News Stories

The Nightmare Before Christmas Blu-ray 3D Review with D-BOX

9.10.2011

[The HD Room]

…

3D Presentation

The successful 3D conversion and remastering of The Nightmare Before Christmas back in 2006 was the first full feature-film shot in 2D to be converted entirely to 3D. Unlike today’s 3D post-production conversions that studios throw together in short time, Disney but their best foot forward on this trial run which, in many ways, trumps the rushed modern 3D conversions.

The best way to describe the 3D effect of The Nightmare Before Christmas on Blu-ray 3D is to call it “subtle.” There’s depth and dimensionality to the picture, but the viewing planes aren’t as separated as you’d find in an animated film created specifically for 3D. When Jack is flying his Santa sled the effect is more evident with cloud layering, yet other scenes on the ground are so subtle you forget there’s 3D at all.

One scene in particular during the closing song did make me jump, though, a first for the Blu-ray 3D format. I couldn’t help but chuckle considering the film wasn’t created for 3D and yet it was the first to really catch me off guard.  …

D-BOX Motion Code
Two scenes in The Nightmare Before Christmas are anticipated to be active with D-BOX movement: the fly-by opening sequence through Halloweentown with Jack’s introduction song and Jack’s brief stint in “Sandy Claws'” sleigh. As expected they are ripe with perfectly synched movement to accompany the on-screen camera and sleigh maneuvers.

Aside from a thump here or a scare there, the rest of the film is relatively calm in terms of movement and action on-screen. This left D-BOX engineers a challenge to insert as much appropriate Motion Code as possible without mudding up the presentation with force movement.

What they did is something I want to see more of in the future: designing the Motion Code to play along with the score. The bass in Elfman’s score is reverberated through D-BOX with precise pitch based on the tune and key. This more subtle use of D-BOX scattered between the more obvious flying sequences balances the experience by cutting down what would have been overly long stints of no D-BOX motion into more acceptable outages.  …

Read the full review here: http://www.thehdroom.com/news/The-Nightmare-Before-Christmas-Blu-ray-3D-Review-with-D-BOX/3417

< PREVIOUS ARTICLES NEXT ARTICLES >

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.

Oops, something went wrong.