News Stories

Red partners with 3ality Digital to educate the 3-D industry

[by Michael Grotticelli, Broadcast Engineering]

Some of the biggest movie productions, like Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit,” are shooting in 3-D with dual EPIC 4K cameras on 3ality Digital camera rigs.

3ality Digital, based in Burbank, CA, has entered into a partnership with Red Digital Cinema, makers of the Epic 4K digital cinematography camera, to collaborate on new technology and help educate the industry on the proper techniques of stereoscopic acquisition and post production.

As part of the initiative, the companies jointly hosted the recently completed REDucation sessions at RED Studios in Hollywood.

The companies said the goal is to train professional and aspiring filmmakers on how to create clear and pristine 3-D images using the same equipment as elite Hollywood directors like Jackson and Bryan Singer.

Red’s Ted Schilowitz said the two companies have been working together for the past few years behind the scenes.  “Now is the right time to take that relationship to the next level and integrate education components for the community,” he said.

As the “primary stereoscopic 3-D partner” for Red, 3ality Digital lent its technology, currently being used in feature films such as “The Amazing Spiderman” and “Jack the Giant Killer,” to REDucation’s three-day introductory session May 24-26, as well as during the advanced classes May 27-28.  The REDucation Open House included a screening of stereoscopic 3-D content produced with 3ality Digital technology.  Attendees also experienced special presentations from RED including the latest “Tattoo” Epic Reel shown in 4K.

“S3D is here to stay, and choosing partners at the forefront of the technology that really grasp what true, high-resolution cinema and S3D are all about is essential for business and for the community,” said Steve Schklair, CEO of 3ality Digital. “Educating filmmakers and getting Red and 3ality Digital technology in their hands at events like REDucation is a crucial step toward accelerating and facilitating S3D content production and ultimately consumer adoption.”

The ongoing partnership will also include collaboration at the Camp RED youth summer program Aug. 1-19, where the new partners will provide young filmmakers with training in S3D production.  Students ages nine to 15 will shoot their own S3D films at RED Studios Hollywood during the weeklong day camp sessions, including an exclusive, behind-the-scenes trip to 3ality Digital Studios.

See the original post here: http://blog.broadcastengineering.com/3-D/2011/06/06/red-partners-with-3ality-digital-to-educate-the-3-d-industry/

User Issues in Stereoscopic 3D Displays – a free SID webinar

SID is offering a free webinar – “User Issues in Stereoscopic 3D Displays”. It will take place on Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM (noon) Pacific Daylight Time. The presented is Dr. Martin Banks, a vision scientist at Visual Space Perception Laboratory at UC Berkeley.

Dr. Banks will discuss the use of stereoscopic 3D displays in industry and impact on the user. In addition, he will discuss technical criteria relevant to effect use of stereoscopic 3D displays.

In this Webinar you will learn:

  • A variety of user issues.
  • The temporal protocols used in stereo 3D and how they affect perceived flicker, motion artifacts, and depth distortions
  • Head roll, vertical eye movements, and visual discomfort
  • Visual-vestibular conflict and nausea
  • Vergence-accommodation conflict
  • Vergence: the inward or outward turning movement of the eyes in convergence or divergence;
  • Accommodation: the focusing of the eyes to make the image on the retinas sharp.
  • Vergence and accommodation in natural viewing; coupling
  • Vergence and accommodation in stereo displays
  • Optometric measures of discomfort
  • Evidence that vergence-accommodation conflict with stereo displays causes discomfort: blurry vision, tired eyes, and headache
  • The effect of viewing distance
  • The effect of the direction of the conflict (content in front of the screen or behind?)
  • Maintaining comfort in different viewing situations
  • Relating these findings to current practice

You’ll be able to view the webinar here (on June 16). http://connect.livewebcast.net/sid/

See this original story here: http://www.3d-display-info.com/user-issues-stereoscopic-3d-displays-free-sid-webinar?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+3d-display-info+%283D-Display-Info%3A+3D+TVs%2C+monitors+and+displays+information+and+news%29

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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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