philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

3DTV Focus Conference at MIPTV

MIPTV returns to Cannes in April and will be hosting a 3D conference called 3DTV Focus. 3D Focus will be bringing you coverage from the event and we are keen to hear from anyone involved with the 3D television business as part of our coverage.

3DTV will be receiving a star positioning at MIPTV 2012 as part of the MIPTV 3DTV Focus, a special highlight programme on the latest developments and opportunities in 3DTV broadcasting and content.

Industry partners include Sony Corporation, the Korean Communications Commission (KCC), the Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA), and the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute.

The programme includes:

• Conferences & integrated 3D screenings, matchmaking (Tue 3 April)
• 3DTV Producer Boot Camp workshop (Wed 4 April)
• MIPTV Daily News Special 3DTV issue (Mon 2 April)
• 3DTV Producer Pavilion, stand 13.14 (Mon 1- Wed 4 April)

See the conference program here:

First retail-level 3D printing service available in Buckley

[Philip Lelyveld comment: I predict that there will soon be a Kinko's-like national service for 3D printing.]

The technology is expensive—in the thousands of dollars—but prices are coming down as the technology advances.

The price has come down enough that Ted Griffiths offers 3D printing services at his Buckley mailroom business, one of the first examples of a retail 3D printing.

"I'm working very closely with (printer manufacturer) 3D Systems," said Griffiths, the owner of Diane's Mailroom. "They have equipment that costs in the millions of dollars. I'm networked with them, so if anyone comes in with a really big 3D modeling job, I can just upload it to them and they'll ship it out." ...

Griffiths keeps an in-house 3D printer—the BFB 3000 Twin—in the back corner of the store, next to the service counter. It's a model that uses two lasers to thread two materials at once. Last Friday, he was performing some adjustments on the machine in preparation for a custom toy manufacturing job: a VF-12 fighter jet. ...

But he also maintains a computer station loaded with 3D modeling programs, from freeware like Blender to professional suites like AutoCAD. He rents use of the station for $15 an hour.

"I think what we're going to see here is some Do-It-Yourself engineers who come in to work on their designs on our station," Griffith said. "And they can build the prototype right here from our printer." ...

Griffiths acknowledges most of his customer base for 3D printing services won't come out of Buckley; most will be PayPal transactions from his website www.dianesmailroom.com. He will build from his shop and ship the designs out to the customer. ...

Read the full story here:

3D Storytelling conference sets speakers including Sky’s John Cassy, director Julian Napier, Vision 3’s Chris Parks

Thursday’s talks will include John Cassy of Sky 3D [pictured] on the UK as a world leader in 3D television; Anthony Geffen on making The Kingdom of Plants; Deluxe Digital’s Jonathan Gardner on 3D digital cinema distribution; Steve Smith of Sky 3D on live sports in 3D; Onsight’s Richard Mills and John Myers on post production challenges; Matthew Bristowe of Prime Focus on 2D to 3D conversion and Sony’s Mick Hocking on 3D in gaming.

Friday sessions include producer Rachel Joseph onStrictly Come Dancing 3D; Onsight’s Richard Mills on technological advances; Geoff Boyle on shooting 3D in extreme conditions; Can Communicate’s Duncan Humphreys on 3D production values and creative freedom; director Julian Napier on making Carmen 3Dand Madam Butterfly 3D; Chris Parks of Vision 3 on recent 3D successes and disappointments; Adam Sculthorp from Dimension Media leading a panel about the future of 3D; and results from Filmclub and Ravensbourne’s research into children’s views on 3D. ...

Sponsors include Sony, Onsight, Dimension Media, Digital Greenwich and Real D and partners are Filmclub, Vision 3, Sky 3D, WFTV and SGO. Screen International is the media partner. ...

See the conference website here: http://3dstorytelling.co.uk/

See the full story here

What Lies Beneath the Sea: Shooting in Stereo 3D

... So when Cassell attempted to break a world record by swimming underwater from Catalina Island to the California coast -- a dive of 30 miles -- they assembled a support crew and armed them with an array of 2D and S3D video cameras, which included Sony XDCAMs, Sony HXR-NX3D1Us, Panasonic AG-3DA1s, a Panasonic HDC-Z10000 and multiple GoPro 3D Hero rigs. In addition, they used Canon EOS 7D Digital SLRs to shoot both 2D still pictures and HD video. Their documentary, 30-Mile-Dive, is currently in production. ...

Cassell learned that shooting stereo footage underwater requires a different approach than he was used to. “You really need to be aware of distance so that you can get the (stereo) convergence right,” he explains. “Instead of rushing toward things to film them, you need to keep 5-8 feet distant from what you’re shooting -- otherwise the convergence will be off. It’s really exciting to see underwater subjects in 3D. Things swim. They hover. All the debris is floating, so you really are in a 3D environment.”

Another lesson Cassell learned was that all of that floating debris can look like a snowstorm if it’s not lit properly. “S3D requires a little more light. It’s been difficult to figure out how to light things,” he says. “You don’t want too much, because you have a lot of floating particles; with more light, they look like a blizzard. So lights need to be farther away, positioned to the side and a little below where you’d normally place them. It’s been quite a learning experience, but it all makes me feel like a kid again -- something new to play with and learn.” ...

“We had 5 or 6 terabytes of storage on the boat,” says Faires. “We had to be sure to stabilize all of the cards and hard drives so they wouldn’t go flying off the deck when the boat tossed in the waves.”

The PA logged everything, keeping track of what was shot under and above water. ...

To assemble and edit all of that footage, Faires turned to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5. “The GoPro, Sony, Panasonic and Canon cameras all shoot HD video, but they save it in different formats. Premiere supports all those formats natively, so I could bring them into my timeline, without having to convert them to another format,” he explains. “Plus, Premiere integrates with GoPro Cineform Studio Premium -- software that allowed me to edit the stereo footage.” ...

Read the full story here: 

Immortals Blu-ray 3D Review

The Picture

Captured on digital video, the 1.85:1 Immortals was converted from 2D to 3D in post-production, but for what it's worth, it was designed and shot with the intent of 3D exhibition in mind. The results offer the home viewer a pleasing sense of realistic depth into the TV, albeit with that faint, telltale glow around characters and objects. But so much of this movie was shot against green screen anyway, the eye can forgive it.

The image displays some outstanding sharpness and detail, even in the many long shots, a boon to the work of the great visual stylist Tarsem (The Cell, The Fall). I did however note quite a lot of video noise, and the blacks can definitely become murky, so overall the technical quality was not the home run I'd hoped for.

...

See the full review here:

SXSWi Panel Explores The Future of High Quality Audio, 4K Televisions

"For 15 years we got away from quality audio, and now we're going back to it." Indeed, audio quality has slowly improved over the years as both consumers and digital services sought to improve upon the low quality compressed files of the early iPod days. High-quality downloads are now easier to find - Apple just launched the Mastered for iTunes line of specially mastered tracks - and many subscription services and Internet radio services stream at a higher bit-rate than in the past....

Another coming trend is 4K resolution for televisions.  ...

"Innovation requires mentoring and capital," he said. Entrepreneurs could soon get help with the latter. Shapiro was especially excited that the U.S. House of Representatives' JOBS Act passed last week includes a provision that will allow entrepreneurs to receive small amounts of "crowdfunding" capital via social media - but without current regulations that would otherwise limit this strategy. "If the Senate will act… this JOBS Act will make a difference so people can get money."

See the full story here

Demand exceeds talent supply for China’s 3D industry

While China's 3D production industry has entered a peak period of development, a bottleneck in the supply of 3D talent has appeared. Lu Junshang, secretary-general of the National 3D Competition and president of 3D Animation told the Chinese-language Digital Weekly that China was experiencing a shortfall of 3D talent of about 10 million, with the manufacturing sector alone requiring 8 million professionals.

Reporters also found that the launch of China's experimental 3D television channel has brought not only opportunities but also numerous challenges for the TV industry, including the lack of video and broadcast equipment, and 3D cameramen and broadcast professionals.  ...

China does not lack consumers for 3D products but suffers a shortage of 3D professionals and teams. Ideally, about 7,000 3D educational institutes would have to be set up to balance supply and demand.

However, data shows that there are only 3,000 3D training institutes in China today. In addition, the courses offered by some 3D schools focus on theory and are not suitable for practical applications. ...

See the full story here: 

Watch the Fastest 3D Printer In the World Creating the Tiniest 3D F1 Car You Can Imagine

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