News Stories

3D better than 2D, says your brain

3.28.2011

[By Libby Plummer, www.pocket-lint.com]

[Excerpt]

People are 12 per cent more attentive when watching Blu-ray 3D compared to a conventional Blu-ray disc and 29 per cent more attentive when that same 3D experience is up against a plain old DVD. So says recent research commissioned by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The results of the study, which is good news for 3D evangelists, also showed that people are 7 per cent more engaged when watching Blu-rays in 3D as well.

But how were these results collected and just how believable are they? Pocket-lint was invited to take an exclusive peek at the testing procedure and also to take part. Read on to find out what happened.

The tests were carried by the Mindlab International team, based at the Sussex Innovation Centre in Brighton which is essentially an incubation home for tech companies. Mindlab is a neuromarketing company founded by company chairman, director of research and “father of neuromarketing” Dr David Lewis-Hodgson in the early 90s, under the slightly alarming title of StressWatch. Thankfully in 2005, the name was changed to the infinitely more friendly sounding MindLab.

….

“3D is a fully immsersive format, increasing engagement in viewers. The fact that subjects were witnessed as having increased eye movement and head movement is testament to this. The 3D technology draws attention to peripheral images on the screen and, coupled with Blu-ray quality definition, it is able to deliver footage that increases engagement and emotional response over all the formats”.

….

See the full story with many photos here: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/39209/3d-better-than-2d-says-bda-mindlab

RealD Surpasses 15,000 3D Cinema Screens

3.28.2011

[Press Release]

RealD Inc. (NYSE: RLD), a leading global licensor of 3D technologies, today announced that the company has surpassed 15,000 installations of its 3D Cinema System at motion picture theatres worldwide. The industry’s largest 3D cinema platform, installations as of March 25, 2011, include approximately 8,600 domestic (United States and Canada) RealD-enabled screens across approximately 2,300 locations and approximately 6,500 international RealD-enabled screens across approximately 2,150 locations. This represents a 182% increase in the company’s installed base in the last 12 months and a 33% increase during the quarter ending March 25, 2011. To-date, over 430 million moviegoers have experienced a feature film in RealD 3D.

“Just over five years ago, RealD introduced digital 3D on about 100 screens, and today we have over 15,000 installations including the top 15 exhibition groups in the world using RealD technology to power their 3D cinema experience,” said Michael V. Lewis, Chairman and CEO of RealD. “This summer’s film slate combined with our growing installation base gives us confidence that more moviegoers around the world will have a chance to experience these highly anticipated films in crisp, clear, fully immersive RealD 3D.”

The 2011 summer film season begins in May withThor (Paramount) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Disney), and will feature titles including Kung Fu Panda 2 (DreamWorks Animation),Green Lantern (Warner Bros.), Cars 2(Disney/PIXAR), Transformers: Dark of the Moon(Paramount), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Warner Bros.), Captain America: The First Avenger (Paramount), Smurfs in 3D (Sony Pictures), and more.

“We continue to see high demand from exhibitors worldwide with many moving toward equipping 40%-50% of their auditoriums with RealD 3D technology,” said Joseph Peixoto, President, Worldwide Cinema at RealD. “We’re especially pleased with our continued growth internationally where our 2,100 RealD installations during the last quarter increased our installed base of international screens by nearly 50% in the three-month period alone.”

See the original press release here: http://www.thestreet.com/story/11061427/1/reald-surpasses-15000-3d-cinema-screens.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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