3ality Digital acquires Element Technica

[Lawrence Daufenbach]

Congrats. Lucas, looking forward to working with you more.

[Steve Hertler]

Yes Corrado, we'll be in Hall 9 at Booth B40. Hope to see you there!

[AnthonyFlores]

Like others here, I know 3Ality works primarily off of a "license" model, and ET on a sales model where the the rigs are priced more to "own" ... will that continue going forward?

I'm not asking for 3Ality to "give" their tech to the ET rigs at no extra cost, but it would be a shame of the ET gear went up to price levels that made ownership more difficult.

Hoping that clear product differentiation and also pricing models remain in effect :)

[Joey R.]

Anthony,

There are very clear reasons why 3ality and ET are so good together. We both wanted what the other was really good at. Now we really do get the best of both worlds and so do you. At the top level 3ality is a technology company and ET a manufacturer. Now begins the process of integrating the best of what we offer into each others product lines. All rigs are just the Technica line of rigs. Going forward though you will now get ET controls for the TS line of rigs along with the accessories and on the ET end we get all the integration with the SIP and all the technology it offers. This is our holy grail if you will. Between our lens control, rigs, metadata and the SIP we now have all the bases covered.

So for those worried about what happens now I can say that you will now get more for your money. This doesn't always mean prices go skyward. We will continue to offer both the TS2, TS4 and TS5 right along with the Neutron, Electron, Atom, Pulsar and Quasar. The TS line will still have all the automation and SIP integration that users have quickly fallen in love and come to rely on. Spiderman and the Hobbit are a testament to that. The Atom and others on the ET side will only improve with the functionality of the SIP. In fact our last three features (OZ, UW4, Prometheus) are/were shot with EPICs and ATOM and all three were shot using the 3ality SIP. In fact that was the only option for the production team. We aren't slowing that down at all.

Our offerings get more value. Our manufacturing gets more bandwidth. Our engineering gets more efficient. Our R&D gets more creative.

We aren't just excited about the shorter commute to work, we are excited with the possibilities that were never possible if it were not for this union.

At the end of the day we want you to shoot great S3D. We're just hoping the choice gets easier ;)

[AnthonyFlores]

Thanks Joey, much appreciated. And if you seem to be saying ET product line will be getting the automation, lens control and SIP of the TS line - without a huge price increase - that is truly fantastic news.

Before it was a tough choice between two great companies, you're right -- now it's a very easy choice to go with one great company :)

[Raphael Varandas]

congrats guys...
good luck!

[Jeffrey T. Morgan]

Anyone else interested / hopeful for a more indie minded line? Something that isn't attached to a truck that has focus control, but otherwise manual configuration that makes good 3d feasible for professional indies? I wonder if the acquisition may help this along, or if a product like this might be seen to "cannibalize" the fully automated systems currently being made?

It's definitely exciting times for the high end pros, either way. I am excited to learn and hope it doesn't take too long for the democratization of 3D to begin in earnest... like RED has done for high end digital cinema! :-)

[Tim Whitcomb]

Anthony,

There are very clear reasons why 3ality and ET are so good together. We both wanted what the other was really good at. Now we really do get the best of both worlds and so do you. At the top level 3ality is a technology company and ET a manufacturer. Now begins the process of integrating the best of what we offer into each others product lines. All rigs are just the Technica line of rigs. Going forward though you will now get ET controls for the TS line of rigs along with the accessories and on the ET end we get all the integration with the SIP and all the technology it offers. This is our holy grail if you will. Between our lens control, rigs, metadata and the SIP we now have all the bases covered.

So for those worried about what happens now I can say that you will now get more for your money. This doesn't always mean prices go skyward. We will continue to offer both the TS2, TS4 and TS5 right along with the Neutron, Electron, Atom, Pulsar and Quasar. The TS line will still have all the automation and SIP integration that users have quickly fallen in love and come to rely on. Spiderman and the Hobbit are a testament to that. The Atom and others on the ET side will only improve with the functionality of the SIP. In fact our last three features (OZ, UW4, Prometheus) are/were shot with EPICs and ATOM and all three were shot using the 3ality SIP. In fact that was the only option for the production team. We aren't slowing that down at all.

Our offerings get more value. Our manufacturing gets more bandwidth. Our engineering gets more efficient. Our R&D gets more creative.

We aren't just excited about the shorter commute to work, we are excited with the possibilities that were never possible if it were not for this union.

At the end of the day we want you to shoot great S3D. We're just hoping the choice gets easier ;)

So what can one expect as far as a timeline to start seeing these new HYBRID products.. for lack of a better word. I always liked ET's mechanical design better aesthetically, but it appeared 3Ality had more precise control...
that said ET pricing was more competitive - so BTTOM LINE QUESTION for many of us is... can we expect increases or decreases in pricing? What will carry over and what wont?

When? :) thanks!

[Alexander Christ]

Good to see these rigs merging together, looking forward to see the new "hybrids".

[AnthonyFlores]

So what can one expect as far as a timeline to start seeing these new HYBRID products.. for lack of a better word. I always liked ET's mechanical design better aesthetically, but it appeared 3Ality had more precise control...
that said ET pricing was more competitive - so BTTOM LINE QUESTION for many of us is... can we expect increases or decreases in pricing? What will carry over and what wont?

When? :) thanks!

I was wondering the same Tim. Thanks for asking the "tough" questions :)