This edition of Meet the Gear focuses on the S3D post production station, a combination of hardware and software that is essential to the production of stereoscopic 3D content. Sherman Tam, 3rd year COMMD student at Emily Carr chats with Denise Quesnel, Adjunct Research Associate and post specialist to learn about the various components that make up the station.

What is the S3D post production station comprised of?

The post production station has been assembled using the latest technology and artistic tools for S3D capture, editing, colour grading and compositing. The station is made up of a dozens of pieces of hardware and software, all tested extensively to ensure their stability with one another and compatibility. The heart of the station is an Apple desktop computer with an Intel processor that runs off RAID optics with a NVIDIA Quadro 4800 graphics card. We run an AJA Kona 3 breakout box for stereo output to monitoring devices, and for any HDCAM SR tape relay. We have a CODEX capture solution, which works very well with the Kernercam 3D system. Software includes AVID for offline and online editing, as well as Final Cut Studio, Adobe Master suite, Frame Forge pre-visualization tools, and DaVinci Resolve Colour grading software. We also have Stereo 3D specific products: Dashwood Stereo 3D Toolbox and Cineform/GoPro software.

How new are these technologies?

Some of these solutions have been manufactured for many years, such as AVID. Recently manufacturers have become more competitive as they see a new market within S3D post production, so they are beginning to drop their prices and integrate tools that are refreshingly brand new. As S3D productions become more flexible, such as shooting high frame rates for example, certain storage solutions will drop in price and thus creating a more accessible atmosphere for people interested in S3D post production. There are new tools being added routinely to software to manage a H.I.T (Horizontal Image Translation) and Floating Windows which are concepts specific to S3D and this is a great step for companies to take.

The desktop – the heart of the S3D post production station.

Who uses it? Which sectors of industry use S3D post production solutions?

We are now seeing more diverse users of these hardware and software solutions, because even just a few years ago newcomers were being priced out of the market. Many companies are introducing ‘lite’ or free demo type releases of their products, which enables students and new start ups to introduce themselves to Stereo 3D industry tools. Some of the more expensive solutions, such as SGO Mistika and Quantel Pablo systems are very excellent but cost upwards of $150K. For a large studio that is an affordable investment, but not practical for most people. The interesting thing we are seeing is that these tools are not being only used by the film industry, but also the scientific, medical and research areas as well.

What are some comparable/competing solutions and how do they differ?

Some systems come fully integrated and are custom set up for the person who orders it. Other solutions work straight out of a box, like Cineform Studio and Final Cut Pro. Other than price point, there are different reasons to choose one software over another; Avid is known for its media management capabilities and Final Cut is known for its ease of use. Adobe software is known for its full integration within its own software and now they have acquired high profile products like the Iridas technology, which will enable them to compete at a very high professional level.  The Davinci Resolve colour grading software is another excellent solution for fostering creativity in your work. We have added AVID’s line of Artist Series control panels for refined detail work on video projects, and this solution works very well at a price point lower than most surfaces.

The Codex recorder.

Where does one start with regards to producing stereo 3D content?

When considering all the new and old post production tools that exist, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the technology and see these solutions as ‘just’ tools. The most important thing to remember is that while the tools are important, it is your knowledge, creativity and skills that drive the success in your work. Learning the tools is one step, while experimenting and sometimes problem solving are also very important steps in becoming a master of your work. It is easy to see the work people are doing with the simplest and least expensive systems on the market on GoPro’s Twitter “Video of the Day” and become very inspired by it. Similarly, you can go to the movie theatre and watch Wim Wender’s “Pina” which is a 3D masterpiece of a grander scale. Working in post production for S3D projects does have many differences from 2D projects, and these solutions exist to help ease the challenges and also create more creative options for you. The key is not to get discouraged, but to understand that you might need to do more research before you start your project and allocate yourself more time to enjoy the process of creating an S3D project.

The S3D Centre at Emily Carr in partnership with Grand NCE presents UC Berkeley Professor and Vision Scientist Martin Banks 

This event is FREE and open to the public, but space is limited!
Register now at: http://s3dmeetup4.eventbrite.com/

We often hear about the famous ‘3D headache’ some people report when watching an S3D movie. Other times we are able to see image artifacts including flicker and unsmooth motion, either due to the captured image or even the projection itself. There are known issues that are associated with S3D content that we must acknowledge and work to improve. Martin Banks has been a key figure in the S3D world where his research has become definitive in understanding the topic of visual perception. His presentation is a must-see for anyone interested in the future of S3D delivery and production. He will discuss how different presentation methods affect the visibility of flicker, motion artifacts, distortions in perceived depth, and examines the properties of these methods in the spatio-temporal frequency domain. From this examination, he has been able to generate a series of predictors of which experiments were conducted and reported on. Martin will summarize in his research on why these issues occur, and will recommend how we can minimize these undesirable effects.

There will be the usual draw for a great door prize, so don’t forget to bring your business cards for a chance to enter! Stay tuned for more upcoming Meetup events from the S3D Centre.

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S3D Centre Meetup :: Higher, Faster, Better? S3D and Frame Rates with guest Martin Banks
This event is FREE and open to the public but space is limited! 
Register: http://s3dmeetup4.eventbrite.com/

Thursday, February 16, 2012
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
North Building | Intersections Digital Studios
Event 6–8:30 pm (door 5:30)
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Martin S. Banks received his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology in 1976 from University of Minnesota. In 1985, he joined UC Berkeley School of Optometry where he has been an Associate and Full Professor of Optometry and Vision Science until the present. He was Chairman of the Vision Science Program from 1995-2002, and again in 2012. Banks has received several awards for his work on basic and applied research on human visual development, visual space perception, and on the development and evaluation of stereoscopic displays. He has also been appointed Fellow of Universities and Societies since 1988 to as recent as 2011.  Read more about Martin and his work at UC Berkeley BanksLab at their website.http://bankslab.berkeley.edu/

Emily Carr’s S3D Centre is a national centre of excellence dedicated to advancing the art of stereoscopic 3D through research, education and training.

 Visit us online: http://www.s3dcentre.ca
Follow us on Twitter: @emilycarrs3d

The S3D Centre at Emily Carr with the support of GRAND NCE & the Consulate General of France in Vancouver presents a very special event: The Art of 3D Storytelling with special guest Joséphine Derobe. This Masterclass will introduce the concepts of scriptwriting, directing, and a variety of storytelling techniques that are unique to Stereoscopic 3D productions. Joséphine Derobe is an award winning filmmaker and 3D Stereographer currently based in Paris, France. She first began working as a reporter and photographer, and her career in Stereoscopic 3D began in 2006 when her father Alain Derobe (also a Stereographer) suggested she learn about the industry. She fell in love with the medium during her first production and at that point switched her full time job to learn the art of S3D.

In the past six years, she has worked on S3D feature films, corporate films, short films and commercials as a Stereographer. One of her achievements to date has been the creation of the Natural Depth Method (also known in the industry as the Derobe Method) an innovative 3D filmmaking technique that she co-created with her father Alain Derobe. As a S3D Director, Joséphine is very interested in the 3D language and attempts to explore the full capacity of this wonderful medium in an artistic way.

Her first short film as writer, director and stereographer is called Diary of a Fridge (2011). This award winning film features live action and stop motion and having been selected in many 3D film festivals during 2011, it has won the grand prize at International Rimouski Festival (Quebec/Canada ), 37th NSA Convention (Colorado /USA), Be-Film Festival (New-York / USA), and Dimension3 Expo (Saint-Denis/ France).

Curriculum 

The Masterclass begins Friday, February 10th at 7pm for a screening of the award winning film “Pina” at The Park Theatre (3492 Cambie Street). Masterclass attendees receive VIP seating and Joséphine will be present to introduce the film and answer a Q&A.

The Masterclass continues Saturday, February the 11th from 10am to 3pm where Joséphine will present on the Art of 3D Storytelling. Joséphine balances her work in both technical and artistic roles, which makes her especially talented and very popular within the filmmaking industry. Within this intimate class size, attendees will be encouraged to interact with Joséphine as she demonstrates a variety of techniques and discusses theory. She will present her short film, “Diary of a Fridge”, and will show clips from the ‘Making of Pina’, and other films she has worked on. Joséphine will answer questions and provide some suggestions for successful S3D projects for everyone to keep in mind for their first or next S3D endeavour.

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Filmography as a Stereographer:

 * Recently completed “Astérix et Obélix”, “On Her Majesty’s Service”, dir. Laurent Tirard (Coming October 2012)

* Currently filming “Minuscules”, dir. Thomas Szabo and Helen Giraud (Coming 2013)

*  “Pina” (2011), dir. Wim Wenders *  “If Buildings Could Talk” (2010) dir. Wim Wenders

* “Sea Rex 3D, IMAX” (2010) dir. Ronan Chapalain and Pascal Vuong

Filmography as a Director:

* “Diary of a Fridge” (2011)

* Currently in production for a 2012 short film.

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The Art of 3D Storytelling with Joséphine Derobe.

Only 30 spots available, register soon!

http://s3dmasterclass.eventbrite.com/

$60 registration fee includes the evening screening of “Pina” with Joséphine Derobe at The Park Theatre, a five hour workshop, and a full lunch.

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Screening of “Pina” Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 7pm

The Park Theatre, 3492 Cambie Street

Workshop on Saturday, February 11, 2012 10am-3pm

Emily Carr University of Art + Design North Building | Intersections Digital Studios

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Emily Carr’s S3D Centre is a national centre of excellence dedicated to advancing the art of stereoscopic 3D through research, education and training.

Visit us online: http://www.s3dcentre.ca

Follow us on Twitter: @emilycarrs3d

Thank you to the Consulate General of France in Vancouver for their support of this event! The Consulate General of France in Vancouver, through his cultural office, is dedicated to promote cultural and artistic exchanges between France and Western Canada, with a particular emphasis on the digital media and visual arts sectors.www.consulfrance-vancouver.org email: culturel@consulfrance-vancouver.org

Thank you to GRAND NCE for their sponsorship of the event! GRAND is a research network and commercialization engine whose goal is to address complex issues in digital media and transform multidisciplinary research into user-centred solutions. GRAND will explore the use and application of digital media in a variety of settings including entertainment, healthcare, education, environmental sustainability, and public policy. GRAND is a federally-funded Network of Centres of Excellence supporting 34 research projects divided into 5 cross-pollinating themes involving researchers at 25 universities across Canada with more than 60 industry, government, and nonprofit partners.

Nick Kalish is a 4th Year Film Video and Interactive Media student at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Justin Alm interviewed Nick prior to the shooting of HOTBOX – the first undergraduate film shot in S3D at Emily Carr.

What are you guys doing here today?

We are testing out the “Derobe” method for my film, and tracking a person that is walking back and forth in order to keep them on screen plane, and in my film there is a conceptual reason for it. I am trying to lead my audience into the mental state of the character. I am hoping to use the “Derobe” method to achieve that, by keeping the character on screen plane while effectively having the set change its perspective to accommodate him.  It connotes a sense of narcissism and an egocentricity that is very important to the story and that character.

What is the story about?

HOTBOX is a psychological character study about a disturbed boy. I hope to develop a discourse around school shooters and adolescent mass murderers, and what accounts for such a profound annihilation of youthful innocence, how someone could transform from a child into a monster. Aesthetically, I am exploring various spaces.  I am exploring theatrical space. How S3D is sort of a return to theatrical space.  As well as the capacity for various 3-dimensional and 2-dimensional aesthetic conventions to portray mental space, how distorted perceptive and depth perception or different variations of perspective can lead you into the reality of the character.

So S3D is an essential component for your film?

Definitely. I am not going to release a 2D version of the film. I may make compromises later on, but for my first S3D film I want to make something that is entirely self reflexive and reliant on the medium itself. It is not something that will be the same in 2D. It is a completely different medium and should be regarded as such. Things that work best in S3D are very different than 2D conventions. Much more time can be spent within locked frame because your eyes are exploring it, looking around it, absorbing it in a way that doesn’t happen in 2-dimensional imagery. In 2D, we expect to a cut every couple of seconds because that is the pace that we are accustomed to.  The brain processes the majority of a 2D image within seconds, while stereo depth cues take longer to process. Thus S3D allows us the opportunity to slow things down.  That, along with a return to volumized theatrical space, is why I am choosing to maintain a fixed perspective for this film.

Did you write this film?

I co-wrote it with my lead actor, Jon Lachlan Stewart.

Were the technical components of the production’s concept considered while it was being written?

I actually had all of the technical components predominantly figured out before I even started writing. I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like. The writing portion was primarily the development of the monologue. However I did weave the 3D aspect of the film into the story in a self reflexive manor. For instance, the main character has one blind eye, a birth defect or sorts. It is ironic because he cannot perceive depth.

Who is the audience that you are hoping to reach with a film like this?

It is potentially going to be very controversial, I know that already. It’s a bit twisted. It is something that I am going to have to defend it in a lot of different ways, and that is why I have done my homework on the topic. School killers, bombers, it is a very touchy subject. I wanted to make sure that while I am very fascinated by these sort of characters who make light of their situation while the are in the midst of doing something terrible, I want to make sure that I am not glorifying them as much as I am attempting to understand them.  Though to me their criminal psychology is titillating, and looking at recent film and television content, I don’t think I am alone. So in that case, I am looking at a very broad audience. Anyone who enjoys watching characters like Hannibal Lecter or Jack Torrence should appreciate this film.  I am also making it with the S3D community in mind.  There are brief moments that I intentionally stress the eyes through divergence for dramatic effect, which may polarize peoples opinions as well. It will be interesting to hear what the 3D folks have to say about that.

How are you funding this film?

I am funding the film through Kickstarter.com. Kickstarter is an awesome website for raising money for projects, in a central location with an all or nothing funding model. Basically I have until January 8th to meet a funding goal of $1500 or we don’t get anything, and we really need the help. They aren’t just donations though, I am offering awesome backer rewards like the fantastic poster we have created, copies of the film with anaglyph glasses, as well as associate and executive producer credits on the film itself. Check it out! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nickkalish/hotbox

Is there anything else you would like to say?

I would just like to thank the S3D centre at Emily Carr for all of their generosity and support.  They welcomed me with open arms as both a content creator and an intern, donating their fantastic resources and wealth of knowledge. I would love to continue my relationship with them and help them any way I can to become the renowned establishment they deserve to be.

Check out HOTBOX at http://synapscinema.com/hotbox

At a recent S3D Centre Meetup event S3D Production and Post Workflow, guest presenter Ron Steinberg, Brand Manager & Buyer for Amaya Foto, gave a demo of the Hurricane Rig. A few minutes before Ron stepped on stage, Justin Alm interviewed him about the history, usability, and films currently being produced on the Hurricane Rig.

First things first, is Hurricane the name of the company that manufactures the rig?

No. The rig is manufactured by a company called GenusTech; Hurricane is the name of the rig itself. It was designed by the British filmmaker Alister Chapman. Alister called the rig the Hurricane because he predominantly shoots natural weather phenomenon. About 5 years ago, he got into shooting his films in 3D and started designing his own rigs. The Hurricane rig as we know it today is a 5th generation design. The rig has been under development for several years but has been on the market since February of 2011.

 

The Hurricane Rig with cameras.

What kind of filmmaker uses the Hurricane Rig?

The Hurricane has a broad user-group. It is being used for educational purposes here at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. The Hurricane has found its home in many education institutes around the world because it is completely manual; when making an adjustment to the rig, you have to do everything by hand. For the student, their decisions become more intentional and they develop a deeper understanding of the mechanics of Stereoscopic 3D filmmaking.

Documentary filmmakers are another large user-group for the Hurricane. The rig can be setup quickly — in about 10 minutes not including mounting cameras. It packs down into a small flight case that can be checked as airline luggage. As Alister Chapman is a documentary filmmaker, who travels all over the world, one of his primary goals in designing the rig was to have it pack down into a small flight case.

A third group using the Hurricane Rig are independent feature filmmakers. Night of the Living Dead — 3D Reanimater used the Hurricane’s. That production company bought 2 rigs because they are inexpensive for their capabilities. It is liberating for a production company to purchase a couple of Hurricanes instead of renting rigs for thousands of dollars per day. The Night of the Living Dead production has been able to achieve great results using Canon cameras with Steadicam® stabilization.

Image of the Hurricane Rig as used on location.

I recently interviewed Sean Arden, who works for the S3D Centre, about the Kerner Rig. How does the Hurricane Rig differ from the Kerner Rig?

Essentially, the Kerner and Hurricane rigs do exactly the same thing. They are both beam splitter or mirror rigs but the major difference between them is that the Kerner Rig is completely motorized. The interaxial, focus pull, zoom, convergence are all motorized; whereas, the Hurricane is a completely manual rig with optional motorization. Alister designed it to keep the price-point down, keep it light-weight, and simple to use and maintain. Apart from those differences, the rigs achieve essentially the same results.

The Kerner may be slightly easier to use when making a zoom change but we generally don’t make those sorts of adjustments when filming in 3D. Usually, we don’t adjust the zoom or interaxial during a take when shooting in 3D because the human eye doesn’t make those adjustments in reality. Also, the Kerner is designed to use a particular camera system whereas the Hurricane is camera agnostic, as long as those cameras can Genlock [Synchronize their frame rates]. As it is an open platform, we can put anything from small DSLRs to RED EPIC’s on the Hurricane. Nothing has to be changed on the rig to use a wide variety of cameras, although the use of the Bolster Bracket triangulation kit stiffens the unit up for heavier payloads. As I said earlier, the Hurricane shines when people have to travel to remote locations. Although the Kerner can be transported, it doesn’t have the same portability or option for shooting hand-held like the Hurricane.

So I’ve probably watched a lot of productions made on the Hurricane?

I don’t know if you’ve had much of an opportunity. In North America, we’re behind the times in terms of exposure to 3D content but I do know the rig has been used in many productions over the past year. We’ll be seeing content produced on it more and more.

In this installment of Meet the Gear we bring you Sandde, a freehand stereo 3D animation software that allows you to ‘draw in space’. Justin Alm chats with Director/Animator Munroe Ferguson, an expert in Sandde who led a Masterclass at Emily Carr in the Spring to find out how it works.

Let’s start with the basics, what is Sandde?

Sandde stands for Stereoscopic Animation Drawing Device so there’s two ‘d’s and one ‘e’ – a lot of people misspell the name. Essentially, instead of drawing on a two dimensional surface, like on a piece of paper, we draw in three dimensional space. SANDDE is also an animation tool, as it has some motion capabilities. 

How long have people been using Sandde?

People have been using the software for about 10 years. Currently, it is more available for students. As it is a Canadian invention, the first place you’ll find Sandde is Canadian institutions.

Who would use Sandde?

People who use Sandde are between the practices of drawing and sculpture. They want a different look than what you get using computer graphics in Maya or Softimage. Those programs use math but Sandde is closer to drawing. Drawn animation was often referred to as 2 dimensional until Sandde. Now people are baffled because we’re doing something between 2 and 3D. If you drawn something computer generated, there is a perfected quality that seems cold. When you see something drawn with Sandde, the imperfections make the image look more like a drawing.

GRAND Research Associate Steve Oldridge working with Sandde

So Sandde doesn’t produce perfect-polished images?

While other computer programs are more about producing shapes and surfaces, Sandde is more about lines – edges of things. For example, if I want to draw a face, I can produce the image with 4 lines but in CG you’d have to spend more time working on producing surfaces, forcing imperfections, to get things looking natural. With those 4 lines in Sandde, we get down to the essence of cartooning. If you draw a circle with a line and 2 dots and show it to a new born baby, the child will smile at the image. We are hard-wired to take minimal amounts of information and interpret this info as a face or any other kind of image.

What are the components of Sandde?

The system is comprised of an input device and the Sandde software. The one being used here at Emily Carr is a cam wand [a device with 4 LEDs you can move around in front of a webcam]. The computer extrapolates where you’re holding the wand in 3 dimensional space, interprets that location, and enables the artist to draw. I have been consulting with graduate students at Emily Carr who want to use the motion capture studio as an input device for Sandde. The motion capture stage enables people to draw with their entire body. Usually, the artist needs an unusual input device because you need something that can draw width, height, and depth.

GRAND Research Associate Steve Oldridge working with Sandde

Traditionally speaking, drawing requires 2 physical objects to interact with to create an image. With Sandde, you seem to be drawing pictures in the air. How does it feel?

You don’t have the pressure of the page to orient yourself so there’s a period of two weeks when you relearn your eye-hand coordination. If you’re proficient at drawing, it can be disheartening to pick up a wand and move it around and produce drawings like you did in kindergarten. After a couple weeks, you start to realize, you don’t need a surface and you start drawing the way you used to. Your style comes back. I can look at an artist’s portfolio before they use Sandde and know what style they will have. It turns out that style is not dimensionally dependent. Style is inside of you and linked to your personality. Whenever human beings encounter a new tool, we find a new way to look at ourselves.

Can you talk about how Sandde crosses over from research institutions into industry?

Sandde was developed by IMAX and I was one of two animators that made Paint Misbehaving – the first 3D film to screen in IMAX theatres. Since then, we’ve made a few films with Sandde at the National Film Board. I did Falling In Love Again, which was very successful as a 2D film in 2003. At that time, 3D theatres were scarce. Apart from IMAX, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to see 3D content. Now there is a proliferation of 3D monitors, TVs, gaming consoles, and theatres investing in projection equipment. The Wobble Incident was purchased by Sony and comes with the Playstation. At the moment, the amount of good 3D content is limited so experimental short films are being supported by industry.

So you see Sandde sticking around long-term?

Yes. There’s been a lot of development over the last year. Janro Imaging has invested a lot into improving the system. It’s great that Emily Carr has fostered cooperation between industry and academics. In the Stereoscopic 3D Centre, there is a creative back-and-forth between sectors. Good things will come from Emily Carr playing around with tools and for companies to get feedback from artists who are using their tools. In this environment, artists can influence the development of these tools. Sometimes people think we are helpless in the face of technology. In an R&D situation like the S3D Centre, we can be part of the process of developing tools. Technology isn’t just science; it’s a relationship between art and science.

This event is FREE and open to the public, but space is limited!

Register now at: http://s3dmeetup2.eventbrite.com/

Hot on the heels of this week’s first S3D Centre Meetup event, we’re busily preparing for our next Meetup. This time, we’ve partnered with Parallax Film Productions to present: Parallax Film Productions Foray into 3D. 

What does an implosion of a major stadium in Brazil look like, and what does it take to capture it in 3D? How does a production progress from concept through to a major broadcaster like National Geographic Channel? Come to The S3D Centre’s 2nd Meetup to satisfy your curiosity from some of the best in the local industry.

Executive producer and director Ian Herring from Parallax Film Productions, and director, DOP and stereographer Sean White will present their work from “3D Blowdown: Fonte Nova Stadium” and talk about their journey into Stereoscopic 3D production. At this event, clips will be projected in 3D onto the big screen and attendees will hear exclusive behind the scenes details about one of the most unique productions to date. All attendees will be entered into a draw for a number of products, including a BluRay of “3D Blowdown”! Stay posted for more upcoming Meetup events from the S3D Centre including some high profile guests soon to be announced.

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S3D Centre Meetup :: Parallax Film Productions Foray into 3D 
This event is FREE and open to the public but space is limited!
Register: http://s3dmeetup2.eventbrite.com/

Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
North Building | Intersections Digital Studios
Event 6–8pm (door 5:30)
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Parallax Film Productions delivers factual and dramatic programs to broadcasters all over the world. Parallax specializes in science and engineering documentaries, and produces content in HD and 3D for multiple media platforms.
http://www.parallaxfilm.com

Ian Herring, Blowdown 3D executive producer and director founded Parallax Film Productions to produce his own special brand of content – exploring the world of science and history for Canadian and international audiences. Working closely with his team in Vancouver, Ian emphasizes great storytelling above all else.http://www.parallaxfilm.com/about-us

Sean F. White is an award-winning photographer, cinematographer and film director whose assignments and personal projects take him to all corners of the globe. From indigenous cultures to extreme engineering, from adventure sports to nature’s splendors on seven continents, Sean embraces his subjects with passion and wonder. 
http://www.seanwhite.net