Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/49492
we couldn't do just a few years ago. If I had to predict what was going to happen, I would say there will be continued emphasis on trying to improve exhibition quality and we are going to continue to see film- makers excited about using this medium." STEVE SKLAIR CEO 3ality Technica www.3alitytechnica.com Burbank A provider of products for live-action stereo produc- tions, 3ality Technica systems have been used on The Amazing Spider- Man, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Jack the Giant Killer, Oz, Prometheus and The Great Gatsby. Their tools are used on broadcast and live events as well. STRENGTHS: "When properly used, 3D helps tell a story. It helps the director translate their vision to an audience because you can use the depth to make an audience feel something. You can use the depth as another element, just like we use color and lens length and other things to tell stories. Baz Luhrman is doing it with the Great Gatsby, which is not a science-fiction movie, it's not CGI, it's not an action-adventure, it's a drama. If you see it in 3D, it will be a different experience than seeing the movie in 2D, and it will be a more com- plete story. He's using depth as a character in the movie to help con- vey the feeling the characters." WEAKNESSES: "I don't see a lot of weakness in terms of the technology. You can now shoot a 3D movie in the same schedule as 2D, and there are so many movies that we've been behind that have done that. You used to hear, 'It takes too long and the gear is heavy,' but that's the past. The weakness now is establishing the right business case. Movies need both theatrical release and packaged media release. There are enough theaters now where you can justify the cinematic release of the movie but there still aren't enough 3D televisions out there to make real revenues work off of a packaged media release. Your installed base has to get bigger." OPPORTUNITIES: "On the creative side, the opportunity is to invent the language. Filmmaking has so many things that are part of its language, but 3D is new enough and hasn't been experimented with enough. If I was a director, I'd want to shoot 3D so I could participate in or help to and invent language of how this medium works. "The opportunity is also the business case. Shooting in stereo now gets you an archived copy of something that has future value. There is far less value today to having a 2D master on the shelf than a 3D master. The opportunity is to start building an archive." THREATS: "Really badly done stereoscopic from those who just want to come in for a quick buck and don't care about quality. That is a threat. It won't stop it but it sure will slow it up; they end up setting the medium backwards because it gives everybody the wrong impres- sion and gives critics something to latch on to. That is the biggest threat. "On the business side, currently, it's a chicken and egg situation with television; nobody is going to buy a 3D set without a ready supply of content, and if you bought a 3D set today there is very little to look at. But on the other hand, nobody wants to spend a lot of money making 3D content because there aren't enough 3D televisions out there to feed it to. What happens with any new medium is this will solve itself over time. The installed base grows, but slowly. So it's not really a threat, but it's a threat to the speed of adoption, but not to the adoption itself." OUTLOOK FOR 2012: "I see more films being made because it's becoming easier and easier to make any film in stereo and release a 2D and 3D version. The future to me is one of automated functionality. So you don't need the cadre of expensive specialists to get your 3D movie made. Any movie crew can go out and shoot 3D with just a little bit of training and they don't need to drag 20 specialists with them." VINCE PACE Partner Cameron Pace Group www.cameronpace.com Burbank In 2011, Vince Pace partnered with James Cameron to create Cameron Pace Group, which provides stereoscopic services and technology for films, TV, sporting event and concerts. They've worked on Avatar, of course, Hugo, The Three Musketeers and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. STRENGTHS: "A natural capture with two camera systems is really the foundation of success for 3D. Everything that is discussed as far as a return on the images underneath that are some sort of a compro- mise. The foundation of 3D in live action is a very sellable and strong argument that entertainment will be successful going in that direction. "I just finished working with Martin Scorsese on Hugo, and when done correctly there is incredible entertainment value for 3D presen- tation for storytelling — the whole visual journey you take on any film is enhanced by this process when it's done well, and when done well it's a very strong seller to the consumer." WEAKNESSES: "Stereo is a young medium and we get a new camera system every eight months. With 2D, it's just a replacement of the camera bodies; in 3D sometimes it's a replacement of the infra- structure. Cameras are getting smaller, which is a strength, but the weakness is the marketplace for 3D is a growing one and with that www.postmagazine.com Post • December 2011 25 Legend3D provided conversion services for films such as Hugo and Conan The Barbarian (pictured).