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October 2015

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STEREO 3D www.postmagazine.com 13 POST OCTOBER 2015 you really feel the impact of that deci- sion — that sense of vertigo of seeing mountaintops disappear into the horizon before looking down into the seemingly bottomless icefall. He said he wanted 'to feel the stereo in his belly,' and we used that as one of our guiding principles." What were some of the challenges working on Everest? "The weather. Ever since we convert- ed thousands of raindrops for James Cameron's Titanic in 3D, we are very comfortable dealing with the intricacies of adding dimension to innumerable tiny particles and transparencies. In this case, it meant adding volume to end- less amounts of snowflakes and visible breath, including 300 additional shots of CG breath." How was working on Everest unique? "Working on a drama, as opposed to an action or fantasy-themed film was of course a great way to remind audienc- es that 3D doesn't only have to be for movies with superheroes and explosions. In Everest, the immersion via the stereo imagery is achieved not only by the add- ed scope of the scenery, but also in the dramatic dialogue scenes. Kormakur very effectively used lots of tight shots to deliver emotion or the tension of being huddled in a cramped tent or to convey the physical distress of his characters. At Stereo D we pride ourselves on what we call the 'internal volume' we can give characters and especially faces. We take many steps to ensure that an actor's close-up in 3D will be flawless when pro- jected onto a 30-foot screen and without any distortion." How long did you work on the film? "Our schedule went for eight or nine months. The benefit of time and Kormakur's comfort level with the team meant that around the middle of the shoot, we sometimes could go a week or two between reviews. That gave us the unique luxury of being able to stockpile shots and show him entire scenes in context and in order. On a shorter schedule, a director is usually reviewing individual shots." Was is the typical length for a conversion schedule? "Our schedules usually run around six months, but it really depends on the filmmaker and the length of the film. For example, Titanic, with a three and a half hour running time, took nearly a year." How has producing stereo 3D imagery changed since you started your business back in 2009? "From a practical viewpoint, the op- portunity to work with filmmakers and studios multiple times has streamlined the process because the terminology of stereo 3D has become more familiar. Repeat business has meant that we share a common language about the process and that always makes a collaboration more effective. "Additionally, I think the overall perception of what we can achieve has changed. 'Conversion,' was a dirty word back then and there was some sub-par work being done in the marketplace that warranted criticism. These days, you rarely read or hear discussions of native 3D photography being superior to stereo 3D, and conversion is now the over- whelming choice of movies getting 3D releases. We think it's at least partially due to the improvements that have come over time and the great work that is being produced for major films." Stereo D put its proprietary software to work with Silhouette and Nuke.

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