News Stories

IE Effects 3D conversion for Harry Potter

8.5.2011

[Excerpts]

I.E. Effects (Los Angeles, CA, USA) contributed to the complex Harry Potter postproduction task, providing 2D-to-3D stereo conversion for several key sequences, including some in the film’s opening scenes. A team of over 50 I.E. Effectsartists worked together for over six months to perfect the stereoscopic 3D effect, making frame-by-frame adjustments.  …

The process starts off with rotoscoping – manually cutting elements out of the image and then assigning them depth values to make different parts of the picture seem closer or farther away. These depth values allow the artists to reposition each element for the right and the left eyes. Once in place, the missing details for the left and right eye images need to be ‘painted in’ frame by frame.  …

The tools: For rotoscoping and reassembling the images, the team at I.E. Effects usesThe Foundry’s Nuke compositing system along with a set of in-house proprietary software tools that drive the workflow and link the company’s two locations. “We use automation to expedite the steps in the process, but this kind of work always comes down to the artist’s eye and a lot of patience.”  …

Read the full story here: http://stereoscopynews.com/hotnews/3d-technology/2d-to-3d-conversion/1752-ie-effects-3d-conversion-for-harry-potter.html

Read a related story here: http://www.btlnews.com/crafts/post-production/i-e-effects-delivers-stereo-conversion-for-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-2/

EON Reality Launches EON Creator 4.0

8.4.2011

[Press Release]

EON Reality, the world’s leading interactive 3D software provider, today released EON Creator 4.0, the easy to use 3D authoring software that is now seamlessly integrated with EON Experience Portal, a cloud based interactive 3D library. With the new EON Creator 4.0 users can instantly select from thousands of 3D models to configure, customize, publish high-quality interactive 3D content and view it in 3D stereoscopic mode. Download EON Creator and watch the Getting Started video.

“Finding, customizing and publishing cloud based interactive 3D content has never been easier. With EON Creator anyone can in minutes build and share rich media 3D virtual Scenes,” said Jan Kjällström, Global Product Manager at EON Reality.

With EON Creator 4.0 users can create unique 3D Scenes using high quality interactive 3D content from the EON Experience Portal. The Portal contains thousands of models and scenes that a user can access directly from inside the EON Creator tool. Once the content is downloaded into EON Creator users can add contextual knowledge to any of the 3D objects in the Scene.

Multi-media files such as video, presentations, PDF, Wikipedia, whiteboard and audio, can be integrated instantly through a wizard. Once completed, the user can share the newly built 3D Scene with a click of a button.

“The EON Creator and EON Experience products are defining an entirely new category of 3D rich media platform,” said Dan Lejerskar, EON Reality’s Chairman. “By combining 3D simulations, video, audio, avatars and web content in one game like virtual reality experience users understand faster, remember longer and can decide better.”

See the original post here: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/eon-reality-launches-eon-creator-40-1545117.htm

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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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