Post Magazine

December 2010

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COVER STORY [ cont. from 15 ] Preeg.“So they would do a take with Jeff Bridges wearing the helmet rig, acting with live people and Reardon would study those takes.We would re-shoot the scenes with the body double mimic- king how Jeff had just done that performance and then we would take the helmet-cam data from Jeff’s performance and put it on the body take version that he had mimicked. “You are going to see things that are CG that you will think are live ac- tion and things that are live action that you will think are CG,” adds Preeg. THE COLOR GRADING At press time, Tron: Legacy was being conformed and graded at LA’s LaserPacific on Autodesk Lustre.“What we got were 1920x1080 DPX files, as well as all the files and archives from the dailies,” says colorist David Cole. Even though Cole just started doing the digital intermediate in September, he’s been working on all the promo material — teasers, trailers, ComiCon releases — for two years, so the look development and intent had already been set. Cole is working closely with Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda on the grading and doing a 3D “convergence pass” using the Christie CP2000 XB and Real D Crystal Eyes 5, creating multiple digital and film versions of the movie and a 3D grade that is separate and unique from the 2D grade.“When you are doing 3D you are dealing a lot with luminance levels; when you get lower luminance saturation of color becomes less apparent so we were compensating for that.” During the convergence pass, Cole can actually “push the image in and out of the screen as required.” He says that part of his job is to “ease the load on the audience eyes — not just in terms of color and texture but also in the placement of the z-space.” [ cont. from 28 ] 3D STEREO SWOT era rental and VFX houses can now add new services for clients such as 2D-to-3D conversions, stereo rig rental, 3D training as well as fin- ishing, which could include DI, color and 3D DCPs (Digital Cinema Packages). Hardware and software manufactures can offer new tools to make the process more streamlined and quicker for acquiring and manipulating stereo images.” THREATS: “Rushed 3D is a big threat. We have seen the backlash with rushed projects like Clash of the Titans, which was a 2D-to-3D conversion done in roughly five weeks.The turnaround time for stereo projects does not happen as quickly as 2D projects: Everything is doubled.You need to have artists experienced enough in the processes to not only set up stereo pipelines but also to help train the other artists unfamiliar with stereo. “Looking at things from the consumer side, a lot of people are still not happy about wearing glasses for home viewing. 3D glasses for 3D TVs are not cheap and you cannot interchange them between 3D sets. Because of the race to get 3D con- tent to all types of screens there’s a lot of CAMERAS SWOT [ cont. from 32 ] to-edit systems that are more affordable than they have ever been before.” MICHAEL MANSOURI VP HD Camera Rentals www.hdcamerarentals.com Culver City,CA Known for offering full solutions from preproduction to post, HD Camera Rentals is a rental house and consul- tant whose credits include Iron Man 2 and 127 Hours, as well as the 3D features Formula One, Spiders 3D, Universal Soldier 3D, Jumbotron content for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the Red Bull 3D TV experience. STRENGTHS:“The strength of the digital formats is immediate response. Minimizing surprises is proba- bly the most valuable tool you can have shooting 2D or 3D.You can now have your lab on set so you can react quickly to any issues and give feedback to post a lot faster. And it’s much easier to do 3D when you see the effects happening while you’re shooting in- stead of waiting for conversions.” WEAKNESSES: “Film has been around for more than a hundred years, so by contrast digital formats are still new.There’s a lot we’re still trying to figure out, such as the risks of intangible media if they’re not properly backed up.With digital there isn’t the safety net of film, so it requires on-set discipline to eliminate potential problems and mistakes. After all, we’re deal- ing with zeros and ones that can easily get corrupted, damaged or lost.” OPPORTUNITIES: “By design, digital cameras can be smaller, faster and do things film can’t. And these tools are not just for the few anymore — they are available to more people.Those with 3D knowledge used to form a very closed network, and now a lot of folks understand the technology and use it.The more who embrace it, the faster it will take off.” THREATS: “The biggest threat to any format is bad content. If the content is not strong — if it’s gim- micky or driven by the technology — it doesn’t mat- ter what format you use.” OUTLOOK ON 2011: “We will see more digital technology and formats that embrace Avid and [Apple’s] Final Cut Pro in an integrated way. Manufac- turers are making cameras that impact all the way down the pipeline:They’re working out post issues at the same time as sensor issues. “We’ll continue to work with RAW and uncom- pressed RAW HD with a lot more bit depth and in- formation.We’ll also see formats that don’t require transcoding — as you shoot they become Quick- Time or Avid-ready formats.” NEW MEDIA SWOT [ cont. from 36 ] etize whole libraries of video, being able to monetize ancillary content that isn’t di- rectly related to the final edited version of your pro- ject is an opportunity.That could be a powerful in- strument for the Internet.The Internet offers the abil- ity to link between everything and anything. Having tools to leverage the power of the Internet creates new ways to monetize video and offer better value from a single video experience.” THREATS: “There is a learning curve for viewers watching an interactive video for the first time. Also there is a learning curve for those creating the expe- rience because they have to think in an unconven- tional, nonlinear way. Having people understand the possibilities offered by interactive video and interac- tive video software is going to be a challenge.As well, convincing post houses of the value of interactive video is definitely a threat to hyper market growth.” OUTLOOK ON 2011: “Online video and interac- tive video views will continue to rise. Big post houses will continue to be the force behind interactive video experiments. Soon enough, the market will either af- firm or deny the increased engagement rates that come with interactive video.This will determine how quickly interactive takes off in comparison to online video viewing. “Most people will realize there are easier solutions for creating interactive video experiences. Being able to offer this customizable experience, by creating your own version of the video Web is really where this mar- ket is headed in the next year. In part, this will manifest as lean interactive video post houses that focus on prosumers and user-generated content.” www.postmagazine.com December 2010 • Post 47 misinformation and inexperienced people trying to cash in on stereo work.” OUTLOOK ON 2011: “The next year for 3D looks very good. As new technol- ogy is made available for consumers and professionals the playing field starts to level out. Broadcasters will be airing live 3D events, studios will be releasing even more feature films, and directors will be looking to 3D as another tool to tell their stories. By this time next year it will be hard to not buy an HDTV that doesn’t come with some kind of stereoscopic 3D feature. “I think education will be key in inform- ing producers, agencies, directors and stu- dents alike about the benefits and pitfalls of stereo 3D.The demand is already here for content; this, in turn, will drive produc- tion. Everything from iPhones to PlaySta- tions already have 3D features to play back stereoscopic content.Tools like The Foundry’s Nuke with Ocula plug-in, Cine- form’s Neo3D, SGO’s Mistika, Iridas [soft- ware] and many others will allow artists to work with RAW stereoscopic informa- tion retaining all the quality for visual ef- fects, editing and delivery more easily than in the past.”

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