Computer Graphics World

May 2010

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CGI/Stereo 3D ■ ■ ■ ■ Double the Trouble Head of layout Yong Duk Jhun moved onto Shrek from Kung Fu Panda, where he had designed the stereo 3D sequence—the leopard Tylon’s escape—that helped persuade CEO Jeff rey Katzenberg to create all future animated fi lms in stereo. “I wasn’t a big fan of 3D a long time ago, but once I started working with stereo for Kung Fu Panda, I became one,” Jhun says. “For Shrek 4 [Forever After], we were in 3D right away, and it was a lot diff erent. Traditionally in layout, we put in cameras and shoot actors. Now we’ve added another asset: depth. We made 3D a big part of the storytelling.” Helping Jhun and the artists was a tool developed by Phil “Captain 3D” McNally called Happy Ratio, which gave them de- fault settings for camera convergence and interocular distance. While the layout artists worked, they wore the polarized RealD glasses. “We had a lot of discussion about whether to do a sepa- rate 2D version,” Jhun says. “We decided to make every- thing work in 3D, and for the 2D theaters, we would play only the left side of the camera.” T e layout artists started with storyboards—pencil drawings in 2D from the story department that set the pace and the character’s emotional journey. “We make the timing work in a real 3D space using real 3D assets,” Jhun explains. “For example, a storyboard character might walk from A to B in a few steps, but when we bring the character into the 3D set, the distance is farther so the character takes longer to walk.” T e layout artists also helped defi ne the space by adding assets that transformed a simple 2D drawing that used layers of images into a more complex and deep stereo 3D scene. “In [stereo] 3D, if the set is too simple, the scene seems empty,” Jhun says. “So we’re forced to put more May 2010 9

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