Peelable Polarized Lenses

I can’t take credit for the subject matter of this post, a good friend of mine in the Graduate Telecommunications program passed along this article from gizmodo.com about “peelable polarized lenses turn any specs into 3D glasses” to me, which tries to address people like myself who already wear prescription glasses.¹ This new product is a set of polarized decals designed by Yanko Design that applies on the lenses of prescription glasses so that one may “enjoy 3D film without getting bothered with big heavy extra 3D glasses.”² I applaud the innovation and I am grateful that a designer is trying to deal with the issues that 3D glasses present for the populous who wears prescription glasses.

However, I am admittedly skeptical as to how well that these stick on polarized lenses will work and without being able to sample this product, I am more than likely going to remain skeptical. My concerns would be issues like would these stickers leave a residue, are they reusable, will there be any warping in the 3D effect as the lenses are an application or do they apply in such a way that there is no noticeable difference between polarized glasses and these applications? In short although I’m in favor of someone developing a way around the need for the vision impaired to have to wear two sets of glasses to view 3D, the verdict for me is still out as to whether this product is the solution.

This has made me think that it may be possible for someone to develop 3D passive contact lens for vision impaired individuals and at the very least, it has made me think of new possibilities.

Well, those are my stereographic thoughts for the week, until next week.

Russell McGee

¹ A. Liszewski, Peelable Polarized Lenses Turn Any Specs Into 3D Glasses, WWW Document, http://gizmodo.com/5902341/peelable-polarized-lenses-turn-any-specs-into-3d-glasses

² R. Seth, Sticker 3D Vision, WWW Document, http://www.yankodesign.com/2012/04/16/sticker-3d-vision/

Unintentional 3D Lon Chaney Phantom

Following on my Hunchback post from a few weeks ago, I have some very exciting news to share! When I presented the Hunchback stereographs, Chris Eller (my 3D instructor) mentioned that not only had Lon Chaney’s 1925 classic “Phantom of the Opera” been promoted with stereographs but that the film had been unintentionally filmed in 3D.

“What," you say?!?! I know, I couldn’t believe it either but the truth was that I already knew the facts that made this unintentional marvel possible. You see back in the nineteen twenties, it was standard practice to shoot films with two cameras, side by side, to create a domestic and international release print of the film. The studios of the time did this to cut down on the wear on the master duplication print so although their intention was not to make a 3D print of these films that is exactly what they did!

Now after hearing about the possibility of a 3D Phantom, I got very excited and started combing the net for Phantom stereographs but I was astonished to find that a stereographer in Florida, Carl Hernz, had in fact restored and reconstructed both camera eyes to Lon Chaney’s Phantom and that the film will be premiering later in 2012. This completely blew my little monster kid mind so I quickly contacted Chris and Jon Vickers, the director of IU Cinema, and made them aware of this 3D film. The result was that Jon was interested in the possibility of screening the film.

Awesome! I then contacted Carl Hernz in Florida, who was very amiable and also excited at the prospect of Indiana University screening “Le Fantôme de l'Opéra” in 3D at IU Cinema. At this time, we are in negotiations to screen the film in October so fingers crossed classic monster fans because it looks like IU Cinema may be screening Lon Chaney’s “Phantom of the Opera” in 3D!!

Carl has also kindly agreed to an interview and I will continue to keep you posted as this project progresses! In the meantime, check out Carl’s website on the project:

http://www.carmichael3d.com/poto3d.html

I am also providing you with a link to the trailer of the Phantom in 3D to whet your appetite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGYsCPFtat4&feature=relmfu

Enjoy!

Russell McGee

James Cameron and the Third Dimension

It could easily be argued that we are now in the 3D age and it is difficult not to speak of James Cameron and 3D in the same breath as, “James Cameron is the biggest advocate for 3D working in Hollywood today.”¹ James Cameron, the same innovative director that dazzled audiences in 1997 with the blockbuster “Titanic” and pushed the technical limits of special effects in such classic films from the ‘80s as “Terminator”, “Terminator 2”, and “Aliens”. He is yet again leading the way by ushering the world into a new age of 3D following on the success of Avatar, “which ranks as the highest-grossing film with a worldwide box office take of $2.8 billion.”²

“Tired of waiting for technology to catch up, he co-developed a new generation of stereoscopic cameras…” with Emmy Award-winning director of photography, Vince Pace.³ After the success of “Avatar” the Cameron Pace Group set out to improve the quality of 3D by offering, “the Cameron | Pace name to productions that use the company's technologies. Like THX before it, it's set to become a symbol to consumers that the 3D in the movie they are about to watch is the best it possibly can be.”¹ “That certification allows a studio to promote the quality of its films to investors and potential distributors, said Lyndsay Harding, chief financial officer of Evergreen Films, the first studio to be CPG certified.”²

By offering a certification, Cameron is also helping to create the standardization of 3D, where at the moment there is none. The issue of this lack of 3D standardization is that when 3D is used as a gimmick or to crank out poor 3D conversions of 2D films then 3D as a cinematic storytelling tool is left with a black eye in the opinion of consumers that do not know the difference between good and bad 3D. There have been many bad quickie 3D conversions that have been made to cash in quickly on 3D without consideration of the long term consequences on the reputation of 3D as an emerging storytelling tool.

James Cameron recently spoke about the conversion process for “Titanic”, “and why post-converting 3D is one of the toughest things he's ever had to do...”.¹ Cameron said that the “Titanic” conversion took a year because the process needed to take that much time. “I said I'm not doing it in less than a year,” part of his rationale for taking his time on the conversion was to make sure that, “Leonardo DiCaprio's face wasn’t flat in any particular shot. Quickie conversions handle that poorly. But when it's done right,” he said, “it's gorgeous.”⁴ He went on to add that handling the 3D conversion process well could mean that “those legacy library titles that we love, whether they are 'Jaws,' 'Star Wars,' name your favorite film, can and should be done -- but they have to be done right and the filmmakers have to be involved.”⁴

When Cameron was asked about how he felt that he could improve the 3D process for "Avatar 2", he expressed an interest in shooting the film at a frame rate of 45 to 60 frames per second and that he wanted to focus on the light levels that a projector throws on the screen because he saw these two areas as greater obstacles to overcome to ensure the future of 3D film-making over the further advancement of the camera equipment that captures the film. “People talk about feeling sick or something like that, and I think it’s because the image is strobing,” postulated Cameron.⁵ “That’s a function of the 24 frame frame rate, which has actually got nothing to do with 3D. It’s just made more apparent because the 3D is otherwise such an enhanced, realistic image, that all of a sudden you’re aware of this funky strobing which you weren’t aware of.”⁵

The next few years will be crucial in the development of 3D and anyone with an interest in 3D would be wise to keep an eye on the innovations that James Cameron institutes as we embrace this new reinvention of a cinematic storytelling art-form.

Russell McGee

¹ M. Chacksfield, James Cameron on 3D: the TechRadar interview, WWW Document, http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/james-cameron-on-3d-the-techradar-interview-1023538

²Bollywood, James Cameron, Hollywood's 3D entrepreneur, WWW Document, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1208038/Avatar-How-James-Camerons-3D-film-change-face-cinema-forever.html

³E. Wrenn, Avatar: How James Cameron's 3D film could change the face of cinema forever, WWW Document, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1208038/Avatar-How-James-Camerons-3D-film-change-face-cinema-forever.html

⁴J. Weinstein, James Cameron on 3D, "Titanic" and all things "Avatar", WWW Document, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/22/us-jamescameron-3dmovies-idUSTRE78L0HS20110922

⁵T. Gilchrist, James Cameron Explains Why the 3D Experience Will Be Better On ‘Avatar 2’, WWW Document, http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/01/31/james-cameron-explains-why-the-3d-experience-will-be-better-on-%E2%80%98avatar-2%E2%80%99/

Twenty “Hunchback of Notre Dame” Stereographs

Let me start by stating that I am a “monster kid”, a term that many of you may not be aware of but this is the name that has been coined for fans of the golden age of horror films; classics like Lugosi’s Dracula or Lon Chaney Jr.’s Wolfman so it may be easy to understand why I have an interest in Lon Chaney’s 1923 silent classic “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”.  The thing that continues to amaze me is the fact that when you feel that you are aware of just about every factoid that there is to know on any given film some new cool treasure in unearthed from the past.  One such treasure was unveiled to me in 2006, when a rare original 1924 multi-tinted print was released on DVD.  

 “Chaney's breakthrough silent epic The Hunchback of Notre Dame now exists only in 16mm prints, and mostly in a digest version. David Shepard, owner of the Blackhawk Films library, has been producing fine restorations of near-lost films under his Film Preservation Associates banner. Image and Blackhawk's Ultimate Edition DVD of The Hunchback of Notre Dame is said to be from an original 1924 print that David Shepard acquired [and it is] the best-looking version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame yet. We are told that this copy has original main titles from 1923, as opposed to the 1928 reissue credits on the previous release.”¹

Now you may be asking what this has to do with 3D?  Well, like my blog title suggests another treasure that was released on this Ultimate Edition was a set of twenty rare promotional Stereographs that Universal Studios issued upon the films 1923 release.  I had up until this time never been aware of the fact that Universal had issued these promotional Stereographs and it leaves me wondering what other stereo treasures from the golden age of Hollywood may still exist?  Were these promotional Stereographs standard practice of the time?  I may only hope that more such stereo treasures will continue to be discovered with the resurgence of interest in stereography today.

I hope that you have enjoyed viewing some of these rare Stereographs and that you appreciate them as much as I have…well, that is all for the week but look forward to an exploration of James Cameron’s contributions to 3D in the coming week.

Cheers-

Russell McGee 

¹ G. Erickson, The Hunchback of Notre Dame Ultimate Edition, WWW Document, http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s2452hunc.html

The Civil War in 3D

Did you know that stereographs were photographed as early as the American Civil War? 

It’s true and “David Richardson is on a mission to restore 500 stereoscopic images taken during the Civil War.” ¹ David explains that there were several cameras modified during the Civil War to make stereographs from, “the wet plate camera that was standard in the period…” to the, “the studio camera.  A very common image of the day was a Cartes de visite (or CDV) –  This was a French term for a visiting card, that was commonly left was a calling card when someone paid a visit (like business cards today).  Since the image was small, photographers found that they could squeeze a lot of images on a single plate by having special camera rigs built with 4, 8 or even 9 lenses.  Photographers where already taking one side of the stereo image and selling it as 2D prints so they knew it would be possible to use these multi lens camera’s to create stereo cards. ”¹

David has been painstakingly collecting and restoring these stereographs “about 2200” from the Library of Congress on-line collection and “about 800” from the National Archives.²  You too may own a piece of 3D history by heading over to David’s website where you may purchase copies of his restorations:  

http://www.civilwarin3d.com

Well, I hope you found this stereoscopic stroll through history interesting and here’s a hint at what I plan to speak about next week; he was known as the man of a thousand faces and he too was in 3D!  More on that next week and as always, please, feel free to leave me your comments.

Cheers-

Russell McGee

¹ J. Schnitzer, The Civil War in 3D – PART 2, WWW Document, http://thebrainfactory3dblog.com/the-civil-war-in-3d-part-2/

² J. Schnitzer, The Civil War in 3D – PART 1, WWW Document, http://thebrainfactory3dblog.com/the-civil-war-in-3d-part-1/

The Birds (3D)

I was fortunate enough to visit Universal Studios in Florida during the 1990s and tour the “Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies” attraction on more than one occasion. One of the main features of this attraction was a screening of “The Birds (3D)” and it was truly the stuff of nightmares. Now when I first started to write this post, I was relying on a faulty recollection as I remembered the 3D sequence in the attraction to have been from the actual film but upon screening a Youtube recording of the attraction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgX48jX3gPA), it became clear that “The Birds (3D)” was only a 3D special sequence that was made for the attraction. This realization was truly a pity because it would have been fantastic if Hitchcock had filmed “The Birds” in 3D as he did with “Dial M for Murder”.

I did a little digging on-line and was able to determine that a company named 3-D Image Tek Corporation, which, “was founded in 1988 by Craig Crawford and Steve Hines…”¹ consulted on the Universal Studio's Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" (3D). It is unclear as to whether they actually were the company hired to create the 3D sequence but their website is worth a look. However, back to “The Birds 3D” which sadly is no longer as the “Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies” attraction closed in 2003 and was replaced by “Shrek 4D”. I wish I were able to visit the attraction again but to give you another glimpse of some of the fantastic behind the scenes experiences that were part of the attraction, here is a press video from the ‘90s that breaks down how the shower sequence in “Psycho” was shot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hk17-0VnZM&feature=related&noredirect=1).

I hope you enjoyed this stroll down my 3D memory lane, I only wish that the video quality of “The Birds (3D)" was higher so that you may appreciate what a unique 3D experience it was.

Until next time, cheers-

Russell McGee

¹  3-D ImageTek Corporation, Company Overview, WWW Document, http://www.3dimagetek.com/overview.htm

3D without the glasses at Microsoft TechFest

A demonstration of 3D technology that projects a three-dimensional image in front of a viewer without the person having to wear special glasses. The live image is seen to the left here, and the 3D projection is shown to the right.

Nintendo 3DS was the first step in the progress towards 3D without glasses but this year at Microsoft TechFest another type of 3D without glasses was demonstrated. 

“The technology works by figuring out where you’re sitting using a Microsoft Kinect camera, then guessing approximately where your right and left eyes are, and flashing images quickly on the screen targeted at each eye, which creates a 3D image in your brain.”

The first question that leaps to my mind is how accurate will this new technology be able to approximate where a person’s right and left are?  If this technology is capable of a high accuracy we may be able to say goodbye to cumbersome glasses.  However, if the accuracy of the new technology isn’t what it should be, I could see the technology causing problems of retinal disparity which could give 3D another black eye (pun intended) due to the issues that the general public have with bad 3D.

In conclusion, if this new technology creates an accurate representation of 3D than it will be a major breakthrough but if the technology creates poor quality 3D than it could further hurt the credibility of 3D as a form of entertainment.

Well, those are my thoughts for the week.  I hope you find them useful and as always, I do appreciate your feedback; hint, hint.

Cheers-

Russell McGee

¹ E. Parkhurst, 3D without the glasses, and more innovation at Microsoft TechFest, WWW Document, http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2012/03/creating-a-3-d-image-in-your-brain--.html

3D in Advertising

James Stewart of Geneva Film Co. filming in 3D.

Okay, so this week’s blog entry is a little late but given I am in the middle of directing my first 3D production after line-producing another, I am sure one can understand that I am spread a bit thin.  Add to that the fact that we aren’t currently covering anything in the readings and I was left scratching my head.  I had hoped that “Hugo” would take best picture then I would have been able to talk about the first 3D best picture but alas that was not the case.  Oh Hollywood, I love and loathe thee at times.

Anyway, I have been fumbling around for an idea for this blog entry, when I stumbled upon this article about 3D Advertising written by James Stewart of Geneva Film Co., which is an area of 3D that we have not covered in class.  In fact, like most things in 3D it is only a burgeoning sector of the entertainment industry and it makes sense why little is known about it because let’s face it; at this time, most people don’t understand 3D as of yet.  

James Stewart of Geneva Film Co. says that, “Today, only a few dozen or so 3D commercials currently exist. Out of this batch my company, Geneva Film Co., has produced a good share including cinema 3D spots for Lexus and Sprint. So what gives? What is the hesitation among smaller agencies? Whether speaking at TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) or Cannes Lions, I have come to understand that most marketers and agency creatives simply need more information. Once the costs are outlined, an explanation of how 3D actually works is provided, and the storytelling potential revealed, most ad people soon begin to envisage 3D as well within the realm of possibility, and real excitement takes hold.”¹

As we have stated in class, Mr. Stewart pointed out that when you shoot in 3D one is capable of producing a product in 2D and 3D which will enable a wider ad campaign release as the consumers’ transition into 3D.  M. Stewart added, “As far as cost, for live-action 3D production, my estimate is 10 to 25 percent above shooting a typical spot in 2D (or a ‘flattie’). For bigger-budget campaigns, 3D will cost less because you have already invested in higher production value. […] 

Lastly, 3D in advertising yields eye-popping returns in memory retention with audiences exhibiting 92% total recall of an ad. 68% of that number shows a higher likelihood of following through with a purchase of the product advertised – a significant increase over the same commercial in 2D. In studies from multiple independent sources, including ESPN, Xpand and Texas Instruments, the data shows an average increase in viewer retention of 15%. For a nominal increase in production costs, you get a 15% – 20% increase in ad recall. Who doesn’t want that?”¹

My take away here is that there will soon be more available jobs for students, who take the time to be trained in 3D as the demand for such technical experts will only continue to increase as consumers continue to invest in 3D TVs.

Well, those are my thoughts for the week; please, feel free to comment.

Cheers-

Russell McGee

¹ J. Stewart, 3D in Advertising – Bringing the Wow Factor to Campaigns, WWW Document, http://3droundabout.com/2012/02/6491/3d-in-advertising-bringing-the-wow-factor-to-campaigns.html

3D Production Design

Gavin Bocquet works with George Lucas.

Today I learned of a new job type in film, I have known for years about Art Direction but until today, I did not know what a Production Designer did in a film production.  I always assumed that it was the Art Director who had the final say when decisions were made about visual storytelling design that relates to coding characters by color, costumes, props, or locations but it is in fact, the Production Designer that has the final say in these matters.  Yes, all of these visual storytelling elements are part of Art Direction and each is invaluable in conveying and crafting story through visuals.

I sometimes take for granted my art background because using distressing to age props/costumes or color as visual metaphor like greens and yellow usually depict sickness or red rage, etc. are elements of visual storytelling that I have been taught and immersed in since I was three years old.  I absolutely love the use of art as a visual moving storytelling art-form and it was the dramatic arts that finally captured my interest as that art-form is the only art that combines all types of art (music, visual, and performance) in one evocative and collaborative process of storytelling.  I realize that there will always be new things to learn, such as the discovery of the Production Designer job type and I may only hope that I will continue to devour and implement new ideas until the day I die.

I digress but let me tie things back to visual storytelling as that is what this post is really about…we have learned that in 3D, “…warm colors or hues tend [to] appear closer, whereas cool hues tend to recede away from the viewer.”¹ In 3D this is yet another way that color may be used to define character and tell story.  As Production Designer Gavin Bocquet states, “Great Production Design is about helping to tell a story as best you can with the creative tools you have at your disposal…Everything is based on reference…We always strive to give the highest level of detail we can. Maybe the demands of HD and 3D put more pressure on us in those areas, but there is nothing wrong in being pushed!”²

In conclusion, whether like in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” where the Production Designer uses a location such as Berlin to show the character’s internal division or color in the costume design of “Three Women” to show how the characters evolve and take on characteristics of the other characters there are many visual cues to be used to convey story.

Well, those are my thoughts for 3D this week.  I hope you find them useful and as always, I look forward to your reflections.

Cheers-

Russell McGee

¹ T. Bernard, Art Lesson: The Principles of Good Design - Space, WWW Document, http://www.bluemoonwebdesign.com/art-lessons-8.asp

² T. Hogg, Constructive Concepts: A conversation with production designer Gavin Bocquet, WWW Document, http://flickeringmyth.blogspot.com/2012/02/constructive-concepts-conversation-with.html

Star Wars Fails to Realize Dimensionalization

I attended the Thursday night midnight screening of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 3D and I was greeted with the usual costume fare (there was a slave Prince Leia, Jedi with light sabers, and a Storm Trooper).  However, the theatre was nowhere near full to capacity as one would expect for a premiere.  When the weekend gross was in, what I witnessed was reflected in the overall gross of Star Wars’ opening weekend as the film came in fourth with a, “Weekend [of] $23M.”¹  A very sad display for what used to be a huge cash cow but not only does this reflect George Lucas’ neglect of his fan base but the fact was that I may as well have been watching a 2D film as there was hardly any depth added to the film.

Mind, I am in no way commenting on the quality of the storytelling as we all know what problems are inherent to this film; I am only commenting on the quality of the 3D.

I left the theatre asking myself, “Why even bother dimensionalizing the film?”  All of the depth was either at the neutral parallax or so shallow in the positive parallax that when I lifted my 3D glasses I could’ve basically watched the film without the glasses.  The vanishing points were crushed into a flat 2D background and there was only minimal dimensionalization of the foreground objects in the positive parallax.  Overall, I felt that the 3D was left severely wanting.  I’m not sure if Lucas was trying to play it safe since the films were originally shot in 2D and he was trying to minimize the stereo window violations or for some other logic that escapes me but in the end I left the theatre dissatisfied with my 3D viewing experience.

Well, those are my thoughts for the week…if you take my advice I would save my money for some other 3D film other than Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 3D because you could easily get the same experience at home with your Blu Ray or DVD.

Cheers-

Russell McGee

¹ N. Finke, RECORD-BREAKING WEEKEND! 4 Films Open $20+M: ‘The Vow’ $41M, ‘Safe House’ $39M; ‘Journey 2′ $27M, ‘Star Wars 3D’ $23M, WWW Document, http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/