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Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM
A small, innovative rental house in New York, 21st century 3D (www.21stcentury3d.com), has added the 3DVX3.5 camera system to its inventory. Realtime, 10-bit, 4:4:4 RGB 3D data is taken directy out of the dual Panasonic AG-DVX100B camcorders before camera compression and other manipulation. The 22lb. rig offers uncompressed direct-to-disk recording, two channels of 16-bit 48kHz audio, and monoscopic NTSC DV video via the built-in MiniDV VTR.
A Third Dimension in Your Future?
By Dan Ochiva
You can't say you haven't noticed. 3D films are the coming thing. Again. Sure, we've had 3D IMAX since the early 1980s, but with IMAX projectors the size of a compact car and the film reel weighing in at about 1,000lbs., it's not too practical. Digital projection solves that part of the equation.
One of the first of a new breed of digital 3D movies, Walt Disney Studios' Chicken Little (originally released in 2005) is being re-released in a new format known as REAL D (www.reald.com). It uses a single DLP projector and LCD attachment, which produces alternating clockwise and counter-clockwise polarized images at 144fps.
In June, Screen Digest released “The Business Case for Digital 3D Cinema Exhibition,” a report which touted the future of 3D, noting that early adopter exhibitors are already pulling in strong returns on investments for new gear. By the end of 2006, there were an estimated 258 digital 3D screens worldwide, but that number is growing quickly: During the first six months of 2007, the number of screens worldwide has jumped to 750. The report cites a goal of 1,200 screens for the November release of Robert Zemeckis' 3D Beowulf. This month, a live-action U2 concert film, produced with 3ality Digital (www.3alitydigital.com) 3D rigs, will also debut.
DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg has said that the studio intends to release all of its animated features in 3D beginning in 2009 — the same year James Cameron's highly anticipated Avatar 3D epic debuts. (Katzenberg has also pointed out another benefit of 3D: Moviegoers can't illegally record 3D from a theater screen.)
The move to 3D comes none too soon for the cinema industry as flattening theatrical profits otherwise point to a leaner future. Home cinemas, with their ever-larger HD displays and surround sound, pose the greatest challenge. Similar to the first wave of 3D movies in the 1950s, Hollywood's embrace of digital 3D lets it boast of owning an experience you can't cook up at home.
That goes for sports, too. One longtime 3D innovator Vince Pace (his Burbank, Calif.-based production company is now prepping its Fusion 3D camera systems for long-time collaborator James Cameron's feature) created a live 3D production of the 56th NBA All-Star Game this past February. Projected in a Las Vegas arena, it was significant both for the success of Pace's particular approach to 3D (each Fusion — dual Sony HDC-F950 HD cameras — employs extensive use of software and servos to constantly tweak the crucial intraocular distance) and the enthusiasm of the NBA management to embrace a new way to market its product.
Want to try your hand at 3D? While you can rent high-end rigs from Pace (www.pacehd.com),Stereomedia (www.3dstereomedia.com), Dimension 3 (www.d3.com),Vision III Imaging (www.inv3.com), and others anywhere from $3,500 and upwards per a day, a less expensive way to experiment is with some of the new 3D presentation products, such as Philips' 3D WOWvx professional display range (www.philips.com/3Dsolutions). The Dutch company even offers software to turn 2D images into 3D (WOWvx Compositer, $3,250).
As binocular beings, we see with depth in our daily lives. But until fairly recently, media has been flat. Get ready for something completely different.
On Reel-Exchange.com
On Reel-Exchange.com
Cybel Martin
New York
Cybel Martin is a cinematographer/videographer with a self-proclaimed “penchant for stylized imagery that always supports the narrative.” This phrase is expressed by her being the first African American woman to receive an MFA in cinematography from New York University, as well as her work on features, shorts, and commercials.
Martin’s work has been selected into various festivals, including Tribeca, Sundance, and The New Festival. She is a Slamdance Grand Jury Winner and IFP Spirit award nominee for On The Outs. She has also done commercial spots for a client list that includes Sony Music, PBS, AIDS Walk, and Mecca Brothers.
WolFang Digital
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
WolFang Digital is a production and postproduction company that has created dynamic event and corporate videos for more than seven years. The facility produces content using Apple Final Cut Pro, Canopus Edius, and Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Encore DVD.
The company’s Reel-Exchange profile features two work samples: a video produced for BMW to assist in the launch of the X5 SUV and a corporate profile of APM, which is the largest auto part manufacturer in Malaysia.
Jonathan Bekemeier
Malden, Mass.
Jonathan Bekemeier got his B.S. in film/TV at Emerson College, and he has gone on to work on various projects in documentary, feature film, short film, commercials, and web/mobile video. He has directed productions involving both 35mm and 16mm film, as well as DVCPRO, CineAlta, and Varicam within the HD realm.
Bekemeier’s demo reel posted on reel-exchange.com features various commercials he has directed—some in collaboration with PicturePark and Blink Pictures—including spots for ESPN, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Canadian Direct Insurance, and First Tennessee Bank.
Focusing Point Projects
Los Angeles
Focusing Point Projects is a full-service production company for documentary, short film, commercials, television programming—including news and sports coverage—music video, and web/mobile video projects. The company has the capabilities to shoot in 35mm, 16mm, 8mm, HD, DVCPRO HD, P2, HDV, ProHD, MiniDV, and DVCAM—all of which is edited using Apple Final Cut Pro.
With an expansive array of work, the company has been credited on many Gigantic Entertainment productions, including Outdoor Life Network’s Avalanche Dogs.
Want to be a part of Reel-Exchange and its growing community of global collaborators? For the free trial offer, email Reel-Exchange’s Community Manager Craig Erpelding at register@reel-exchange.com or visit reel-exchange.com and click on the “Register” link.
We’re giving away a copy of Adobe’s brand-new CS3 Production Studio Premium software to a current or new Reel-Exchange member who posts a video to their profile before Aug. 31, 2007.
If you’ve already got a profile, post an additional video or update your reel and post again. If you haven’t published your profile, upload your video and hit the “publish” icon. If you’re not a member, sign up at reel-exchange.com (use promo code REX018), then create your profile, post your reel, and publish. Anyone posting a video before Aug. 31, 2007, can win!
Among the innovations at Siggraph 2007 was Microsoft Surface, a surface that can recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone and allows hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music, and maps.
Siggraph 2007 Blog
Etech is Fun
By Dan Ochiva
One of the great joys of each Siggraph is the hodge-podge of hopeful students and professionals that gather in the juried Emerging Technologies pavilion. Described by the Siggraph organizers as chock-full of “digital innovations that change the way we work, live, and play,” the exhibits are mostly fresh out of the R&D labs and university computer science departments. (See www.siggraph.org/s2007/attendees/etech for more.) In the darkened hall, you’ll find pools of light shining on hardware and software galore: 3D displays, robotics, input devices, interaction techniques, computer vision, sensors, audio, speech, biometrics, wearable computing, scientific visualization, and more. …
Eyeon 5.2 and 64
By Cynthia Wisehart
This morning, Eyeon announced Fusion 64; Fusion 5.2 comes to Siggraph with a list of previously unannounced features, among them 3D LUTs, FBX, 3DS, OBJ and Collada import improvements, Python scripting, a vector motion blur tool, and lots more.
Fusion 64 brings 64 bit to desktop compositing. This is one of the bigger responses to the opportunity presented by multicore and multiprocessor workstations. Hopefully more to come. Fusion 64 shares a lot (all?) of the new features in 5.2. …
Siggraph 2007 Blog Podcast: Rebecca Strzelec of the Guerilla Studio
Senior Editor Michael Goldman, onsite at Siggraph 2007 in San Diego, talks with Rebecca Strzelec, chair of the Guerilla Studio, about this little artistic oasis at Siggraph.
Massive Enthusiasm
By Michael Goldman
Massive Software’s big news at Siggraph 2007 is the release of Massive 3.0, its popular AI-based animation system. The company’s approach with the new release is to push beyond Massive’s well-documented crowd capabilities generally and into more of the nuances and specifics. Among the additions: dynamic hair and fur, simulation passes, more Subdivision Surfaces, and—especially interesting—“lanes,” which let animators lay down directional lanes on, or in, terrain and set up paths for characters to travel, efficiently simulating street, water, or pedestrian traffic. …
ZBrush Massacre: Siggraph Day 2
By Benjamin Braman
Yesterday, the Pixologic ZBrush booth was completely out of control. The amount of polys that were flying around the mesh they were murdering was so grossly insane that I literally gagged. They looked to be adding a baboons rear end (when in heat) to a poor human model’s face, and they were doing it extremely fast. It reminded me of the scene in Total Recall when their oxygen masks explode and their faces get all remixed. Barf. So Zbrush is totally crazy. I can’t wait to start playing with it when I get back to Phoenix. In other Siggraph-related news, I was assaulted by a June bug. My lawyers are already on it.
Digital Content Producer’s The Briefing Room
Electrosonic Helps Welcome Visitors
and Patients to Mattel Children’s Hospital
at UCLA
Electrosonic teamed with Hunt Design of Pasadena, Calif., to create the media wall welcoming visitors and patients to the new 100,000-square-foot Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA. The Welcome Wall is a dynamic and colorful entry statement in keeping with the warm, people-friendly spirit of the facility designed by celebrated architect I.M. Pei. Electrosonic provided and installed audio, video, and control systems for the Welcome Wall, which features an elegant array of plasma, LCD, and rear-
projection screens and moving projectors using Electrosonic MS9200 MPEG-2 players as sources. …
Radical Lighting Launches PixelDrive v.2
Radical Lighting launches PixelDrive 2, the latest version of its popular pixel-mapping software. The most significant is the addition of a video output for driving LED devices and services—such as SoftLED, VersaTube, and ColorWeb—and the new easy-to-use Fixture Creator to create new profiles for color-mixing fixtures. …
Design Guru Thom Filicia Turns to Modo for 3D Interior Design Visualization
Luxology, an independent technology company developing next-generation 3D content creation software, announced that Modo was used to create photorealistic interior shots for “Decorating from the Floor Up,” an exciting new collaborative design seminar spearheaded by Thom Filicia Inc. (TFI) and Karastan. TFI worked closely with the Luxology staff and several independent artists who used Modo’s robust modeling, painting, and rendering toolset to design a series of photorealistic computer-generated images that illustrate how to achieve a variety of stylishly designed interiors. …
Red Giant Software Releases Trapcode Products for Editors
Red Giant Software, publisher of a line of professional digital video tools including Magic Bullet and Knoll Light Factory, released new versions of the popular Trapcode motion graphics products called Shine, Starglow, and 3D Stroke. In 2006, Red Giant Software and Trapcode formed a partnership, where Red Giant Software assumed exclusive publishing rights to all seven Trapcode products worldwide. …
What software was used to create the effects for the Underwriters Laboratories corporate branding video?
Autodesk 3ds Max and Adobe After Effects
Working with G2 Branding and Design (New York, NY), Guerilla FX, an independent design, effects, and post finishing company, shot, edited, and created effects for a three-minute branding video for Underwriters Laboratories. The video will be shown to the company’s 6,000 employees worldwide. “Underwriters Laboratories: The Standard In Safety” was shot by the Guerilla FX directorial duo Aggressive, a.k.a. Dan Shapiro and Alex
Topaller, on Globus Studios (New York) stages with an HVX camera. In post, the team worked on a mix of PCs and Mac workstations running Autodesk 3ds Max version 9 and Adobe After Effects version 7.
Skillset
Apple Color 101 Training Seminars
Sept. 14
West Hollywood, Calif.
$99 each or $249 for all three
www.rpmpost.com
Designed to meet the needs of editors upgrading to Apple Final Cut Studio 2, Color 101 Training consists of three seminars: Introduction and Overview, Primary Color Grading, and Secondary Color Grading. Presented by RPMpost, a West Hollywood, Calif.-based postproduction and screening facility, the three seminars aim to give students a thorough grasp of the tools and workflows required to get the most out of Color and integrate Final Cut Pro and Color into an efficient color-grading workflow.
Adobe Flash CS3 Professional Video Techniques
Sept. 26-28
Murray, Utah and St. Paul, Minn.
$1,195
www.ledet.com
Designed for developers with experience in Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, this three-day, hands-on class will teach students advanced tips, tricks, and techniques for producing and delivering high-quality Flash video over the Internet. Topics include editing video for Flash, masking video, adding filters and blend effects, and working with multiple Flash videos. Class time is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Business Intelligence: Investing in HD
By Paul Ambrose, Mammoth HD contributing artist
Due to the recent growth of HD video, the stock footage industry is getting stretch marks unlike anything in its history. The demand for stock HD video footage is outpacing the supply, and many stock libraries are running hard to catch up.
This has created new opportunities for cinematographers who can step into the latest video equipment, with their expertise and unique vision, to create great stock footage. At the same time, the plunging prices of HD cameras and editing gear have lured many still photographers away from the ultra-competitive still-stock business. These photographers also bring a certain unique point of view acquired through decades of shooting the finest still images. Their learning curve may be steeper, but their enthusiasm is producing some exciting stock video.
I belong to the latter group. Although my early years were spent shooting and editing industrial films, most of my career has been in still photography. When I first saw the Panasonic P2 camera, I could hear the siren song of my first love, and I enthusiastically took the leap into HD video and Apple Final Cut Pro. The tapeless workflow is very seductive and the creative opportunities seem unlimited.
But shooting imagery is only the beginning—as any stock shooter knows. Finding your way to the market usually involves working with a stock footage agency. And, the fact is, a lot of the giants in the business have been slow to recognize the expansion into HD and, consequently, have been caught napping.
I ended up signing with a relatively small, new agency, Mammoth HD, in Evergreen, Colo. Mammoth was started by a stock shooter, Clark Dunbar, who saw the coming flood of HD demand four to five years ago. When I joined, Mammoth HD already had 30 artists, some of whom were renowned in the business. (For a while, they had more awards than clips.) The stable has doubled since then, and it includes some of the finest talent from around the world.
I feel very lucky to be in this group. I liked the fact that Mammoth was new and devoted to just HD. No old film files or outdated DV. Starting fresh, with all new footage, Mammoth was one of the first to allow the buyer to browse the actual clips online. (Most of the industry has now followed suit.)
Mammoth is a benevolent dictatorship that treats contributors like the precious objects we like to think we are—paying the highest royalties in the industry and consistently updating us on the needs of the buyers. There is a daily flow of requests and information in my email inbox. In more than 20 years in stock, I have never had this kind of support from an agency.
I might be able to get more exposure with a larger agency (and of course, I would be competing with more fellow contributors), but I like the speed with which a small company can respond to market changes. A good example of this is the new demand for vertical footage (one way to get this is by laying the camera on its side). There is a growing demand for this footage among exhibit designers and in-store promotion folks who are turning their big screens on their end. I believe Mammoth was the first agency to embrace this strange phenomenon and create a vertical library online. For us shooters, this represents a whole new profit center.
We’re living in a short window of opportunity. As prices of equipment continue to drop, it’s only a matter of time before there is once again a glut of great footage on the market. This will depress prices as it has in the still photo world. At that point, the most successful stock footage shooters will be those who continue to create original, innovative images and are aligned with an agency dedicated to quality and able to respond with equal innovation as the market evolves.
Paul Ambrose, a refugee from Silicon Valley, has lived on the side of a mountain outside Durango, Colo., for the last 20 years. He currently shoots with a Panasonic AG-HVX200P and specializes in people and lifestyles.
