News Stories

Sarila: animated 3-D look at the Inuit

6.3.2011

[BY JAY STONE, POSTMEDIA NEWS]

Christopher Plummer, Geneviève Bujold and Rachelle Lefevre head the cast of voice actors for Sarila, a new Canadian animated movie set among the Inuit people of the Arctic.

Sarila is being promoted as the first feature-length stereoscopic animated film created in Canada. Stereoscopic 3-D refers to a method of creating 3-D film by using two 2-D images.

Directed by Nancy Florence Savard and due out in 2012, Sarila was written by children’s author Roger Harvey and Pierre Tremblay, an expert in Inuit culture. The producers say it uses authentic settings and indigenous mythology, including Inuit legends.

“Sarila invites the use of stereo 3-D,” Savard said in a news release. “The characters travel across the tundra, through snowstorms, and meet strange, semi-mythical characters along the way. The immersive quality of the stereo 3-D draws the audience into their odyssey.”

Modus FX, a Montreal-based visual effects and animation company, has a team of 85 artists on the project. Sarila has a total of 35 talking characters, including people and animals. The voice tracks were recorded by the cast earlier this year.

See the original post here: http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Animated+look+Inuit/4879213/story.html

3D = Light+Light+Light

6.3.2011

[by StereoscopyNews]

All stereographers known that to shoot in 3D, you need a (very) bright set. Sometimes, the power suppy is not strong enough to answer the DOP needs. That is why Photon Beard introduces its new revolutionary light source based on a new RF-activated plasma technology. With a20,000 hours life and 14,000 Lumens output for a power drain of 273 Watts, it is equivalent to a Tungsten Fresnel lasting 1,000 hours and draining 2,000 Watts.

Expect lots of those new LEP (Light Emitting Plasma) lamps on 3D sets around the world soon! The lamp got already several awards. Visit PhotoBeard to learn more about LEP lighting.

See the original post here: http://stereoscopynews.com/hotnews/hotnews-1/hotnews-2/1595-3d-lightlightlight.html

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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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