Re: Interesting 3D Programming article to share with your Agency Clients and Colleagues

TODAY3D

'Full 3D' vs 'Half-3D': is it all a headache? - Rapid TV News

'Full 3D' vs 'Half-3D': is it all a headache? - Rapid TV News: "This year's IBC technology fest (and IFA in Berlin) are just days away. The two shows, one focused on industry professionals, the other on consumer electronics, will both feature 3D technology in all its glory.

It is already known that BSkyB will introduce a 3D service in 2010. There's no information on an introduction date but a mid-Summer soft launch ahead of the 2010-11 Premiership soccer season would seem to make sense. Such a date also allows the manufacturing sector to get suitable displays into the retail sector, and also permits the HDMI 1.4 technology to settle down and for consumer linking cables to start appearing."

However, BSkyB's system, while extremely appealing for a number of reasons, is not 'Full 3D'. Some flat-panel manufacturers, notably Panasonic, are urging caution in this regard. Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Panasonic's CTO is one such advocate. While happily admitting: "all 3D on TV is good for 3D" he also argues that consumers risk buying into an interim technology if they adopt 'half 3D' too speedily. There are also advantages for the satellite industry if 'Full 3D' ends up being the 'standard' used for transmission, while 'half 3D' has few demands on extra capacity.

He might be right. There are plenty of consumers (like your editor) who have bought into 720p, 1080i and now 1080p displays and while ensuring the trickle down effect of redundant displays makes the rest of the extended family very happy, does little for his bank balance or the planet's well-being!

3D on TV, in our view, is going to happen. Hollywood's studios are not simply fully backing 3D but looking to convert back-catalogue films to 3D, such is the financial appeal of cinema revenues and the all-important Blu-ray market. And by the way, it isn't easy to video a 3D movie from a cheap camcorder at the back of the theatre, and so another piracy option is curbed. Hollywood is also enjoying something of a creative renaissance as far as 3D is concerned. Output is no longer focused (if that's the word) on 'in your face' stunts and extravagant special effects, but in enhanced reality that emphasises the natural story line.

But the oldest advice in the entertainment industry is to 'follow the money', and Hollywood knows it has a winner in 3D. Dreamworks' 'Monsters vs Aliens' did well at the box office. Internationally just 18% of the screens delivered 44% of the revenue. They were all 3D. In North America 28% of the screens (all 3D) turned in 58% of the movie's overall revenue. Much the same figures and ratios apply to almost all the past year's releases. There are also a rapidly growing number of suitable screens for theatrical release. When 'Chicken Little' was released in 2006 it was shown on 3D on just 40 North American screens. 'Beowulf' was exhibited on 400 screens in 2007. 'Bolt' from Disney was exhibited on 1600 screens in mid-summer 2008, while Avatar last winter achieved 2200 3D screens. By 2013 Screen Digest forecasts that North America will have 8400 3D screens. Europe will top 7400, and the suggestion is that French, German and Italian local film studios will by then be wholly getting the 3D message. In other words it isn't just Hollywood that will influence our 3D entertainment.

Packaged console games are also embracing 3D. There have been extensive trials of 3D coverage of sports, and this coming winter's Vancouver Winter Olympic Games will see extensive 3D coverage (Beijing's coverage, while spectacular, was limited). London's 2012 Games is expected to have an even greater element of 3D programming.

Standards, however, are a problem. While few now expect any further progress on the old-fashioned Anaglyph (cardboard) glasses with their Red and Cyan lenses, most now predict all activity to be on Passive glasses. But here there are very real industry arguments as to which way the industry should go. Polarising systems (either left-right or top-bottom) need a new TV and a switching method (and will be used by BSkyB). Existing HDTV systems then deliver line-by-line left and right eye information, but result in 'half 3D' given that half the resolution is delivered to each eye with each eye taking 50% of the available transmission signal. Some argue that a similar system, but employing a checkerboard transmission pattern is a better visual alternate. But it is still only 'half 3D'. The 'Full 3D' proponents argue that only full-frame alternate images delver true high-definition 3D, and they might be right. This frame sequential technology will need active shutter glasses that are more expensive to produce, and needing batteries to be charged.

There was also the Philips-backed multi-camera 3D system, that needed no glasses and might still have a role in public spaces, shopping centres, point-of-sale, digital signage, etc, but few see a theatrical role for such technology.

Meanwhile, the pay-TV broadcasters are looking for another revenue stream, and as a method to win - and hold onto - their male-skewing viewers, those keen on sports, films and games. There's now a huge audience who own flat-panel displays, mostly LCD but also Plasma. And the argument goes that viewers are ready for 3D.

At present, 3D content producers have to hand-build their own 3D production systems by physically connecting multiple 2D production devices. Panasonic, for example, is currently developing a professional Full HD 3D production system, which consists of a twin-lens P2 professional camera recorder and a 3D compatible High Definition Plasma display. The twin-lens P2 camera recorder enables the capturing of natural and high-quality live 3D images. One can expect the items to be on show, perhaps only in advanced prototype form, at IBC.

Technologies and expertise obtained from their use in post-production has enabled Panasonic to further develop high-quality 3D viewing performance in its Plasma technologies. As a result of this process, Panasonic say their 3D Plasma display system will help 3D content producers to quickly and easily evaluate the image quality of 3D content.

But which 'standard' might win? HDMI's 1.4 version recognises 3D and - when connected with the correct equipment - can provide the switching tags that can take the TV set into and out of 3D. Retail ready products will appear in 2010. The Blu-ray Disc Association is also working on its 3D standard although has yet to set a finishing timetable. Membership of the BDA's 3D Taskforce comprises all the usual suspects, not least Panasonic, Disney, Fox, Warner Bros, Sony Samsung, Pioneer, LG, Mitsubishi, Intel, Dell, HP, Apple - and others. Everyone accepts that BD's 3D protocols and 'standard' are needed, and soon. The protocols are need for the pressing and authoring plants as well as the consumer goods end of the value chain.

Panasonic is pushing hard for 'Full HD', not simply because of the end-result quality issue, which is important, but also because its suits their Plasma display range. With refresh rates climbing beyond 120 Hz, and ever-larger screen sizes, and the speed of pixel response that Plasma achieves, they think these elements are also key and place Panasonic into a winning position.

Time will tell. Certainly Panasonic is making a few major statements at IFA in Berlin on Sept 3 and at IBC a few days later, and most observers expect them to be making a major push on 3D (helped by an exhibition of their fabulous 103" Plasma display).

Satellite operators are somewhat passive. They give their broadcasting clients whatever the client wants. But in our view they should also be pushing (sorry, educating) those clients as hard as possible to deliver the full 'Wow' factor of 3D, and then happily supplying the extra bandwidth needed for 'Full 3D'. Much the same education process was needed, at least over Europe, to inform consumers and broadcasters of the merits of full HD. Gabriel Fehervari's Euro 1080 channel made its debut in 2004. Here we are barely 4 years later with more than 150 HD channels on air amongst Europe's major satellite operators. That's progress. 3D will not generate as much activity, but one or two initial channels per platform could quickly grow to a half-dozen over the next few years – and that can only be good news for the industry.

© Rapid TV News 2009

Best,

Bob "looking for an agent" Johnston  
3D/2D Producer and Technology Strategist
johnston.rw@gmail.com

818-679-7095 Mobile

For relevant Production and Distribution news pertaining
to the 3D Stereoscopic market, you may view my blog @:

http://3dproductionnews.blogspot.com/ 

'Final Destination' arrives at No. 1 with $28.3M

Final Destination' arrives at No. 1 with $28.3M

By DAVID GERMAIN (AP) – 

LOS ANGELES — Movie fans have made fear their top destination at the weekend box office.

The horror tale "The Final Destination" debuted as the No. 1 movie with $28.3 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Warner Bros. sequel is the latest installment in the franchise about people stalked by death after a premonition saves them from their destined demise.

"Final Destination" took over the top spot from Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt's World War II saga "Inglourious Basterds," which slipped to second place with $20 million. The Weinstein Co. release raised its total to $73.8 million after 10 days in theaters.

Weinstein also had the No. 3 slot with the horror flick "Halloween II," which opened with $17.4 million. The movie is Rob Zombie's sequel to his update of the slasher franchise about crazed killer Michael Myers.

It's unusual for two horror movies to open over the same weekend. While "Final Destination" and "Halloween II" competed for the same audience, both managed solid receipts.

"They got their $17 million, we got our $28 million. That's a lot of business all around," said Jeff Goldstein, general sales manager for Warner Bros.

"Final Destination" continued Hollywood's streak of 3-D successes. The 3-D component accounted for 70 percent of the movie's revenues, even though only 54 percent of the 3,121 theaters where it played offered the movie in 3D.

The Weinstein Co. plans to release "Halloween 3" in 3-D next summer, said Bob Weinstein, who co-founded the company with brother Harvey. While Zombie will not be back to direct, the next sequel will pick up from his story and give a new twist on slasher Myers, Weinstein said.

-

Article of Interest - THE INDEPENDENT - British 3D technology ready to come of age - 23 Aug 09

THE INDEPENDENT

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/british-3d-technology-ready-to-come-of-age-1776201.html

British 3D technology ready to come of age

UK film companies are set to muscle in on their US rivals as 'Avatar', James Cameron's new sci-fi blockbuster, opens up the market

By Danny Brierley
Sunday, 23 August 2009


A still from Avatar, which 'blew people away' when it was trailed to industry insiders

Specialist British film companies are preparing to exploit the hype created by Avatar, James Cameron's epic 3D science-fiction blockbuster. The film, which reportedly cost £180m to make, will open up new opportunities for an elite group of 3D specialist companies in the UK.

Avatar is already expected to join the handful of films that have grossed more than $1bn at the box office. Tantalising trailers of the film this weekend whetted the appetites of rival Hollywood studios which are now scrambling to get a slice of a burgeoning 3D market. Avatar was filmed using a ground-breaking camera system developed by Cameron, the Canadian director whose past projects include The Terminator, Aliens and Titanic.

A number of UK companies that have been developing new 3D technologies over several years are poised to capitalise on the response to his latest film. They include Axis, which is filming a promotional 3D video for the US television drama 24. The company filmed the world's first live 3D sports broadcast at the Calcutta Cup rugby union match between England and Scotland last year, and is about to begin shooting a full-length horror film early next year.

Paul Carter, head of cameras at Axis, said yesterday: "There is now money in the system and we will see things move forward on the back of Avatar. Once the public gets a real look at the film it will take off.
"The UK's 3D industry is still very much in its infancy but is growing up rapidly. The Americans, as always in film, are leading, but they see us getting involved in what they are doing."

Avatar, due to be released in the UK in December, comes 115 years after the 3D film process was patented by the British film pioneer William Friese-Greene. The Queen's coronation in 1953 was filmed in 3D and will be shown for the first time on Channel 4 later this year, during a week-long series of programmes devoted to 3D.

According to the UK Film Council, which recently organised a 3D master class for film-makers, digital 3D cinema screens in the UK are set to increase tenfold by 2012.
Street Dance, featuring the break-dancing Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson, will be the UK's first full-length feature to be shot in 3D.

Dennis Laws, manager at London's Imax cinema, said: "The reaction to the footage of Avatar that we have shown has blown people away. It is a huge leap forward."

Panasonic Going Hollywood To Market New 3-D TV Sets

TECHNOLOGY

Panasonic Going Hollywood To Market New 3-D TV Sets

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted 08/21/2009 06:35 PM ET

Australian actor Sam Worthington is shown in director James Cameron's sci-fi adventure "Avatar," which was filmed in 2-D and 3-D. AP View Enlarged Image

TOKYO — "Titanic" director James Cameron has signed on with Panasonic(PC) to promote new 3-D TVs.

The deal disclosed Friday comes as Cameron and 20th Century Fox Film Corp. are aiming to break new ground with the release of "Avatar," a movie shot entirely in 3-D.

At the same time, Panasonic is making a big push to get consumers excited about 3-D viewing in the home — excited enough to buy new flat-panel sets and new Blu-ray disc players. Consumers will have to wear special glasses to experience the 3-D effect.

Panasonic is planning to start selling 3-D TVs next year.

Rivals, including Sony (SNE), which has its own movie division, and Samsung Electronics of South Korea have shown prototypes and may offer similar products. It's not clear how much 3-D TVs would cost.

The manufacturers face a problem in that 3-D content is scarce.

There's also no agreement on a disc or broadcast format to bring the content to TV sets, though the industry group behind the Blu-ray disc may be close to finalizing a standard.

Several animation films are already being shown in theaters in 3-D, along with a handful of live-action movies.

"Avatar," set for release Dec. 18, will be the first major live-action Hollywood film debuting worldwide in both 2-D and 3-D.

"I believe 3-D is how we will experience movies, gaming and computing in the near future. 3-D is not something you watch. It's a reality you feel you could step into," Cameron said on video.

Panasonic is hoping its collaboration with Cameron will give its brand an edge as a 3-D leader, and give the company ideas for technological improvements for home TVs, said General Manager Masayuki Kozuka.

"We want to get global interest rolling," he told The Associated Press. "For people to want to watch 3-D at home, the movie has to be a blockbuster."

Panasonic plans to have several trailer-vans driving around in the U.S. and Europe next month with large-screen 3-D TVs inside showing "Avatar." In Japan, footage from "Avatar," a science fiction romance set in a futuristic jungle, will appear in ads for 3-D TVs.

The next generation of 3-D has arrived at movie theaters

The next generation of 3-D has arrived at movie theaters

04:53 PM CDT on Friday, August 21, 2009

By MICHAEL GRANBERRY / The Dallas Morning News 
mgranberry@dallasnews.com

When it comes to electronics, innovation is everything. And when it comes to the movie industry, innovation often means staying ahead of what it is you're able to duplicate at home – at least for a while.

So it is with Dolby 3D, which industry experts say puts an entirely new spin on the 3-D experience, which up to now has often put the clunk in clunky. On Friday, the upwardly mobile Dallas-based chain Studio Movie Grill became the first cinematic exhibitor in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to roll out Dolby 3D.

It did so with X Games 3D: The Movie, which, at least initially, is showing only at its location at Royal Lane and North Central Expressway.

"I would compare it to the difference between a regular TV monitor and a high-definition monitor. It's that significant," says Brian Schultz, 40, the owner and founder of Studio Movie Grill.

Sarah Pearce, director of operations for the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, says any theater would be dramatically enhanced by Dolby 3D, which caused quite a stir at Sundance in 2008 with the U2 concert movie, U2 3D.

"For us, it was really incredible," Pearce says. "It blew everyone away. And because it was a concert movie, the audience dealt with it like it was a real concert. They were so moved by the technology, they would do the things you normally do at a concert. They were standing on their seats, holding up their cellphones."

Not every theater has Dolby 3D, of course, and James Meredith, the vice president of marketing and communications at the Plano-based Cinemark chain, says his company is thrilled with RealD, which he contends "provides the brightest 3-D image and clearest picture for the largest screens." At its West Plano flagship, Cinemark sports a 70-foot-wide, 38-foot-tall screen that Meredith says has helped it become the highest-grossing movie house in the area.

Regardless of brand, Meredith describes the present as a landmark era in motion picture exhibition, with a flood of new technology pouring into theaters seemingly every day.

"With the advent of digital projection, you have the ability to do a lot of things that you simply couldn't do in the past," he says.

Studio Movie Grill has seven locations in the Dallas and Houston metro areas and will soon expand, with locations in Atlanta and Kansas City, Mo., set to open in 2010.

"The 'staycation,' as we call it, has boded extremely well for us," says Schultz, who lives in Dallas.

Schultz launched the concept at the Granada Theater in 1994. In 2000, it became Studio Movie Grill, which treats patrons to a big-screen, big-sound experience while letting them lounge in reclining leather chairs and order from a varied menu that includes beer and mixed drinks. Schultz long ago left the Granada, but Studio Movie Grill, whose team also includes Schultz's business partner Martin Massman, now shows the flag at the Dallas Royal Lane location and in Addison, Plano, Lewisville, Arlington and two Houston locations.

Schultz cites the company mantra of "creating an immersive experience" in explaining the advent of Dolby 3D, which he concedes is quite expensive. It is, he says, "two and a half times" costlier than either of its two competitors in the 3-D market.

Dolby 3D requires more sophisticated eyewear, which Schultz says costs a daunting $28 a pair. He ordered 900 pairs for each location, which adds up to more than $25,000 at each Studio Movie Grill. He checked out Dolby 3D at a recent trade show in Las Vegas and loved what he saw.

X Games 3D: The Movie, a documentary that offers a 3-D cinematic version of the X Games as seen on ESPN, is the first of a stream of new releases that Studio Movie Grill plans to show using Dolby 3D. Later this year, Schultz has scheduled The Final Destination, a horror movie opening Friday, followed by the animated Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Sept. 18) and the re-releases of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 (Oct. 2) and The Nightmare Before Christmas (Oct. 23).

But that's not all. There will be a Dolby 3D version of Michael Jackson's This Is It, a musical documentary about the rock star opening Oct. 30, followed by A Christmas Carol (Nov. 6), with Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge. Lynne McQuaker, director of creative affairs at Studio Movie Grill, says one of the boldest examples of Dolby 3D promises to be the highly anticipated Avatar, director James Cameron's first feature film since Titanic. It opens Dec. 18.

Schultz says the chain is exploring plans to show college and professional football and live concerts, with one already booked – an appearance by Kenny Chesney in Dolby 3D on April 21.

Schultz held out for a better version of 3-D, he says, because he never felt that conventional 3-D came close to "the immersive experience" he hopes to offer.

"Literally, I've never seen anything like it," Schultz says of Dolby 3D. "It is absolutely unbelievable."

Vangaurd - OOH 3D Trials Article

VANGUARD - Nigeria

3D Impact unveils OOH media solutions
" ...proven to increase sales by over 80 percent"

Business - Aug 2, 2009

The Nigerian advertising and marketing industry is set to witnessing
a new advertising solution device, code named 3D advertising
solutions, an Out Of Home (OOH) platform, introduced by 3D Impact
Media West Africa.

3D Impact Media west Africa is a partner of the 3D global network. The
3D advertising solution is an OOH media that bring products and
services to life with capacity to attract consumers at least four
times higher than the current 2D advertising solutions currently used
by advertisers. Information had it, that it is proven to increase
sales by over 80 percent and preferred by about 90 percents of
audience compared to other formats.

Dr. Mike Kronenberg, Marketing Director and Media, Global Chief
Executive Officer, of 3D global network at the unveiling ceremony that
all around the globe, with particular reference to Brazil, South
Africa and Australia, said that 3D is the latest solution in the
world of new media, whilst advising that practitioners needs to take
advantage of it.

His words, "our mission is to introduce this new cutting edge
innovation to sub-Saharan Africa starting with Nigeria, to aid brands
and organizations get the desired attention of their target consumers
in a very speedy and engaging manner."

"Hitherto, people could see the illusion of 3D on screens only when
they wore special glasses designed for that purpose. With our software
and screens 3D images can now be seen with the naked eyes" Kronenberg
stated.

In addition, he said that the organization will deploy the solutions
primarily for media advertising, in-house networks, fairs and
exhibitions.

While he noted that it will subsequently be deployed for
architectural, military and other technological uses.

Continuing, he said, "for Advertising, we will set up indoors, in Key
public places including malls, airports and others with special 3D
screens and feed_in advertising materials that will show in 3D format
– with their key messages right in front of their audience"

Speaking, Solomon Itegboje, President, 3D Impact Media West Africa
said that the medium is a shift from other advertising formats.

"Its versatility ensures that brand messaging can be everywhere and
targeted – impact is wherever and whenever customers go."

Source:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/08/02/3d-impact-unveils-ooh-media-solutions/