the genius stroke of calling fellow Brooklynite (and fellow Italian-American) Antonio Graceffo to appear in the clip.

“Al knows a lot about 3D.” Says Antonio. “He also made the right choice by calling me for the shoot. If more people did that, I’d be rich.”

Spoken like a man dedicated to his art.

“Seriously, it is amazing how much more a producer or director has to know to shoot in 3D. For example, Al carries some kind of a laser calculator in his pocket, so he can measure the distances between objects and fighters in a scene. If you measure wrong or get the lighting wrong, the image goes flat.” Explained Antonio. “If we take this modern 3D like Al uses, or like Toy Story, and compare it to the old 1950s Creature of the Black Lagoon in 3D, the big difference is that the modern movies are written, scripted, choreographed and planned in 3D before they even start shooting.”

Since shooting the first 3D short with Al Caudullo, Antonio has appeared in an another Al Caudullo production, an episode of Wow Bangkok, a 3D travel show, starring host, Kelly B. Jones, which appears on Wealth TV in America.

Doing a full-length TV show, rather than a short, required a lot more brain work. The shots had to first be planned on a digital 3D mockup of the sets and locations they were planning to use.

“With reality TV shows, which are the only kinds of shows I have worked on, it is really hard to plan every shot in advance, and get the distance and lighting and all right.” Said Antonio, “But this is one of the challenges you have to overcome when shooting in 3D.

In the Wow Bangkok segment, for example, Al wanted to shoot footage of Antonio sparring, but it wasn’t possible to put the massive 3D camera in the boxing ring. The rig was too big and the canvas flooring would not have been stable enough.

“Shooting 3D creates a whole new set of problems, but the end results are so spectacular that it is worth it.” Said Antonio.

Since the 3D martial arts clip was posted on youtube, Al and Antonio have been receiving all sorts of offers to do 3D film and TV projects.

“It’s nice to be the first person, or almost the first, to do something.” Smiles Antonio.