This white paper reports on aesthetic experiments conducted by the S3D team at Emily Carr. Field + studio, documentary + live event shots provide a basis for discussing best practices in S3D production.Download White Paper [Free].

Meet the Gear is a new series that introduces readers to the 3D technology in our arsenal. For the first installment of MTG, 4th year Interaction Design student Justin Alm sat down for an interview with 2nd year MAA student Sean Arden in the Motion Capture and Stereographic Studio at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

What kind of filmmaker uses the Kerner Rig?

The Kerner Rig is designed for broadcast TV or shooting a major motion picture. The rig is for using two high end cameras to generate a 3D image. First of all, you’re going to have to know how to use the cameras at your disposal and you’ll need experience shooting 2D. The Kerner Rig also requires an amount of knowledge of 3D filmmaking. Why you would want to use two cameras? To have the ability to change the space between your cameras – the interaxial and convergence. Also, it has motorized lenses. The rig is for an advanced filmmaker. That being said, we all reach advanced level by becoming beginner and intermediate filmmakers.

When learning 3D, I recommend using smaller point-and-shoot cameras and then graduating up to something like this. If you were on a 4 year program of learning 3D, you would start using the Kerner Rig at year 4. This is the type of camera you would shoot your grad film on.

Kerner Rig back view

Can you tell me about how the rig house two cameras?

The Kerner Rig is a beam-splitter rig. That means there is a 50/50 mirror, at 45˚ on the from of the rig. One camera is mounted horizontally shooting through the mirror, and another camera is mounted vertically shooting off the reflective side of the mirror. Using zoom lenses is ideal because you can change your focal length without having to adjust the camera or the rig at all.

Kerner Rig front view

Is the Kerner Rig something you can move around easily once it has been set up?

Ideally, a system like this is mounted on a dolly with a hydraulic arm, jib-arm, or a slider, so you can get some movement with the camera. 3D often looks best when the camera is in motion. Even if the motion is a subtle pan, slide, or dolly, it makes a big difference for your shot.

Can you get out of the studio and get mobile with it?

Sure, the Kerner Cam gets all its calibration and set up done in the studio before you go on site. Once the lenses and cameras are calibrated, you can lock it down and pack it up in four cases that will meet airline requirements. Then on on set it takes about 15min max to get the camera up and ready to shoot. Its a really great system.

What interesting techniques can be achieved using the rig?

The possibilities are numerous but we are still learning. An interesting technique is to use two cameras to make a 2D image – like for High Dynamic Range image. There’s a lot of cool stuff you can do. We have mostly been teaching and learning with the Kerner Rig. It is a great tool because you have full range of motion in the space between your cameras – the interaxial and convergence. As well, you have the full range of focal lengths so you can figure out what works at different focal lengths and interaxials. It’s just one of the great tools we have in the Stereoscopic 3D Centre that we’ve been doing research with

Find us in Booth 947, Exhibition Hall C

Come on down to the Vancouver Convention Centre August 9-11 to meet the team from the Emily Carr S3D Centre. We’ll have the Kerner Camera Rig on hand for a live demo, and our partners from Janro Imaging Lab will present Sandde, a Stereo 3D drawing tool that allows you to draw in space.

In addition to stereo, the booth will showcase applied research partnerships of the Social + Interactive Media Centre and the Health Design Lab. You’ll also be treated to an awesome reel of 2D animation projects from Emily Carr’s animation program.

Visit us at Siggraph 2011 to learn more about the S3D Centre at Emily Carr and meet our team. We look forward to seeing you there!

Report by Alan Goldman

The Toronto 3D Stereoscopic Conference June 11-14, 2011 was the first of its kind in North America. The four-day celebration of everything 3D featured 65 presenters from various parts of the globe. It was truly an eclectic confluence of academia, industry, independent filmmakers and artists.

Wim Wenders Keynote

The keynote was given by German filmmaker Wim Wenders who described the process of making a documentary about his friend the late choreographer Pina Bausch. Wenders’ claimed that his 3D journey started after seeing the concert film U2 3D (2007) and stated that 3D will, “revitalize the format for documentary filmmakers”. He explained that he delayed the making of the film for twenty years until he discovered a medium that could properly portray her work. He also said that his decision to film in 3D was predicated on a desire to accentuate depth cues that would not have adequately been articulated in two dimensions. Wenders alleges that the 3D production process differs from the ones utilized in the making of 2D films, “You have to forget everything you know about filmmaking—because you have to organize the shots and the whole process in a very different way”. The dramatic clips that Wenders screened left the audience speechless, and wanting to the see the film in its entirety. The 3D truly seemed to emphasize the volume, space and depth of Bausch’s magnificent dances.

S3D team presents on 3D Hybrid forms

On the Emily Carr panel entitled 3D Hybrids, Emily Carr President Ron Burnett spoke about 3D’s presence. Dr. Maria Lantin showed her magnificent Ocean Breath and talked about 3D as a metaphor for the embodied self. Michael Verity presented his highly evocative medium format 3D slides (taken recently on Fogo Island, Newfoundland), and I (Alan Goldman) discussed my research Documentary in Z space.

Conference Highlights

Throughout the event there were many other presentations about 3D and its present and future form. The following are few highlights: 

• Phillipe Mora, who has made more than 28 feature films and documentaries, claims to have found 3D movies made by the Nazis. Mora described his findings about a group of scientists who apparently captured track events at the 1936 Olympic games in 3D. These scientists could process and project the film less than 15 minutes after the events were completed. Mora believes that there is evidence to suggest that Jessie Owens’s famous 100 yard dash may have been filmed in 3D.

• Catherine Owens gave a Master class about her role as the director of U2 3D. She spoke of how the film came into being, and about her collaboration with cinematographer Peter Anderson. Owens drew from contemporary art practices and challenged the assumption of what we see, introducing creators to the nuances of directing 3D.

• Graeme Ferguson spoke after a screening of Hubble 3D at the Imax theatre about his experiences producing Imax 3D and of how the format has evolved in the years since he and his colleagues imagined it at Expo 67. Ferguson also referred to the influence that Norman McLaren’s early 3D filmAround is Around had on his practice.

The conference was unique and stimulating, leading to many discussions about 3D’s past and present. There were many intersecting points of topical interest between the participants. Consensus was reached on many subjects, including the need for a new language for 3D that incorporates art praxis.

Home of all things Stereo at Emily Carr

Here you’ll find examples of how the S3D team members have integrated S3D into their practice and research. You’ll also find examples of how we partner with industry to help develop stereoscopic 3D products and services.

Emily Carr S3D: a little history

In September 2009, Kerner Optical approached us with the idea of forming a Stereoscopic 3D Centre at Emily Carr. We took up the challenge, and by November 2009, during the Interactive Futures conference (on the theme of Stereo) at Emily Carr, we were ready to announce the initiative. Preliminary funding came from Western Economic Diversification in February 2010, and by May we officially launched the Centre.

The S3D Centre allows us to bring together people and resources, and to increase the level of exploration and production of stereoscopic images, videos, interactive work, and hybrid forms. We are now able to support a full S3D pipeline, from pre-production, to capture, edit, and display. Members of the S3D Centre team possess a complimentary set of skills that include stereoscopic photography, filmmaking, editing, animation, stop-motion, time-lapse, interactivity, and rigging.

Our Sponsors

From its inception, the Emily Carr S3D Centre has benefited from the support of many organizations and funding bodies, including Western Economic Diversification (WED), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Graphics, Animation and New Media Network Centre of Excellence (GRAND NCE), and the NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). This support has enabled us to quickly build an applied research portfolio and liaise with local industry to align our objectives with their needs.

Our Priorities

Our mission is to advance the art of stereoscopic 3D through research, education and training. In addition to workshops and training events, we offer courses through Emily Carr’s Continuing Studies Program, and are integrating S3D into the regular undergraduate curriculum.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @EmilyCarrS3D to stay connected. And if you’re in business in the BC region, join our LinkedIn group: S3D Industry/Research Networking Group (BC Region).

We love stereoscopic 3D and we welcome opportunities to link with like-minded people! Please contact us if you’d like to explore ways of working together.

In May 2011, Emily Carr S3D team members Alan Goldman and Sean Arden participated in the Science and the Arts Expo held at Victoria’s Royal British Columbia Museum. They provided an overview of the S3D process, gave demonstrations and screened content created at the S3D Centre. Goldman pointed out that kids see a lot of 3D movies, but may not be aware that the process of making live action stereoscopic movies differs ever so slightly than 2D. “Their faces really lit up when they saw that big mirror rig and themselves in 3D,” he said.

The S3D Team was a huge hit with the 5,000 attendees. So much so that, in June, the team was invited back to the Year of Science Grand Finale at the Vancouver Aquarium.

“The Year of Science expos aimed to show students – in an exciting and engaging way – the latest and greatest technologies and science-based careers in British Columbia,” said Jane Burnes, Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for the Year of Science. “Emily Carr University’s 3D stereoscopic exhibit added immeasurably to our events, as thousands of students entered the world of 3D while learning from the university’s inspiring team.”

Sean Arden, who led the Finale demo enthused, “Teaching kids about 3D was a really interesting experience; they were so engaged, but (they) didn’t really understand what they were seeing. I discovered that the best way for them to understand how 3D works was to teach them how their eyes work, and that was really fun.”

Science literacy

By showing the science connection to the arts in fields such as digital media, design and special effects, music, and more, the expos demonstrate how science and technology impact our everyday lives and the communities we live in, and provide students and others the opportunity to meet the real people behind the science.

As Dr. Moira Stilwell, Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Research and Innovation to the Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, has stated, “With the support of science leaders, as well as educators and community organizations throughout BC, our government is promoting increased literacy in science so we will be well-positioned to meet future workforce demands. Projections show that in the next 10 years one in eight jobs will be in science-related occupations, so it’s essential to get young people interested in science.”