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Trailer for Takashi Miike’s 3D Cannes Entry, ‘Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai’

4.30.2011

[BY: BRAD BREVET, Rope of Silicon . com]

This year two films will be presented in 3D at Cannes, one is Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, but the other, more fascinating film will be Takashi Miike’s Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (Ichimei), a remake of the 1962 feature directed by Masaki Kobayashi based on the novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi.

Today an international trailer for the Cannes competition title has arrived via the film’s official site.

The story is set during the 17th century and centers on Hanshiro (played by Ebizo Ichikawa), an honorable, poverty-stricken samurai seeking a noble end as he requests to commit ritual suicide at the House of Ii, run by headstrong Kageyu (played by Koji Yakusho). Trying to dismiss Hanshiro’s demand, Kageyu recounts the tragic story of a similar recent plea from young ronin Motome (played by Eita). Hanshiro is shocked by the horrifying details of Motome’s fate, but remains true to his decision to die with honor. At the moment of the hara-kiri, Hanshiro makes a last request to be assisted by Kageyu’s samurai, who are coincidentally absent. Suspicious and outraged, Kageyu demands an explanation. Hanshiro confesses his bond to Motome, and tells the bittersweet tale of their lives. Kageyu will soon realize that Hanshiro has set in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against his house.

This weekend Miike’s latest film, 13 Assassins, hit limited theaters. It’s said to be the most audience friendly of the director’s career and unfortunately I have not yet seen it yet, though I was considering making that my morning project. It still hasn’t screened here in Seattle and doesn’t arrive here until May 20, which at that time I will be in Cannes and will have missed it, so I will definitely have to check it out via On Demand before I leave for France next Monday. From what I’ve been told, it’s worth it.

As for Hara-Kiri, I won’t have to wait. I’ll be on hand in Cannes with my 3D glasses in Cannes’ Grand Theatre Lumière… It should be quite an event, and to give you a taste, here’s the international trailer.

See the original post here:  http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/trailer-takashi-miikes-3d-cannes-entry-hara-kiri-death-samurai

ESPN X Games 17 returns with more than double the 3D coverage, takes rally racing to the streets

4.30.2011

[By Richard Lawler, senior HD editor, engadget]

ESPN has released some of the broadcast details for Summer X Games 17, scheduled to occur between July 28th – 31st, and it’s increasing from eight hours of 3D coverage last year to a planned 18 hours this time around. Interestingly, the HD schedule has been shortened slightly from 31 hours to 25, but there’s still plenty of sports action to catch, including a new Enduro X motocross competition and a move to the streets of downtown Los Angeles for the Rally racing competitions. Check all the details currently available in the press release after the break, we’re going to go find and wash our Travis Pastrana jersey.

See the original post here:  http://hd.engadget.com/2011/04/29/espn-x-games-17-returns-with-more-than-double-the-3d-coverage-t/

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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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