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MillimeterStereo Hype
Feb 18, 2009 12:00 PM, By Trevor Boyer
Stereoscopic 3D is enjoying a renaissance in theaters, but what are its prospects for the rest of the video production market?
3ality Digital shot the Dec. 4 NFL game between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders in stereo for live 3D theater broadcast with eight split-block rigs of dual Sony HDC-1500 cameras.
But for now, most of the action — for Love as a freelance stereographer and for the industry in general — is at the high end. Starting next March with Monsters vs. Aliens, all of DreamWorks' animated features will be relased in theaters in 3D. James Cameron and Fox have begun production on a $220 million project that's expected to serve as a watershed for this current stereoscopic renaissance: Avatar, a live-action/animation hybrid that relies on motion capture. (This production is using Burbank-based Pace's Fusion 3D camera, which was developed by Vince Pace and his company's team in collaboration with Cameron himself.)
“Certainly there's been great excitement around the 3D releases so far, and we've seen an uptick in the 3D business with every movie,” says Bruce Long, president of S3D Studio. “But there's such anticipation [with Avatar] because it seems every time Jim Cameron makes a movie, it moves the bar.”
Long, who was CEO of Iconix until December 2008, has participated in the current S3D resurgence as a manufacturer and as a content producer. Recently, S3D has shot several stereo productions that aren't aimed at the cineplex, including a commercial for eMotion studios for the CES floor and a proof-of-concept demo involving three stereo Iconix rigs and two grappling mixed martial artists. “We're committed to working in 3D, but we're not naive enough to think that 3D will carry the day over the next 18 months,” Long says. “We believe it's going to take a little longer to deploy than we thought a year ago.”
For that reason, he says, S3D Studio and its associated but independent postproduction company Stereoscope are diversifying their business models to incorporate 2D productions as well, as the companies develop ways to make stereo productions easier and cheaper to do. The ultimate goal, according to Long, is to get 3D budgets in line with those of traditional 2D productions. “Then and only then will the financial support for distribution be able to make it over the hump,” he says.
On Dec. 4 in San Diego, 3ality produced the first NFL game to be broadcast live in 3D to invited crowds in RealD-equipped theaters in Hollywood, New York, and Boston.
A sporting chance
Whether or not Avatar starts a stereoscopic craze in the realm of dramatic films, there's likely to be another area that sees a surge in viewer interest and production: live sports. The NBA All-Star Game in February 2008 was the first live sporting event to be transmitted in S3D, though its reach was limited to a 500-capacity theater at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. To shoot the event, Pace employed five Fusion 3D HD cameras, based on stereoscopic pairs of Sony HDC-F950s.
Continue the discussion on Crosstalk the Millimeter Forum.