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postings THE COLOR OF MUSIC L OS ANGELES— DTS Digital enlisted director Ross Ching of A Common Thread (www.acommonthread.tv) to create an en- gaging video for this year’s CES show. The Painted Orchestra is a 1:20 3D video that uses in-camera effects to speak volumes about DTS’s Neo-X 11.1 immersive surround sound system. The video opens with a young conductor. As he prepares to conduct the symphony, the maestro reaches down and activates a DTS receiver. The shot widens to reveal a stage of metallic drums that resemble oversized organ pipes, which are actually custom- built cylindrical speakers, arranged as individual instruments. As notes play, vibrant colors burst from the top. The production assembled 40 sono tubes, embedded with speakers and covered them with in- dustrial latex rubber. To capture the action of the paint, the team shot at 500fps. The paint needed to fire within .02 seconds of each other. To control the paint firing and minimize error, a series of 20- 100Hz tones were created in Pro Tools and lined up in .001 seconds intervals, allowing the produc- tion team to time precise firing of the paint. The tones were channeled from Pro Tools to the mixing board, which routed each tone to the correct amplifier. Two IDT Y5 HD Diablo cameras were used, con- figured on a 21st Century 3D BX3 rig, and mounted on a Technocrane. Brickyard VFX finished in the Flame, adding the concert background and enhancing the 3D VFX. Darren Roark edited the piece. HELL... IN 3D C ULVER CITY CHICKVIDEO S ANTA MONICA — Solid (www.solidla. com) completed work on two versions of , CA — Steele Studios (www.steelevfx.com) provided 3D post services for Avril Lavigne’s new music video What the Hell, from the album of the same name. Jerry Steele, online editor for the project, was in charge of the video’s stereo 3D work. He used the studio’s Quantel Pablo 4K to perform the stereoscopic DI, conform and convergence. The video has five sequences, including a joyride in a taxi, a street basketball game and a live performance. Director Marcus Raboy shot What the Helldigitally and Steele worked from HDCAM SR masters. The 3D was prepared specifically for each sequence. Steele says the left and right eye video streams were in- gested and then registered for linearity, keystoning and color differences, processes that require acute attention to detail. Steele also handled color, beauty and effects work for the project, as well as the 2D finish. DirecTV subscribers can view the 3D version of the video on 3Net, a new 24/7 3D network launched by Discovery Communications, Sony and IMAX. the music video Who’s That Chick?, which was produced by David Guetta and features Rihanna. The song originally debuted last fall as part of Doritos’ “Late Night” online global music event. The two videos provided con- trasting views of Rihanna, one being a vibrant, playful version for day, and the other night ver- sion being darker and grittier. Serial Pictures’ Jonas Åkerlund directed the project, and long-time collaborator Richard Cooperman of Solid handled the edit. Solid worked closely with the director on concepting and designing the video’s graphic looks. Their work involved extensive type design, anima- tions, and transitions, as well as compositing VFX into the footage, rotoscoping Rihanna and the dancers, and particle animations. Solid used Adobe After Effects and Apple Final Cut Pro on the project, which includes additional visual effects elements by Chim- ney Pot, who relied primarily on Autodesk’s Flame and Smoke. Stock footage for the video was provided by Getty Images in Los Angeles. Uncle Berlin in Berlin, Germany, also contributed visual ef- fects, and Acht-Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Ger- many, handled the color and online. RESTORING THE THRONE B ETHESDA, MD — Animation and broadcast design shop Pixeldust Studios (www.pixeldust.tv) cre- ated a short animated film that will be featured within an exhibit at the British Museum in London. The studio worked with client Maggie Stogner of Blue Bear Films and National Geographic Mis- sions on the project, which is a two-minute animated sequence that depicts an ancient Afghan throne. The presentation will be displayed on an LCD screen that is part of the traveling “Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World” exhibit. The CG throne is based on just a few high-resolution scans of archaeological remains. Re- searchers believe it to be over 2,000 years old and made of ivory. Pixeldust technical director Samar Shool designed and produced a digital representation of what the throne may have looked like, as well as realistic lighting. The throne was modeled in Zbrush and brought into Maya for camera and lighting. The studio used used Pixar RenderMan for final rendering. The Pixeldust team worked closely with UC Berkeley scholar Dr. Sanjyot Mehendale on the project. 52 Post • April 2011 www.postmagazine.com