Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/19885
Stereo3D Howie found himself part of “a very col- laborative team” on the picture . “I lik ed being more involved, sharing ideas and con- cepts with the rest of the crew — w e’re all still lear ning 3D ,” although DP Glen MacPherson, ASC,“knew the rigs and the process,” Howie says. “We had a short turnaround. I was edit- ing and fine-cutting shots — 300 to 400 of them — to turn over to the VFX company ing stereo 3D “are worried they’ll do every- thing wrong. It seems that there is a lot of second-guessing.” His advice: “Hire a good stereographer and simplify the post process.” Steele tries to assuage the apprehensions of newcomers to stereo 3D by explaining that “3D post can be a very straightforward process if you have the right stereo machine on the back end.We have a Quantel Pablo. It has wider bandwidth, can handle up to cially with motion. Shooting parallel allows you to re-converge dynamically in post with- out worrying about keystoning.” A Quantel house for the last 20 years, Steele Studios invested in its Pablo primarily to meet the needs of a div erse range of clients producing music videos, commercials and feature films.“We wanted a machine that could do everything: compositing, color correction, titling, rotoscoping, offline/online. Steele Studios provided 3D stereo post on Shakira’s Waka Waka and Lady Gaga’s Alejandro music videos. (Mr. X) while we were still shooting,” he ex- plains.“Because no lab had handled 3D in Toronto, the camera company, Pace HD, supplied an on-set lab in a trailer equipped with a Quantel Sid, Media Composer and large-screen 3D projection. Camera mater- ial went to the on-set lab; upon wrap we viewed the 3D projected dailies, then they were digitized practically around the clock so they were in my Avid the next day.” Howie “loved” having the lab on set. “It was probably slightly more expensive, but it was very useful and a real time saver to be able to see the dailies without traveling.” Deluxe Toronto conformed the original camera material, performed the DI color grade and mixed the sound. Even though the technology and work- flow is likely to have evolved and changed by the time he cuts his next stereo 3D feature, Howie believes he will still be able to apply his newly-acquired knowledge. “The next one may use different cameras and transfer in a diff erent fashion — and it probab ly won’t have an on-set lab,” he says. “But I’ve had the experience of working with a team that designed the w orkflow, that had to think on its feet. So I feel well equipped for the next 3D project.” LADY GAGA, SHAKIRA Jerry Steele, creative director/co-founder of Culv er City’ s Steele Studios (www . steelevfx.com), has found that those explor- 22 Post • November 2010 two streams of 4K at the same time, and of- fers all the tools you need for regular online, compositing and finishing. So it makes 3D post really easy.” Using a Sony HDCAM SR-5800, which records left and right eyes simultaneously to a single tape , makes post “even more simplified,” he notes. “Eventually, stereo 3D will be so straightforward that no one will look at it as a separ ate type of production or post. Dual-camera acquisition will disap- pear with the emergence of bi-ocular camer as, which are already in the prosumer market. I expect to see a lot more professional-quality bi-ocular acquisition at the next NAB.” The “gray areas” right now seem to be whether to shoot parallel or converged and how to manipulate the convergence on the back end. “The big technological requirement for 3D is the whole area of convergence,” says Steele. “People who shoot converged need a stereographer on set who can su- pervise convergence, and a good camera tech who knows how to make modifications and adjustments shot to shot. Some people shoot both: They like to use converged footage for close-ups and parallel footage for wider and more dramatic shots, espe- www.postmagazine.com That’s what Pablo had going for it — it cov- ers the spectrum,” says Steele. When the stereo 3D option for Pablo became avail- able, Steele was an early adopter. “It’s a real game-changer,” he declares. Steele notes that sometimes clients con- sidering stereo 3D production want to cover their bases with a 2D version as well. But he warns that creating a 2D version “is not as simple as just picking an ey e” and editing left- or right-eye footage, especially if The doc God and Physics was shot by Origin using a P+S Technik Freestyle 3D stereo rig. They edited in FCP with CineForm Neo3D. composites are in volved. “If you’re doing multi-level compositing from the back to the foreground, especially if there’s a close-up focus on the action, you can end up being off one eye or the other. So you have to do more work in post.” Over the summer, Steele studios per- formed 3D post for Shakira’s Waka Waka