News Stories

Thirty $58,000 RED EPIC-M Cameras to be used to Shoot The Hobbit 3D

3.14.2011

[By: Chris Maugham, Product Reviews . net]

The news that Peter Jackson would begin shooting his two film adaptation of The Hobbit this year, with the technology the RED EPIC-M cameras feature, first came from an article written back in November last year.

The director was reported to have snapped up thirty of the machine, each costing $58,000. If you’re not familiar with the RED EPIC-M happen to have a spare $60,000 to do a bit of directing yourself, you would be getting a pack of four 128GB SSDs that fit into the solid state storage module provided, a charger, four-pack batteries, a REDmote, 5” touchscreen LCD Bomb EVF with a titanium PL mount.

The camera has a 5000 resolution and is capable of shooting 96fps. A video of what it is capable of can be viewed at Vimeo by clicking here. Although these state of the art cameras will not be available to the general public until April time the first 5,000 models were hand assembled and full assembly lines have begun.

You can read more details about the RED EPIC-M being used for the shooting of The Hobbit atREDuser.net where Jim Jannard explains that the relative lightweight of these cameras makes them perfect for 3D shooting as dual mounting is needed. You can also check out the video below for a closer look at these machines.

See the original post here: http://www.product-reviews.net/2011/03/14/thirty-58000-red-epic-m-cameras-to-be-used-to-shoot-the-hobbit-3d/

 

Resource: 3D content and channel lists

3.11.2011

Prof Andrew Wood at Curtin University of Technology, Australia, moderates a crowd-sourced 3D resource collection incuding;

The illustrated 3D Movie List here: http://www.3dmovielist.com/list.html

The Illustrated 3D Blu-ray and 3D DVD List here: http://www.3dmovielist.com/3ddvds.html

And other 3D product lists here: http://www.3dmovielist.com/index.html

 

Box Office Mojo maintains a list of upcoming 3D releases and historic box-office figures (combined 2D and 3D revenue, no separate 3D figures) here:  http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=3d.htm

 

ESPN maintains a list of upcoming 3D sports broadcasts here: http://espn.go.com/3d/schedule.html

 

NVIDIA lists 3D games that are designed to utilize their 3D Vision technology (primarily PC-based games) here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-3d-games.html

Wikipedia maintains a crowd-sourced list of 3D games for the PS3 here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_3D_PlayStation_3_games

Nintendo maintains a list of 3D games for the 3DS here: http://www.nintendo.com/3ds/games/ , while Wikipedia has a more expansive crowd-sourced list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_3DS_games

 

Quantel’s report on 3D channels worldwide, published on Jan. 24, 2011, can be found here: http://blog.quantel.eu/2011/01/3d-channels-and-content-worldwide/

compiled by Philip Lelyveld

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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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