News Stories

Titanic and Star Wars are returning … in 3D

3.31.2011

[by Herald.ie]

Director James Cameron has revealed he is converting his blockbuster Titanic to 3D for release next year.

The movie, starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio, was one of the highest grossing films of all time.

All six Star Wars films are also in line for the 3D treatment as movie bosses ramp up the new format.

Done properly, 2D movies converted to 3D can look fantastic, Cameron said.

“We have our third generation now of kids who are under 12 years old who have never seen Star Wars on the big screen,” fellow director George Lucas added.

“And I am betting a lot of people will go see a movie that they have seen on television a million times and they have the video at home, and they will go and see it because they want to see it in the theatre in a social experience.”

 

CRAZE

Star Wars creator Lucas says 3D will eventually take over at the cinema in the way colour replaced black and white.

Lucas and fellow technology pioneers Cameron, the maker of Avatar, and DreamWorks boss Jeffrey Katzenberg pointed out that digital film-making was only in its infancy but would bring vast improvements to how movies were made and seen.

Digital technology in general was revolutionising film-making the way sound did in the 1920s, Lucas said. The new digital 3D craze had hits and misses, but should one day become the big-screen standard over 2D presentation, he added.

See the original story here: http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/film-cinema/titanic-and-star-wars-are-returning-in-3d-2602325.html

 

‘Cars 2’ Is First Disney Game to Go 3D on Sony PlayStation 3

3.30.2011

The title will also be available in 2D on PC/Mac, Wii, Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS beginning June 21 – three days before the film hits theaters.

[by John Gaudiosi. The Hollywood Reporter]

Disney Interactive Studios is the latest game publisher to support Sony’s PlayStation 3 stereoscopic 3D technology. Cars 2: The Video Game, which ships June 21, will be the first 3D PS3 game from the game maker. The title will also be available in 2D on PC/Mac, Wii, Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS.

“The advancement of 3D technology will allow us to immerse the player into the Cars 2 game environment in a whole new way,” says John Blackburn, vice president and general manager of Avalanche Software, developer of the new game.

Blackburn adds that the 3D effects will further engage players as they race through the single-player and multiplayer tracks and environments that are based on the June 24 Disney-Pixar computer-animated film.

In its console battle with Microsoft and Nintendo, Sony has been actively marketing its stereoscopic 3D gaming and Blu-ray 3D capabilities, which allows gamers to experience new Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases like Tangled in stereo 3D. With Cars 2 available across all platforms, Sony can cater to the growing number of gamers who are buying 3D TVs. Down the road, gamers will be able to play the Blu-ray 3D version of Cars 2 and also experience the game set in that universe in 3D.

Jay Ward, Cars franchise guardian at Pixar Animation Studios, says that Avalanche Software, which scored a critical and commercial hit with its Toy Story 3 game last year, has the technology, experience, and history in working with Pixar to create the best-looking Cars video game to date.

Blackburn and his team are working in close collaboration with Pixar artists to bring the humor and personality of the feature film to life. The new game will expand beyond the driving action of the new John Lasseter-directed 3D movie, allowing players to race alongside some of their favorite Cars characters like Lightning McQueen (voice by Owen Wilson), tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy), and  Ramone (voice of Cheech Marin).

Players can take control of 20 different Cars characters and train to become spies at the international spy training center, C.H.R.O.M.E. (Command Headquarters for Recon Operations and Motorized Espionage). Over the course of their training, players take on dangerous missions, compete to become the fastest race car in the world and use their spy skills in non-stop action packed combat racing and battle arenas.

Last year, Disney Online launched the free-to-play, browser-based World of Cars Online game. That game world has been expanding ever since and will feature new characters from the Cars 2movie. And for the first time, Disney is creating a bridge between the free online game and theCars 2 video games. Players will be able to gain rewards in the console video games and then use them to unlock new items in the World of Cars Online game.

This marks the second console game from Disney Interactive Studios based on the Pixar property. Cars Toon: Mater’s Tall Tales was released for Wii last year in tandem with the Blu-ray and DVD straight-to-video movie release. Previously, publisher THQ held the rights to Cars and released three games based on the film property: Cars: The Video Game, Cars Race O Rama, andCars: Mater-National.

Released in 2006, Disney-Pixar’s feature film Cars has become a leading boys’ franchise generating an impressive $2 billion in annual global retail sales for a total of $8 billion to date.

See the original post here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cars-2-is-first-disney-172892

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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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