Computer Graphics World

July 2009 76 n n n n Stereoscopy see work in real time using the Nvidia setup as a part of the process. "e Nvidia monitors are good," says stereoscopic expert Lenny Lipton, "but you have to see it on a large screen." Hayes agrees, adding that it is harder to see what's not working on a 20-inch screen. Further- more, as a consumer monitor, the Sam- sung display can't be calibrated to the point needed to see true color reproduction, so the team is only checking the 3D and not the way the shots look as far as lighting and color go. However, that situation is tem- porary: New wide-gamut 120hz displays are on the way from Sony, Samsung, HP, and others. ey'll have color-correction capabilities, as Portrait Displays has already developed color-correction tools for these monitors. It's all just a matter of time. Still, when U2 3D was made in 2006, it was edited in 2D and then handed off to the Quantel system for finishing. In some senses, the editors were working blind. At NAB this year, both Avid and Quan- tel were demonstrating new tools that let editors work in 3D, to see what they're get- ting and to heighten the effects. Eyeon has taken advantage of graphics acceleration and has added new tools for 3D as well, including 3D compositing in its flagship compositing product, Fusion. Better tools mean that directors have more tricks in their arsenal. In one sense, directors have to deal with the limitations of the medium. It's common wisdom that you can't have a lot of fast cuts because the eye will have trouble adjusting if the focal point changes between the cuts. U2 3D tended to use layered dissolves to ease the audience into cuts, so that the filmmakers could have lots of transitions, as a rock- and-roll film deserves, but not to where it induces actual vertigo in an audience while it is listening to the song "Vertigo." At the same time, talented and creative technologists defy common wisdom, and limitations drop away. Avid used My Bloody Valentine as its showcase for the new 3D editing tools in Media Composer. (Now there's a movie with in-your-face 3D ef- fects.) In reality, the Media Composer tools from Avid weren't available to edit Valen- tine. Rather, the piece was cut in 2D just like any movie and handed over to the Qu- antel system, where it was finished in 2k and 4k. e pieces, however, are quickly being built to accomplish a 3D workflow. Media Composer puts tools in directors' hands earlier, while Quantel is working on the back end; as a matter of fact, the two companies are forging a partnership to enable easier data flow between the two systems. Autodesk, Eyeon, Assimilate, and others are all working feverishly to supply 3D tools throughout the entire pipeline. More control over the process gives film- Lipton also reassured Kozachik about the ability to rely on post for 3D adjustments. "The tools are getting there," says Lipton, noting that the Avid Media Composer now has 3D ed- iting features, as does Quantel's Pablo, which accommodates 4k workflows. Next, he says, "the studio cameras need to be better. They need to look like cameras. Cinematographers don't like the 3D cameras that are available now." Right now, maintains Lipton, 3D is being made by talented technologists, but in order to become mainstream, 3D tools have to be more accessible to all filmmakers. Lipton brings up the example of director James Cameron, whom he sees as an exceptional filmmaker because of his understanding of the technology as well as the storytelling. Cameron's film Avatar, long in production, carries the weight of the budding 3D industry with it: It is hoped that Avatar will be a huge hit, and, in fact, one of the reasons it's being held up is to ensure that there are enough screens for it to break big when it is released at the end of the year. So, as Avatar slouches toward the big screen, Lipton says Cameron is putting the time to good use. "He's doing a re- markable job," says Lipton. Cameron has developed his own pipeline and workflow. He's using motion capture, which lets him keep working after the actors go home." And, motion cap- ture gives Cameron more control over the camera and light- ing. "Avatar will close the gap," says Lipton. But, says Lipton: "Cameron is a genius. You can't expect the director to be an expert. Now, we've got to bring it to the next level. The director shouldn't have to be an expert in stereoscopic 3D capture any more than he has to know about camera emul- sions. He needs to concentrate on telling a story." The future looks bright for stereo 3D. "From this point on, cinematographers and directors will have experience," Lipton points out. "They will be making stereoscopic movies, and they will learn. And the audiences will learn, and it will be a partnership with the audience. We'll all contribute to creating the glamour of stereoscopic film." n Lipton, who has worked in stereoscopy for a long time, was a consultant on the stop-motion 3D stereo film Coraline. ©2009 Focus Features.

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