News Stories

Walt Disney exec predicts end of 3D rigs

8.19.2011

[TVB Europe – excerpts]

… Disney’s Howard Lukk (pictured) argues for a hybrid approach to stereoscopic filmmaking which would supplement a 2D camera with smaller ‘witness’ cameras to pick up the 3D volumes, then apply algorithms at a visual effects house or a conversion company to create the 3D and free the filmmaker from cumbersome on-set equipment. …

“There are enough things for the DOP, director and camera operators to try to track on the set as it is, without having to track interaxial and convergence,” he said. “We are making it more complicated on the set, where I think it needs to be less complicated.”  …

“You can be less accurate on the front end. Adobe has been doing a lot of work in this area, where you can refocus the image after the event. You can apply this concept to high dynamic range and higher frame rates.”
Disney is currently researching this method at Disney Research in Zurich, Lukk added. In addition Lukk says that research is also being conducted at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. …

ATSC to Develop 3DTV Standards for Broadcast

8.15.2011

[Story from TV Technology . com ]

The Advanced Television Systems Committee has begun work on the development of 3D television transmission standards for both fixed and mobile device broadcast television service. The effort will be led by Dr. Youngkwon Lim, who represents the Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institute, which is based in Daejon, South Korea. It is estimated that this standards development work with take up to a year to complete.

“The addition of 3D-TV over-the-air TV broadcast transmission is part of our ongoing effort to expand the capabilities of the ATSC suite of digital television standards,” said Mark Richer, ATSC president. “The addition of 3DTV capability to the DTV broadcast standard will foster new broadcast services while preserving the integrity of legacy TV receivers by adopting a system that allows for simultaneous delivery of 2D HDTV, Mobile DTV, and 3D programs within the same channel while ensuring backwards compatibility.” 

The planned standard will address the delivery of 3D content to both off-air television receivers and mobile handheld devices, with both left- and right-eye views presented in real time. It would all provide for non-real-time delivery of 3D content. In June, the association released an interim report on its 3D standards work.

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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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