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

Spring 2013 Class Update

The next incarnation of the 3D production class at IU is coming up in the Spring 2013 semester and this will be the biggest class yet.  We apply lessons learned from the previous classes (we've taught this course three times already) to keep on improving the 3D learning and production values.

Spring 2013 will see the class enrollment increased to 16 students (up from 12) and an addition of two more projects for a total of eight short productions over the course of the semester.  I think we have the calendar figured out so that productions 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B will wrap just before Spring Break, we'll then continue with 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B after returning from break.

We will, as usual, have a great screening of the final cuts at the world class IU Cinema sometime toward the end of the semester.

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/