Computer Graphics World

July 2009 75 Stereoscopy n n n n makers are criticizing the over-enthusiastic use of depth for in-your-face illusions and blame it on first-time directors and the lack of technical expertise. e illusion can be safely created by using "floating windows" within the frame so that objects that come forward do not break that psychological barrier of the edges of the screen. Peter Docter, direc- tor of Up, Pixar's first 3D stereo film (see "e Shape of Animation," June 2009), notes that the CG feature was cre- ated with a stereographic team who worked in tan- dem with him as he cre- ated Up using traditional film techniques. Docter describes the use of 3D in Up as an effect that gives the audience the feeling of looking into a window at something. ey also avoided the effect of having objects leap out of the screen at the audience because, he says, then the audience becomes aware that it is sitting in a theater wearing glasses. The Here and Now It's only very, very recently that the concept of 3D is in front of directors when they're in the early stages of making a film. Until bet- ter tools arrived to enable the filmmakers to get an idea of what they were going to see on the screen, they essentially were working with a 2D mind-set. Simple tools—such as Nvidia's GeForce 3D Vision system (with 3D board, Samsung 120hz monitor, and glasses) developed for gamers—are turning out to be a real boon for filmmakers simply because they enable more people on the set to see the 3D effects (see "Game-Changing Technology," March 2009). At this year's NAB, almost every company selling post software for 3D talked about the ability to "3D is unburdening itself of the baggage of prior failures," says Lipton. A student of film history, Lipton points out that even wide- screen had its rocky period, where it was deemed only suitable for big-screen adventures, and expensive failures slowed ac- ceptance. Now, it is just 3D's turn. Lipton, who is not at all afraid of calling a spade a spade or an idiot an idiot, takes issue with people who talk about how 3D should look. Right now, almost everyone who talks about 3D cau- tions against having 3D jump out at the screen. He disagrees. Rather, he says with some impatience, "everything needs to be appropriate. It needs to be right. Everything can't be loud. Everything can't be red." But, Lipton notes, when you have a movie like My Bloody Valentine (which he did not work on) hav- ing things leap out from the screen is pretty much required. Live action is the next challenge. In an interview Lipton gave to fellow 3D pioneer and enthusiast 3D comic-book author Ray Zone, he jokes, "I used to think that projection was the death of the [stereoscopic 3D] medium. I can see now it was a combina- tion of projection and cinematography." But, as the uneven quality of the films being released today can attest, there's still a lot of variables out there. "The system is not a product," he says, and that's a problem with which the industry has to come to grips. Lipton is happy to work within the system. "Shakespeare was a commercial artist," he points out. Lipton is just trying to make the system work better, and every now and then, art might hap- pen. The industry needs more trained professionals and tools. There is now a trained corps of artists working in CG and live- action 3D, and Lipton names several, including Rob Engle, who was the cinematographer on Beowulf and The Jonas Broth- ers, and Eric Breviq who directed Journey to the Center of the Earth and, incidentally, also was the special effects supervisor on Disney's Captain Eo theme-park attraction, which demon- strated remarkable 3D effects in 1986. "There are people who are absolute experts at stereoscopic images. In CG, there's an advantage because they can totally control the space. Their cameras can be set up anywhere they want, and their sequences and scenes are very balanced," says Lipton. But in live action, there's the added problem of getting balanced data from two cameras. Color timing becomes an ad- ditional variable. In Coraline, Lipton suggested to cinematographer Pete Ko- zachik that they take advantage of the fact that the film is stop motion, and simply slide the camera to capture both the left and right eye. In that way, they'll at least eliminate the variation be- tween cameras. The production developed 3D sliders to move the cameras and capture left- and right-eye views. In a fasci- nating bit of, ahem, convergence, Lipton also suggested they consider the distance between the eyes of their puppets as they calculated the optimum interocular distance for 3D effects within Selick's carefully constructed world. Delightedly, Lipton says, "it worked out at about the same ratio as humans." Digital Theaters International US 2005 2006 2007 2008 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 In thousands 324 524 993 2003 1823 4632 3140 5474 The rollout to digital theaters has not happened as fast as the studios would like, but it's picking up speed, and 2009 is expected to be the turning point.

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