Conversion firm In-Three will relocate to DD’s Florida headquarters

Digital Domain Holdings, the parent company of visual effects studio Digital Domain, has acquired 3D conversion company In-Three.

In-Three becomes a sister company of Digital Domain, and will move its production facilities from Thousand Oaks, Calif. to Port St. Lucie, Fla., where Digital Domain Holdings, has its HQ. Move is expected within weeks.

A small team from In-Three will shift to Los Angeles, where it will work on business development and work with clients.

Digital Domain will get access to In-Three’s conversion technology, which it dubbed “dimensionalization.”

“Pretty much all the movies we’re working on have a stereo aspect,” Digital Domain CEO Cliff Plumer told Variety, “Our preference still is shooting in stereo, if you can. But a lot of films are still shot flat and the post schedules are getting much tighter, which forces visual effects companies and stereo companies to work together.”

Both Plumer and In-Three CEO Neil Feldman cited the concept of “digital production,” including both visual effects and 3D conversion, as a central to the union of the two companies.

“It’s a no-brainer to us to want to be affiliated with a high-end vfx expert company so we can pool our resources and do something beyond what’s been done before,” said Feldman. “We’ve seen low-end conversions, and that’s not what we want to do. We’re trying to maintain the highest quality.”

In-Three will remain a separate company and will continue to convert library titles or current pics even when Digital Domain is not involved.

By DAVID S. COHEN

source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118027734

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Digital Domain acquires film company, workers to locate in Port St. Lucie

Digital Domain Holdings announced Thursday the company completed the acquisition of In-Three Inc. in a move that will expand the types of business the company will do in Port St. Lucie.

In-Three converts traditional two dimensional films and flat images into three dimensional, or 3D, stereo imagery. In-Three did 3D stereo work on Tim Burton’s 2010 film Alice in Wonderland. The first employees could begin operating in Port St. Lucie in the next three weeks, Digital Domain Holdings Chairman John Textor said.

“With the kind of films that are coming into the market and the world’s interest in 3D stereoscopic films, this is a really important space to be in if you’re already a film-making company, a visual effects company,” Textor said. “When you combine their technology with the strengths of a visual effects company then you really have an incredible solution to making sure these films look as good as possible.”

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Textor said he would not make new projections for jobs created by the company, which has an agreement to hire 500 people by 2014 with an average salary of $65,000.

Digital Domain received nearly $70 million worth of state and local incentives. The company announced last week that 100 hires have been made and the company is ahead of schedule for hiring. Textor, however, said the new business will require workers.

“We require more than 500 employees in a mature animation feature films studio,” Textor said. “We’re still doing that. We’re still building that. That’s still our business model. Now, in addition to that, we’re entering by way of this acquisition the 3D stereoscopic production business, which is itself a several hundred employee opportunity.”

California-based In-Three has about 70 employees, but plans to expand to several hundred with the new partnership, In-Three Chief Executive Officer Neil Feldman said. The company will maintain a presence in California, but the bulk of production will be done in Port St. Lucie, he said.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for us,” Feldman said. “It allows us to expand substantially.”

Textor said all of the employees in California have been offered jobs in Florida to remain with In-Three. But Textor said most of the jobs will come from the local market.

“The intention is to acquire this company such that it will become a fast-growing Florida company,” Textor said.

Digital Domain has worked to create a name within the community on top of its plans to build a 130,000-square-foot studio in Tradition. The company bought naming rights for the home of the New York Mets’ spring training facility and has temporary space at Tradition Station and in the Kight Center for Emerging Technologies at Indian River State College.

The company also plans to build the Digital Domain Institute in West Palm Beach. The four-year program in advanced digital media will be supported by Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts.

The company hired 50 from a tech job fair held last month, and some of those will end up working with In-Three, Textor said. The fair drew thousands of job seekers.

Digital Domain is in the midst of seeking commercial space to house the newly acquired company. Textor said the company is considering several options of 50,000 square feet or more. The company is seeking spaces in both eastern and western Port St. Lucie.

“We’re very close,” Textor said. “I wish I could say it is secure, but it’s very close. We’re looking at some move-in ready options.”

By Eric Pfahler

source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-digital-domain-psl-111910,0,7235531.story

As part of an ongoing scheme to bring together American and British technological developments, the American Embassy hosted a seminar this morning on the intersections of 3D technology and education. The event showcased the educational applications for the Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology created by Texas Instruments.

While DLP technology is more commonly associated with ordinary classroom projectors, Texas Instruments have adapted their technology to make 3D-ready projectors. A pilot programme is running in 7 European countries, including the UK, to see how pupils and teachers adapt to the new technology. Kathryn Macaulay, Deputy Head at the Abbey School, Reading, spoke about her school’s experience with the 3D projectors.

The 3D projectors were introduced to the Abbey School as a supplement to regular lesson plans. Ms Macaulay stressed that teachers used 3D material for only 5-10 minutes during a regular lesson before switching back to more traditional teaching materials. This technique, she argued, allowed pupils to form a stronger understanding of a concept without usurping the role of teacher or text.

Eager to measure the effectiveness of 3D, teachers at the Abbey School devised an experiment to compare classroom performance with and without the technology. Two classrooms were given identical lessons on plant cells: the same books, pictures, and words were used to teach. The only difference was that one group saw a 3D representation of a plant cell for a few minutes, and the other did not.

When given identical sets of materials and instructed to make a model of a plant cell, the group that did not see the 3D image made flat representations. The 3D pupils, on the other hand, all built 3D models of a cell that demonstrated how the various cell parts work and fit together. It was a striking example of how well the technology can help pupils grasp complicated concepts quickly and dynamically.

One of the most interesting points raised by Ms Macaulay was the reported ease with which the teachers adapted to the new equipment. The 3D-ready projectors are extremely similar to standard classroom models, and switch easily between both 2D and 3D projection. As long as computers are compatible with the hardware, the process of switching from standard to 3D projection is remarkably simple.

There are, of course, potential hurdles to introducing 3D projectors on a large scale. 3D glasses that work with this technology are not like the flimsy specs handed out in cinemas; they need batteries or docking stations and cost around £50 a piece when bought in bulk. As for the lessons themselves, 3D software for teachers is still in its early stages. While several developers have taken to focusing on educational software, there has not yet been an explosion of classroom-ready material.

The seminar concluded with a demonstration of a 3D projector, and the potential applications of the technology were immediately made evident. The solar system, anatomy lessons, and complex molecules all jump to life with this engaging and interactive technology. While affordability and software availability constitute concerns for schools considering this step, it is certainly clear that emerging technologies will have an enormous impact on classroom activities.

On 25 January, the ISC Strategy for ICT Conference will feature discussions about emerging technologies in education and provide the opportunity for delegates to interact with the latest equipment. Spaces are limited, so book up online orcontact the events team with any queries.

Written by Kristen DiLemmo

source: http://blog.isc.co.uk/2010/11/18/dynamic-learning-3d-technologies/