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Hollywood bracing for a Christmas 3D logjam says DreamWorks chief

7.29.2010

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Movie studios may be seeing red this Christmas as they struggle to secure theaters that can show new 3D films in their multi-dimensional glory, DreamWorks Annimation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg told Wall Street analysts this afternoon.

“Right now there is a logjam,” Hollywood’s leading 3D evangelist said. And that will get worse as several potential blockbusters including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1, MegaMind, and Tron Legacy target holiday season moviegoers.

There are about 5,500 screens in the U.S. that can show 3D. Katzenberg expects that to rise to about 6,500 by year’s end.

What’s holding the business back? Manufacturers of 3D projectors and other equipment are “trying not to balloon out production,” he says.

Consumers, though, accept the idea of paying an additional $3.50 to see a movie in 3D, he says.

As for 3D television, “it will be a number of years before you see (sales) rates that are meaningful.” He predicts as many as 4 million TV sets capable of showing 3D programming will be sold over the holidays — with sports fans and gamers leading the way.

The big breakthrough will come when people won’t need to wear special glasses to see television in 3D. That’s anywhere from six to 10 years off, Katzenberg says.

By David Lieberman

PGA Golf Championship in 3D with Turner Sports

7.29.2010

Will air two days of PGA Championship in new format

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By Glen Dickson — Broadcasting & Cable, 7/28/2010 7:55:07 PM

Turner Sports, which aired its first 3D broadcast with the NASCAR Coke Zero on July 3, is following it up by teaming with The PGA of America to offer 3D coverage of the 92nd PGA Championship on Thursday, Aug. 12 and Friday, Aug. 13, from Whistling Straits golf course in Kohler, Wisc.

The stereoscopic 3D coverage, which will be carried by pay-TV operators Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, DirecTV and Time Warner Cable and also streamed on PGA.com, will focus on the par-3 12th and 17th holes at Whistling Straits from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET each day. The 3D coverage will be hosted by Vince Cellini, and 2002 PGA Champion Rich Beem will provide commentary and analysis.

While the Coke Zero 400 production used 3D rigs from 3ality Digital, the PGA production will use PACE 3D rigs supported by NEP’s new SS32 truck, which handled ESPN’s coverage of the MLB Home Run Derby and Fox’s coverage of the All-Star Game earlier this month.  PACE and NEP also collaborated on ESPN’s 3D production of The Masters golf tournament this spring.

Whistling Straits is a links course set alongside Lake Michigan, and the two par-3’s were selected for being particularly picturesque, says Tom Sahara, senior director of remote operations and IT for Turner Sports. The PGA production will use four 3D rigs on each hole, with two located near the tee box and two alongside the green. One camera near the tee will be placed behind the golfer to capture the traditional look toward the green, while the other will probably be placed low and to the side, to give the 3D viewer the effect of standing in the gallery.

“The idea here is to really bring across the experience of being there in the gallery and taking in everything around you,” says Sahara, who expects that the rolling mounds and pot bunkers typical to a links course like Whistling Straits should really stand out in 3D.

One of the other two cameras will likely be mounted near the back of the green, to give a low shot of balls approaching and landing on the green; that angle was particularly dynamic during The Masters coverage. The other will be mounted on a crane that will allow for lateral movement for the most effective 3D shots once golfers are on the green.

“You actually need to have a little bit of movement so can see how much space there is between things,” says Sahara. “You don’t get that sense in 2D, but in 3D you can really see that the ball is three feet towards the viewer from the hole, while in 2D it looks like it’s two inches away.”

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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