Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/33429
thinking, “as long as the end product is a good product.” Last year, NAB had a very heavy S3D theme, with many manufacturers showing their support for the format with new tech- nology. Edson says this year’s show had a different feel.“If there was one, I think it was mobile,” he says of the trend he spotted at NAB 2011.“Everyone already has 3D tools for doing what they do.To me, it’s sort of like 3D is a given.” San Diego’s Legend3D will soon bring its services to Hollywood. Edson is referring to the use of 3ality Dig- ital’s (www.3alitydigital.com) technology to produce shows like NBC’s Chuck, which was shot in S3D and posted in the same time- frame as a typical 2D episode for the series. The other line of thinking, Edson says, looks at 2D-to-3D conversion as a solution for creating S3D content. “I don’t know if there is a right or wrong position in today’s world,” says Edson of the two ways of But that mobile trend can influence the stereo 3D market. Edson points to Nin- tendo’s 3DS, a hand-held gaming device that offers a stereo 3D experience with- out the use of glasses. For around $250, consumers can get their feet wet with a 3D device that even allows them to adjust the level of the S3D effect. The younger generation — Edson points to his own pre- teen kids — likes the portability of such devices, and are content with watching videos on a small screen. And while the kids may not be averse to wearing 3D glasses, solutions that use a lenticular filter to create a 3D experience may further push manufacturers to come up with glasses-free solutions, which, on larger scale monitors today, is still cost prohibitive. Edson also feels that the market for S3D tools that “fix it in post” will decrease as pros become more experienced in shooting it.“If you are shooting digitally today and get cor- rupted frames, nobody is going to sit there and say,‘We’ll just fix it in post.’ Corrupted frames are corrupted frames. It’s a bad shot. You are either going to re-shoot it or work around it. You are not going to fix those frames in post.The same thing is fundamen- tally true in 3D. If you get bad 3D shots or don’t get the focal point that you want, you are not going to go in and do a lot of weird reconfiguring to make it work.” He continues, “Our take on it is that more and more is going to be done at the acquisition stage. If I have a dual-camera rig, I will have a stereo processor fixing every- thing as it comes out the back end of the shot. If it’s not ‘fixable,’ they will get that in- stant feedback right there and fix the shot. So, the amount of fixing bad stereo coming down the pike in post? My take on it [is that] six to nine months from now, it’s going to go away.” 24 Post • May 2011 www.postmagazine.com