[by Kevin Jagernauth, blogs.indiewire.com]

While Douglas Trumbull will go down in the history books as the visual effects legend who worked on such films as “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Blade Runner” and “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” (and yes, Terrence Malick‘s upcoming “The Tree Of Life”) he’s also directed a handful of feature films, perhaps most infamously of all, 1983’s “Brainstorm” which become known as the last film Natalie Wood was making before she died. Now, nearly three decades later, Trumbull is ready to mount another feature and he’s going to throwing as much new technology at it as possible.

During the Digital Cinema Summit at the NAB Show over the weekend, Trumbull announced his new movie will not only be in 3D, it will be shot at higher frame rates of 48 or 60 fps instead of the current 24. The idea is to give an even greater sense of realism to the images on screen and it’s been said it makes motion heavy sequences appear even more lifelike on the big screen.

If this all sounds familiar that’s because it’s the new trumpet James Cameron has been recently blowing, announcing his “Avatar” sequels will be going down the same path. “Higher frame rates create a sense of realism,” Trumbull said. “We are now at a time when we can have any film texture we want. But it’s not an either/or situation.”

Of course, it says something of the nature of moviemaking these days that there are no details on what the screenplay—which is not yet complete—involves, Trumbull will utilize his patent pending process that he’s developed ShowScan Digital to shoot the film. He’s already shot a test video for musicianDana Fuchs that is in post-production. But 3D seems to be the wave of the future like it or not, and at least filmmakers are trying to find a way to utilize is new ways. Describing Martin Scorsese‘s forthcoming “Hugo Cabret,” VFX supervisor Rob Legato said the director is “altering the use of 3D so that instead of a being an obvious, in-your-face visual effect, the viewer is experiencing a sensation of depth. Sometimes that sensation replaces dialogue. You don’t necessarily need to describe a scene in words if you can feel it, and if you can feel it, it’s usually a more powerful moment than anything else.”

And as much as we truly hate wearing those glasses, we can’t help but be a little excited when we read descriptions like that. No word yet on when Trumbull will get his movie rolling, but “Hugo Cabret” hits on November 23rd. [THR]

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[By Adrian Pennington, www.streamingmedia.com]

Stereo 3D is becoming almost mundane in its ubiquity with virtually every company of note in the video space touting product which is capable of acquiring, recording, managing, manipulating, delivering or viewing 3D in some fashion. Sony and Panasonic showed off their new 3D camcorders a the National Association of Broadcasters show here on Sunday.

Cost remains the biggest impediment to production and Sony and Panasonic, both of whom have vested interests in 3DTV channels (3Net and DirecTV’s n3D) and a strategy to sell more 3D displays to consumers, are preparing to ship new inexpensive – and uncomplex – camcorders aimed at putting 3D production in the hands of any professional.

Indeed, by the year end both companies will have professional shoulder-mounted and semi-pro handheld integrated 3D camcorders on the market.

Panasonic’s handheld version (the AG-3DA1) is already out and will be joined in the fall with a second integrated 3D camcorder, this time with a larger imager recording to Panasonic’s memory card format P2. This unit, the AG-3DP1, is intended for use in live productions, sports, independent films and documentaries.

Panasonic claims this shoulder-mounted camera can record 80 minutes of stereo in 10 bit AVC intra to twin 64Gb P2 cards. It contains two 1/3”, 2.2 3MOS sensors. By contrast its predecessor contained 2.7 megapixel chips and records to SD cards.

Panasonic’s shoulder mount will vie for market attention with Sony’s version, which is due out at around the same time. First shown in prototype last September, the PMW-TD300 3D camcorder features a twin optical lens equipped with three ½-type CMOS sensors.

Also shipping this summer from Sony is a compact 3D XDCAM camcorder intended for videographers, events and corporate videos. The HXR-NX3D1 incorporates two ¼-type CMOS sensors, twin 10x zoom lenses and an internal flash memory of 96GB to enable around 7.5 hours of 3D recording.

Panasonic said its 3DA1was finding favour as a training tool at film schools and sports facilities, including at Florida State for college football.

An eye-catching use of the camcorder will be aboard the final mission of NASA’s shuttle Atlantis this June, during which astronauts will use it to document the International Space Station and experiments in orbit.

At CES earlier this year Sony, Panasonic, and JVC all announced consumer-friendly still imaging and digital video stereo cameras as they seek to create a groundswell of interest and even user generated content in the 3D format. The cameras announced at NAB are a step up in terms of professional ergonomics and imaging quality. Nonetheless there are many critics of such single-bodied twin lens cameras who argue that the fixed interaxial distance between the lenses hampers 3D capture of events, particularly when capturing close ups.

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