News Stories

Sony and Can Communicate Confirm 3 Year Wimbledon 3D Partnership

5.22.2011

[by PR Web]

The 125th anniversary of the Wimbledon Championships will mark the first time the world’s most famous tennis tournament has been broadcast live in high definition 3D; CAN will be responsible for the broadcast of four matches – the men’s semi-finals, the women’s final and the men’s final.

Working closely with SONY and BBC Sport, CAN will use the same 3D workflow that was successfully deployed at the 2010 FIFA World CupTM. With 5 camera positions per match, each position will comprise 2x SONY HDC-P1 cameras with Canon lenses fed into a SONY HD fiber adapter mounted onto Element Technica rigs and configured with SONY MPE-200 processors for convergence and interocular alignment.

The 3D signals generated from the 5 camera positions will be fed to a dedicated 3D outside broadcast facility supplied by our partner, NEP Visions. Pictures will be processed using a complete SONY 3D broadcast solution and encoded for 3D TV broadcast and 3D cinema audiences.

CAN will draw on its extensive experience of filming major sporting events in 3D, which includes the 2010 FIFA World CupTM in South Africa and the 2010 Roland Garros, French Tennis Open. CAN boasts an unrivaled 3D pedigree that also includes the first ever live 3D TV broadcast of an international sporting event, 2008 Six Nations Rugby ‘Calcutta Cup’ and other 3D productions including; Reebok Amir Khan launch, Ferrari F1, Virgin F1, Usain Bolt street race in Manchester, German Bundesliga and French football Ligue 1.

CAN’s Creative Director, Duncan Humphreys said of the 3 year appointment: “we are very proud to be working with Sony again as the production company for the 3D TV broadcast coverage of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. The all England Tennis Club and Sony are leaders in their field and deliver the highest level of quality – so it was crucial for them to work with a 3D production partner who could deliver to their standards. We will be working with OB supplier, NEP Visions, using the state of the art ‘Gemini’ 1 & 2 trucks and the latest versions of the Sony MPE-200 3D image processor, including the quality control software to deliver a seamless 3D HD transmission of the tennis finals. Although Wimbledon in 3D presents a major challenge, I’m confident that the collective expertise and passion of all those involved will ensure great results from this landmark tournament.”

About Can Communicate

CAN Communicate (CAN) is a leading producer of 3D HD content. With 5 years of experience and investment in 3D filming and post production, CAN has emerged as one of Europe’s leading producers of Stereoscopic 3D content.

CAN’s work has included a number of firsts, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ 3D broadcasts, the longest continuous live 3D broadcast in Europe at the 2010 Roland Garros French Open Tennis Championships, and the first live 3D transmission in Russia of a prestigious gala event at the renowned Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. In 2010 CAN co-produced 7 hours of 3D programming for Channel 4’s ‘3D Season’ which included; ‘The Queen in 3D’, ‘Derren Brown’s 3D Magic Spectacular’ and ‘T4 Live’. Demand for 3D programming is far outstripping supply and this looks set to continue. CAN provide 3D expertise, creative solutions and technical innovation to produce 3D content of the highest quality.

No One Wants 3D TV

5.22.2011

[By Campbell Simpson, PC-World-Australia]

Technology analyst Ovum has released a report on the state of 3D TV programming around the world, saying that broadcasters are uninterested in investing in the expertise and technology required to create 3D programming. This means the amount of 3D programming on TV in some parts of the world is unlikely to increase in 2011.

A media release explaining the The State of 3D (Strategic Focus) report, which looks at investment in and future prospects for 3D programming, says that broadcast industry executives rated the launch of 3D channels and production of 3D content as their lowest strategic priority. Over half of all executives said producing 3D programming was “not an important business consideration.” Respondents from the Asia-Pacific region rated the importance of creating 3D programming slightly higher than those in North America and Europe, but feedback was still negative.

Ovum analyst Tim Renowden, the report’s author, said that there was no uniform approach to 3D broadcasting in the region — Australian 3D programming is restricted to special events, while Japanese TV has an on-demand, pay-per-view model for its Hikari TV IPTV service. Renowden commented that uptake of 3D programming will not spike in the foreseeable future: “Given the lack of enthusiasm for investing in 3D content production and delivery expressed by broadcasters, this situation is unlikely to change rapidly.”

In Australia, coverage is likely to be restricted to special sporting events like the State of Origin football matches and NRL grand final.

“This ambivalence towards investment in 3D content production and creation of 3D channels, leaves a big hole in the availability of 3D content, and tells us that the lack of 3D programming we have seen during 2010 is unlikely to improve in 2011.” The ACMA is only allowing 3D TV broadcasts in Australia on a case-by-case basis until the end of 2011.

See the original post here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/228291/no_one_wants_3d_tv.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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