Bigger, er, Brighter!

Hey All!

This week, "3D movies got a whole lot brighter." At ComicCon last wednesday, Real D, introduced a new screen using it's "precision white screen technology" with hopes of improving the overall cinematic experience.

We've learned that 3D enjoys light and have observed first hand during productions and screenings that scenes, when shot in 3D, look better when well lit and brighter. Many Directors shy away from the medium specifically because of the inability to capture the necessary amount of light to make the image crisp and powerful. Christopher Nolan said that he refused to shoot Batman in 3D because he found "the dimness of the image extremely alienating." Real D hopes to alleviate filmmakers of this problem with their new white screen technology. CEO and Chairman Michael Lewis said that the screen brings 40% more total light than silver and is the "next step in the premium cinema experience."

The screen has been tested in select locations and has seen big endorsements from effects and production company's, industry professionals (including DreamWork's Jeffrey Katzenberg) and movie house companies alike. Many have applauded the enhancement of 2D films projected onto the screen as well providing a clearer picture with a "forceful visual impact when compared to the silver screen."

Real D is the most widely used system for 3D technology world wide and it's safe to say that we'll all be experiencing a brighter 3D in the months to come.

http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/reald-showcases-technology-to-beam-3d-on-white-screens-cinemacon/

NAB: Glasses Free and Rig Technologies

Last week the National Association of Broadcasters held it's annual conference in Las Vegas. The conference features vendors from companies and firms operating within the digital broadcast industry. I was hoping to read about some awesome new 3D technology never before seen and was partially satisfied. The Cameron Pace Group was there pushing the 3D medium and applauding it's evolution and progress. Back in 2011, James Cameron predicted that 3D is the future of broadcast. Since then however, the medium has failed to become a powerhouse in tv like it has in film. We've talked a lot about glasses-free 3D and at NAB, it definitely was the focus. CPG thinks 3D's popularity in the living room is contingent on this technology and the answer to it's slow adoption.

Dolby Digital and Phillips partnered to create Dolby 3D, a new, "end-to-end system" for creating glassess free content. Csilla Andersen, a product manager for Dolby 3D, during the conference was interviewed and advertised "Dolby/Philips' solution covers every aspect of content creation and distribution. It encompasses post-production tools, compression for broadcast and distribution, a format decoder and a Multiview Rendering Engine for playback." Dolby and Phillips worked with software companies and platform services to streamline 3D editing and better integrate workflows. Once produced, the glassess free screen technology enables clear, un-warped 3D picture from almost anyplace in the room, a feature other glassess free screen's lack.

"Glassess free" is only half the battle, and the Germans over at Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute have an answer to high production costs and expensive, timely and tricky post production efforts. They introduced a concept trifocal rig, with help from Disney. The rig described as a "hybrid 2D/3D approach to capturing 3D that effectively combines 3D cinematography with 2D-to-3D conversion." The rig holds three cameras and then during postproduction, depth maps are estimated which allows for the generation of stereo content from the footage. The camera also has the ability to calculate the distance between itself and an object which enables the production of shots without a green screen (very cool). It will be interesting to see this technology in action and how effective or ineffective it is when compared to traditional methods.



For More Information:

http://www.dolby.com/us/en/professional/technology/dolby-3d-glasses-free-3d.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nab-dolby-3d-format-specification-431918

http://www.nabshow.com/

Jurassic Park 3D and the Conversion Machine

Hey All,


With the rise of the 3D popularity, studios have enjoyed the profits of converting and rereleasing movies in 3D over the past few years. The 3D reviews for many of these rereleases have been less than satisfactory, and the sales show that even with the added 3D element, they are not worth the high price of the conversion. Disney has recently halted plans for converting many of their classics. The Star Wars conversion was recently stopped as well now that they are under the Disney umbrella.

In terms of releasing new movies, however, 3D is still extremely profitable fueling the debate between shooting in real 3d or shooting in 2D and converting, such as in Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity." Shooting in real 3D, as we know, is the better option and despite some few stragglers, in the past few years has become the more popular option (A great site to check out is http://realorfake3d.com/, if you're curious about future and past projects).

Jurassic Park 3D was recently released and I was reading an article discussing the conversion of the movie and the added elements the extra dimension brought to the story and the Jurassic Park experience. The conversion enhanced the experience so much that classification boards in some countries had to up the rating. Spielburg in a article (link is below), thought certain scenes in particular,  such as when they are trapped inside the vehicle, really enhanced the fear and uncertainty in the moment. Jurassic Park in 3D opened with staggering numbers and proves that sometimes the high conversion price is worth it. A friend of mine said seeing Jurassic Park originally was the reason she loved movies and that seeing the 3D version blew her away. It's interesting to think about what movies might and not be successful upon rerelease in 3D. Top Gun, is currently being converted and will see a release next summer. It will be interesting to see if it can garner the same results.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/jurassic-parks-3d-reboot-coming-to-cinemas-in-april/story-e6frfmvr-1226593939554#ixzz2OO15Ml4p

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/04/05/jurassic-park-3d-excitement-and-extinction/

3D Phones and Smart TV Apps

Hey All,

This week, LG, one of the leading manufacturers of 3D and Smart TV's has introduced 3doo, a Smart TV, 3D content application. With LG's release, the platform has the ability to reach over 10,000,000 people with 3D capabilities, world wide. 3doo is a platform which enables owners of 3D content to upload, share and sell the content directly to their consumers. Competing against other 3D platforms such as Yabazam and Explore 3D, 3doo is quickly becoming the largest distribution platform for in home 3D content. 3D platforms have seen a spike in content viewing over the last few months in correlation with advances in 3D televisions, cable and production. Last week, I wrote about CPG's advancements in 3D TV and it's effect on the marketplace. 3D entertainment sharing platforms will benefit from these advancements and, in addition, will promote the trend by offering on demand 3D entertainment.

http://www.3dfocus.co.uk/3d-news-2/3doo-3d-media-player-expands-to-10-million-consumers/12676

I also wanted to include a link to this Asian CNET article introducing a new iphone 5 screen protector which can turn the screen into a 3D capable display. While only the iphone 5 sized screen has been developed to date, the "EyeFly" company is hoping to release more phone/tablet sizes within the next year. http://asia.cnet.com/eyefly-3d-screen-protector-makes-iphone-5-3d-capable-62220998.htm

3D TV gets Emmy Nods

Hey All,

We all talk a lot about promoting 3D and pushing the medium in order to popularize the medium and foster more work within 3D. This past Monday I was pleased to see that the Cameron Pace Group, formed by James Cameron and Vicent Pace (CPG), along with ESPN and CBS have been nominated for Emmy awards in sports entertainment broadcasting. In spite of news reports claiming the demise of 3D TV, CPG and ESPN have been gaining traction through their sports broadcasting and have been creating significant television buzz for their coverage of the X Games and PGA tournament coverage in 3D. Now, after securing Emmy nominations, in competition alongside 2D television, CPG is excited about and confident in the future of 3D television. They believe the key to 3D television is to provide productions affordable new technology production which integrates video or film into both 2D and 3D formats. They call this idea "5D." For the X Games, they used 34 cameras with 5 different rig variations suspended as much as 900 feet in the air to get full coverage. For their PGA coverage, 28 cameras and 7 rigs were used.

“Our engineering efforts always focus on ways to enable broadcasters to do more with less,” said Vince Pace, CPG’s co-chairman and CEO. “The X Games were a milestone in demonstrating that 3D innovation can also directly augment 2D production … Our goal at CPG is to enable broadcasters to generate top quality footage under any circumstances, adapting to any approach they select. For this year’s X Games, we were able to do just that.”

CPG and ESPN are very confident in the continuation of the televised medium. Hopefully the exposure and praise will foster increased popularity and prompt other companies to start investing in 3D technology/productions as well so more of us can get work! (That is unless CPG is going to hire all of us...who's crossing their fingers?)

CPG/ESPN/CBS Emmy article: http://good3dtv.com/3d-tv/cameron-pace-group-wins-emmy-nominations-shows-3dtv-isnt-dead-yet/

CPG's 5D tech: http://good3dtv.com/3d-tv/james-caneron-vincent-pace-introduces-5d-tv-tech-claims-better-future-for-3d-tvs/

Oz and Others, Too Much Tech?

(James Franco attempting to steal your soul).

Oz topped the weekend box office results for the 2nd time in a row and of the reviews, the 3D is definitely in the forefront of conversations. In class we talk a lot about good 3D and how to effectively/ineffectively utilize the technology in our projects. The 3D Oz articles over the last few weeks seem to offer both good and bad aspects of 3D, to be debated, and I thought there were some interesting points.

This first article I found discussed the 3D technology of being too extreme and too digitized: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/03/oz-great-and-powerful-3d-hollywood/62920/

The article mainly discusses the digital aesthetic and calls to attention the animated world of The Hobbit in addition to Oz. The author largely pans the new direction 3D, alluding with Jurassic park quote, "In a blind pursuit to top what the other guy just did, they become only concerned with whether they can instead of whether they should." We've had a lot of discussions about the Hobbit's faster frame rate and grand CGI scenes (the troll scenes in particular), in addition to other films', and with 3D features like these currently trending, does it hurt the cinematic quality and experience that live sets and on location productions bring? It highlights an interesting view on how the industry is viewing and evolving 3D film. While I did not agree with a lot of what the writer notes, he definitely makes some good points.

In opposite views on Oz's 3D, there are articles specifically praising the lavish costuming which both critics and audiences say were greatly highlighted by the 3D. The depth of the movie was also apparently very extreme, but in a tolerable and efficient way.

Anyone see Oz over break?

Medicinal Stereoscopy

Hey All,

In stereoscopic news, 3D is becoming a part of microsurgery, and fast! A company called TrueVision has developed a 3D "Visualization and Guidance" platform for microsurgery. The technology was first used last fall on vision correction surgery and now is successfully being utilized for cataract eye surgery. By essentially creating a specialized rig utilizing microscopes, the company's technology allows for traditional surgical recordings to be broadcast in 3D in real time. Doctor's have applauded the technology since the 3D feature allows for an entire surgical staff or teaching unit to see critical depth and surgical details that normally only a single surgeon would be able see (over twice the depth of field). The 3D feed can be broadcasted to any number of 3D capable displays at any location.

While the technology is still very new, the company has noted that it's possible surgical uses within the fields of ophthalmology, neurosurgery, ENT and orthopedics are endless. An interesting use for 3D technology that can help save lives. The company notes that some Doctor's have installed displays in private waiting rooms for families to watch along, although I'm not quite sure I'm ready to stomach that showing.

For more information visit: http://www.truevisionsys.com/

The Worth of the Accessories.

In this blog I've brought up some accessories for cameras, monitors, glasses and other technologies which allow for 3D to be views better, or more often, or in a different way. This week I saw a new "viewer" called TOYin3D, a viewer which enables any smart phone to play 3d content by showing side by side video which it then pulls into a singular, stereoscopic image. The technology is cool in that it is another way for the masses to view 3d content and enables on the go 3D viewing, but is it viable? Among all of the new technologies and accessories out there for this purpose which I've stumbled across, I've noticed that they all seem to share this common problem. Who would use such a thing? Does it have a real place in the marketplace? 

I've read so many articles over the past few months about 3D television (and essentially post box office 3D films), being a dying art. That until the technology is easier or more widespread, it'll never be in the fore front. Last Sunday, six Oscar's were awarded to 3D movies (with categories including Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects), more so than ever before. The art form is at arguably its greatest place to date and I have to think that all of these articles are further from the truth. And then I see TOYin3D. Maybe the disconnection is in the accessories. Recently, 3D viewing accessories and toys has been popping up all over the place. They seem to be often marketed under the notion that 3D offers a better or cooler version of the entertainment, but in a way I often interpret as gimmicky or juvenile. I've still YET to see Life of Pi, but everyone I talk to who has seen it speaks so highly of the film, in ways far from juvenile and gimmicky. Obviously it is unfair to compare two completely different mediums, but since both live within stereoscopy, the question is: Do small 3D gimmicks hurt the big picture?

http://www.toyin3d.com/

3D Truck Stop Ads!

Hey All!

Apologies on the late post, I've had a crazy week already and it's only Tuesday! This week I wanted to share an article I found on a new 3D ad campaign and a bit of technology I which I don't fully understand but I'm hoping Chris can clarify tomorrow.

I'm studying digital marketing and new media techniques as a part of my graduate program and recently have noticed 3D being utilized more and more into advertisements and marketing campaigns. The key to advertising is engagement and 3D media is so engaging that advertisers have been searching for better ways to integrate 3D technology in to ads for years. The problem is 3D's Achilles heel, the glasses. It's just not realistic to think that one day everyone will carry around a pair of glasses for the purpose of looking at billboards. Recently however, developments allowing for glasses free, 3D viewing, have seemed to change the game. I've brought up some of this technology in previous blog posts and while exciting, it's still years away from widespread development. This week, I stumbled upon an article which discusses Warner Bros. involvement with Travel Plaza TV network in marketing their upcoming 3D movies with 3D trailers. The network (which broadcasts in travel stops such as Flying J and Pilot, nationwide) has developed a way to show the trailers in 3D, glasses free! They designed a way to include an extra layer within the screen which they describe as essentially putting the glasses on the TV. The article uses a picture diagram to demonstrate this effect, but I'm still quite unsure exactly how it works. Either way, the development is exciting and the ads will be launching in the beginning of March. So, the next time you're on a roadie and make a stop, be on the look out for some 3D advertisements!

The full article can be read here: http://www.dtvusaforum.com/news/back-to-the-future-style-3d-advertising-without-glasses-warner-bros-is-on-board-51519/

Nightmare in 3D!

Hey All,

Over the weekend I shot Reverse Window and had my first taste directing a 3D project. It was a great experience and manipulating the disparity throughout the shoot allowed me to get a better feel on how to utilize depth appropriately, while following the 1/30 rule.

This week, I wanted to share some stereograph art from Joel Fletcher. Fletcher is a photographer and stop motion animator who worked on many different hollywood projects in his career, of the most famous, The Nightmare Before Christmas. While on set, he took many photos of the sets and characters  using a stereo rig on Kodachrome slidefilm. He later digitized and transformed many into anaglyph format which resulted in some awesome Jack Skellington nightmare pics.

What I found most notable of his efforts though is the amount of depth he was able to capture and include. Many of the pics have household locations and also choose interesting elements to highlight (checkout the parallax within the mirror). Hopefully, some of the pics will provide some inspiration in the weeks to come!

More of Joel Fletcher's Anaglyph 3D Nightmare Before Christmas pictures can be seen here: http://www.joelfletcher.com/3d-nightmare.html 

Tech Dose: 3D w/One Camera?

This week while researching for my blog post topic, I found a great website on 3D technology and development: http://www.stereoscopynews.com/.

It is there where I found a posting for a single lens capable of producing 3D images. Made by Samsung, the lens is the first of it's type and uses liquid crystal "doors" to split the lens and alternately block light from one and the other. By interlacing the images from both perspectives together, a 3D image is produced. The lens will be interchangeable in the brand's compact system camera (csc). I'm not sure of the specifications yet or how adjustable the settings will be but it'll be interesting to watch and see how this technology develops. Whether or not it becomes a viable alternative from traditional 3D shooting methods will be the question.

The full article can be seen here: http://www.stereoscopynews.com/hotnews/3d-cinema/shooting-cameras-rigs/2884-samsung-first-single-lens-3d-camera.html

Life of Pi Editor: Tim Squyers

Hey All,

I have yet to see Life of Pi, but a friend of mine did and she was recently telling me how great it looked and how it really turned her impression of 3D in film. I had heard about the movie but did not know much of the story line and after some online browsing, came across an interview with the editor, Tim Squyres. It was his first attempt editing a 3D movie and he has been nominated for an Academy Award for his work. In the article, he discusses some of his thought processes and how his approach differed from editing a 2D film. Although the scopes of our projects differ, many of us will be approaching the editing process from the some place as Tim Squyres did, “first timers."

From the article, I found few things to possibly think about when starting our own 3D editing processes.

·       Squyres edited everything in 3D and exclaims in the interview "We figured if we just worked in 3D, we wouldn’t have to intellectualize that [what it will look like]. We could just respond to what we were seeing." 

·       All the editing was done on a large screen so that he did not have to imagine the extent of the 3D the audience will experience.

·       His thoughts on utilizing 3D for immersion in storytelling.

The full interview can be seen here: http://www.screendaily.com/reports/interviews/editor-tim-squyres-cuts-down-3d-tigers-on-life-of-pi/5051090.article

3D's Achilles Heel?

I visited a friend over the holidays who had recently bought a new 3D television. There were six people and five pairs of glasses. While having extra pairs on hand is key, the glasses are an obvious barrier between the consumer and the 3D content. At home, I recently noticed that my roommate's cellphone has two lenses and takes 3D pictures. Like the camera's we used in our first class, the screen didn't require glasses to view the content. I mentioned it and we started back and forth on the limitations of only being able to view and share 3D media with similar devices and the lack of these type of devices in the marketplace.

I was further reading up on this year's CES after last week's post and came across a 60" glasses-free 3D TV that Philips demoed. While high resolution televisions (4K and above) were the main focus, Philips think that their product is the answer to 3D TVs slow to date popularity rise with consumers. To them the glasses are more like goggles and are the technology's "Achilles heel." Their television's picture (at 4K) can be viewed from many different positions within the room.

On the smaller scale, I also read about a proposed 8" android tablet by NEO3DO which can display content "glasses free." Its developers, David Briggs and David Spriggs, announced its production this week. They think that the tablet will help secure 3D content's success on portable devices. Spriggs, in a youtube interview, said "The amazing part of this product is that it frees users to shoot and capture video in the field, to display it in the field, to be free of the television and free of the glasses that have been a hindrance to the roll out of traditional 3D." This changes the game in terms of producing and shooting 3D content.

Whether or not the glasses are in fact 3d content's "Achilles heel" is debatable, regardless, the ability to view 3D content "glasses free" will be key in the medium's continued success. Maybe the department will purchase the tablet for the rig once it launhces...

Philip’s Glasses-Free 3D TV

NEO3DO’s Glasses-Free 3D Tablet

Three Dimensional Transparency

This is the first post of a string of blog articles which will discuss 3D technology, more specifically of the media variety (although 3D printers are the coolest new thing. I'll include a link with more info at the end). If there are particular stereoscopic interests that as a reader you would like more information on, bring it to my attention and I'll see what I can find. I'll do my best to post a variety of 3D interest areas, but there might be some slight favoritism towards 3D for marketing/advertising purposes as well as towards new technology which incorporates 3D content (as is the case with today's article).

I recently stumbled upon an article about a new 3D television which was presented at the 2013 CES, or consumer electronic show. The 3D television offers a transparent display. Viewers can essentially see through the television when off or when on and displaying 3D content. I wondered how this would effect how audiences viewed the content. This technology seemed like a novelty to me at first, but then I thought about heads up displays and how that can involve 3D technology. If you aren't aware, heads up displays allow viewers to see data on transparent glass. The technology is currently being incorporated into paned glass, car/airplane windshields and windows.

These new ways of presenting digital 3D images, in an augmented reality setting, expands the possibilities for 3D content. It begs the question: Will we start seeing 3D content, in narrative form, interact with real world dimension?

3D Transparant TV: http://www.gizmag.com/hisense-transparent-3d-tv/25712/pictures#4

3D Heads Up Display: http://www.gizmag.com/tre3dnavsystem/20278/picture/145690/

3D Printer (Check it out!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aghzpO_UZE