News Stories

Lion King 3D; Beauty 3D Blu 2011

Disney is quietly converting “The Lion King” to 3D and readying a double-barrel blitz of the 3D version of “Beauty and the Beast” in theaters and on Blu-ray next year, according to a knowledgeable source.

Even though the studio has delayed the theatrical release of the 3D version of “Beauty and the Beast” by at least a year, the conversion has been completed on the project for a little while now. Twenty minutes of converted scenes were exhibited publicly a year ago at the D23 Expo, which received a very strong reception. The movie was slated for theatrical release on Feb. 12 but shortly after the underwhelming theatrical re-release of a 3D double-feature of “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2″ last fall, the studio pulled “Beauty and the Beast” from the theatrical schedule.

Meanwhile, the first Blu-ray edition of “Beauty and the Beast” was announced for Oct. 5, but no 3D version there either. (The studio has been a little unpredictable with its 3D Blu-ray strategy — announcing a 3D Blu-ray version of “A Christmas Carol” for Nov. 16 but no 3D version of “Toy Story 3″ with the Nov. 2 Blu-ray of that title and no 3D versions of any of Disney’s other 3D titles from “Chicken Little” and “Nightmare Before Christmas” to “Bolt” or “Up.”)

The unofficial word from the studio about the theatrical delay was that Disney wanted to rerelease it during the movie’s 20th anniversary year in 2011. Insiders say that worked out conveniently to give the non-3D Blu-ray release this fall enough of a sales window before the movie came out in theaters next year, which will then set up a holiday 2011 release of the 3D Blu-ray version of the movie. It’s not unlike Fox’s even tighter windowing of “Avatar,” first on Blu-ray April 22 and then a theatrical rerelease in late August to be followed by an as yet unannounced “Avatar” special edition Blu-ray in November (and a quiet 3D Blu-ray release on Dec. 1 exclusively with purchase of Panasonic equipment) and an eventual retail release of the “Avatar” 3D Blu-ray in 2011.

Meanwhile, it’s encouraging to hear that Disney still feels strongly enough about 3D and converting its library titles that it has set to work on the studio’s modern-day masterpiece, “The Lion King.”

by Scott Hettrick

Aug 31, 2010

link to original post at Hollywood in Hi Def . com

International 3D Society Announces 3D Technology Century Award Winners

The International 3D Society announced today that IMAX, RealD and Texas Instruments DLP Cinema will each be honored with a Century Award for their historical achievement at the Stereoscopic 3D Technology Awards scheduled for October 19, 2010 at 7pm at the Mann’s Chinese Theatre.

The Century Award is the highest honor bestowed by the membership of the International 3D Society and a blue ribbon panel of stereoscopic experts. Three companies will be recognized for their historical achievement in Stereoscopic 3D over the past thirty years. IMAX is being honored for its “Solido Systems” technology, RealD for its “Cinema System” digital 3D projection technology and Texas Instruments for its “DLP Cinema” technology.

“IMAX Solido was an important stepping stone in the evolution of IMAX 3D technology. It introduced millions of moviegoers to IMAX 3D and we’re honored to be recognized with this award as we continue to break new ground in 3D cinema with our current digital projection system,” stated Brian Bonnick, IMAX’s Executive Vice President, Technology.

“The RealD Cinema System introduced today’s digital 3D revolution by blending cutting-edge 3D science with a new breed of digital cinema projection to solve the issues inherent to film-based 3D of old,” said Joseph Peixoto, President of Worldwide Cinema at RealD.

” Who would have thought that our 3D technology invention that started in our lab would now be enabling a major part of digital cinema 3D worldwide,” said Dave Duncan, business manager for Texas Instruments, DLP Cinema Products. “We are very proud to receive this award and are committed to furthering 3D from the theater to the home and now the classroom for interactive learning.”

The black-tie Stereoscopic 3D Technology Awards ceremony will recognize technological achievement across the stereoscopic medium.

“These Century Awards will record for history the technologies, organizations and individuals responsible for 3D’s extraordinary journey,” added Jim Chabin, President of the International 3D Society.

Buzz Hays, Society Chair and Executive Stereoscopic 3D Producer for the Sony 3D Technology Center, Sony Corporation of America, noted, “The field of stereoscopic 3D has progressed dramatically in the past decade and continues to evolve daily as more and more talented individuals get involved and identify new needs and opportunities. 3D technologies continue to advance, it is important to recognize the achievements of the visionaries who created the tools to empower the artists who, together, will propel our medium forward.”

The International 3D Society is a professional community dedicated to advancing the arts and technologies of Stereoscopic 3D. The 3D Technology Awards Show will feature MasterImage3D passive glasses and technology and NEC projectors and equipment.

XpanD and Panasonic are Platinum Sponsors, NEC Display Solutions is a Gold Sponsor and Nvidia and Quantel are Silver Sponsors of the 3D Technology Awards Show. International 3D Society sponsors include Signature Sponsor XpanD and Founding Sponsors MasterImage 3D, Panasonic Hollywood Lab, The Walt Disney Studios, DreamWorks Animation (DWA), Dolby and IMAX and Member Sponsors Discovery Communications, Autodesk and DirecTV.

link to original post from Business Wire

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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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