Microsoft And Skype Developing 3D Video Calls

Tim here, and I've got a few stories that are all being posted together. These are stories I've colleced over the last week, but have been busy editing a project for a recurring client. Please also check out the latest news on Apple's Patent for 3D Gesture and Moulin Rouge! 3D.
Hot news from Skype yesterday: Skype has confirmed it is developing 3D video calls! Revealed by a senior executive in a BBC interview marking the 10-Year Anniversary of Skype, the technology is said to be years from launch.

"We've done work in the labs looking at the capability of 3D-screens and 3D-capture," said Microsoft's corporate vice-president for Skype, Mark Gillett. "We've seen a lot of progress in screens and a lot of people now buy TVs and computer monitors that are capable of delivering a 3D image. But the capture devices are not yet there. As we work with that kind of technology you have to add multiple cameras to your computer, precisely calibrate them and point them at the right angle. We have it in the lab, we know how to make it work and we're looking at the ecosystem of devices and their capability to support it in order to make a decision when we might think about bringing something like that to market."

Gillett went on to further express his belief that autostereoscopic screens are pivotal to expanding 3D-capable screens in homes, whether it's a 3DTV, 3D Tablet, or 3D Phone. "I can imagine a day when you have a 3D-cellphone screen that doesn't need 3D-glasses to use it," he said. He went on to add that first TV's will have 1080 HD cameras attached for video calls, and then "you'll see much more penetration of 3D on TVs, on computers and ultimately in smartphones, probably, ahead of seeing it for sending a video call."

This is exciting news. Imagine, not too long from you, you'll be able to video chat with people in 3D using Skype! It's pretty exciting stuff.

Apple's Patent for 3D Gesture Control on Touchscreen Devices

Tim here, and file this one under very interesting: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a newly-granted Apple patent (via AppleInsider) addressing a means for extending the multi-touch input present on Apple's touchscreen devices to the airspace above the screen, allowing for 3D manipulation of objects via 3D gesture inputs.

It was filed in July of 2012 with the title "Working with 3D Objects" and it describes a system that detects both 2D objects in a user interface and a 3D gesture input close to the device's surface, which then generates a 3D object that is presented in the user interface of the device.

The patent reveals that the device detects the location of a user's fingers using a combination of proximity sensors located on the display and capacitive touch sensors. No need to worry because the technology also works in combination with existing touchscreen controls. The new tech will allow users to lift their fingers off the screen and "pull out" a 3D shape from the 2D image. This is very similar to existing CAD (computer-aided design) programs.

Techniques and systems that support generating, modifying, and manipulating 3D objects using 3D gesture inputs are disclosed. For example, 3D objects can be generated based on 2D objects. A first user input identifying a 2D object presented in a user interface can be detected, and a second 3D gesture input that includes a movement in proximity to a surface can be detected. A 3D object can be generated based on the 2D object according to the first and second user inputs, and the 3D object can be presented in the user interface where the 3D object can be manipulated by the user.

As stated above, file this one under very interesting. There are other uses for the new technology, which include the ability to use 3D gestures to sculpt virtual clay-like materials and to change parameters of the object such as shadows, brightness, textures, and more. Expect the iPad to become more of a creative device for numerous industries who use CAD.

4th Annual 3D Creative Arts Awards - Feb 6, 2013, Beverly Hills Hotel

3D Month Continues! I'm excited to announce the upcoming 3D Creative Arts Awards at the Beverly Hills Hotel on February 6th, 2013. The International 3D Society is the host. Yours truly will be there and mingling with of all those amazing and creative 3D aficionados. Expect full details!

As 3D enthusiasts yourself, I'm sure you will be interested in this gala event!

Here is the official announcement (emphasis is mine):

Dear friends,

On behalf of the Board of Governors of the International 3D Society and 3D@Home, we cordially invite you to join us as we honor the people and organizations who have distinguished themselves in the 3D arts and technologies at this year’s 4th Annual 3D Creative Arts Awards.

Our annual black tie dinner has become an exciting and enjoyable evening for our friends to gather and celebrate the best of 3D from around the world.

Please join us as we honor director Ang Lee for his extraordinary achievement with ‘Life of Pi,’ DreamWorks Animation (DWA) for their leadership in 3D artistic and technical achievement, and 3net as it celebrates its 2nd anniversary.

Your red carpet cocktail reception, honoring this year’s 3D Technology Award Winners, will be held at 6pm. Dinner will follow in the Crystal Ballroom at 7pm, and our program will begin promptly at 8pm.

There are a limited number of tickets and tables available, so we encourage you to RSVP as soon as you know you’d like to join us.

For all Table and Ticketing information, please call (310) 429-3830 or email info@influencepictures.com.

Join us for 3D’s biggest night of the year!

--


Copyright © 2013 International 3D Society, All rights reserved.


Our mailing address is:
International 3D Society
16255 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 525
Encino, CA 91436
www.international3Dsociety.com

PROMETHEUS Setting Box Office Records Already! *AND* Learn About The Awesome Tech Behind The Movie!!

Of course it is going to do well at the box office, you can take that for granted. But just how well will it do? From the first indicators - VERY well. PROMETHEUS has eclipsed AVATAR and HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 2 in pre-sales at the BFI IMAX theater in London. That means that over 30,000 people have bought advance tickets to the tune of $737,588 from ONE theater.

BFI had booked 18,287 tickets after just one week of sales ($474,687) which set a new high for them in pre-sales, and now the records just keep falling to PROMETHEUS as time rolls along toward its release date.

Here's the storyline for the movie:

Ridley Scott, director of “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. 

Can this ONE theater hit $1 million in pre-sales before the release of the movie on June 8th? Sure is nice to think so.

*AND*

PROMETHEUS has over 1400 3D visual effects shots. They used software programs like Autodesk's Maya (3D animation), Pixar's Renderman (ray-traced scenes), Adobe AfterEffects (for well, after effects!) and The Foundry's NUKE (compositing) to name several.

Ten different VFX companies tackled the work, though Moving Picture Company garnered the most. To me, this is very exciting. I have often found various effects houses to have their "brand" all over their work - like in TRANSFORMERS I found ILM to have ample superiority over hard edged robots and buildings while a company like Weta Digital has the finest control over rounded creatures like humans and faces in particular. Combine them and you have one heckuva effects movie. It's exciting to me to see another visual effects house getting the bulk of the work because we may see things we've never seen before! Not that these guys haven't been around for awhile - they have. They've worked and are working on movies like CLASH OF THE TITANS, SKYFALL, SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL, WORLD WAR Z, 47 RONIN, LIFE OF PI, etc. But let's face it, they were chosen as the led effects shops over ILM and Weta and it should look slightly different and exciting. I saw things in TITANS for example that blew my mind! Can't wait!!

Ridley Scott used Red Epic cameras on 3ality Technica Atom rigs. He had four mounted rigs (with the same configurations) and one steadicam for the bulk of the shoot. The consistent configurations of the mounted rigs eased editing a great deal.

The cameras were all connected to 3ality's Stereo Image Processors (SIPs) for the recording of all the data bursting forth from those VERY high resolution cameras. The SIPs also helped maintain speedy transitions when lens needed to be changed or cameras realigned. The technology goes further by offering advice on the fly to the filmmakers on convergence (creating a single image from two different camera image angles converged on the same point in space), interaxial (the distance between the two camera's lenses - like our eyes) settings and any alerts.

These settings are EXTREMELY important for a comfortable viewing experience. The settings must be correct during transitions or it will be quite jarring to the audience. Those SIPs track these configurations and help eliminate any transition issues.

The PROMETHEUS team actually shot far more resolution than what was necessary for the final 2K product. In fact they shot at 5K and 120 frames per second! They used the extra space surrounding the final viewable product to assist in eliminating edge artifacts (as shown in the image).

The idea and thrust behind the PROMETHEUS technology was to get the 3D workflow as close to 2D and from the sound of this fine report that was accomplished. 3ality Technica's tech allows for the same number of 3D setups in a shooting day as 2D. There is no real excuse now in saying that 3D is slower because you are setting up 2 cameras, not 1. There is no longer an excuse that the 3D cameras and rigs are too big - they aren't now!

The new technology here eliminates these things from the equation and gives time back to the filmmaker to be as creative as they can be and not worry about the optics. PROMETHEUS is set to fully enjoy the reaction from audiences worldwide on what they have accomplished.

I fully endorse the write up that Electronic Design did on this. Check it out.

Sources: THR | ElectronicDesign

3D Geek Alert: Check Out A New See Through 3D Desktop From Microsoft!

Wow. These guys have come a long way and it's quite ingenious to incorporate a transparent OLED screen for this purposing. I can certainly see how this would eloquently transcribe to larger screens as well as glasses too.



What do you think? Kinda exciting to see these inventions during their infancy!

Looking forward to seeing more and more 3D technology come out of Microsoft as they realize that 3D is growing rapidly and they are heavy, HEAVY investors in R&D...

Thanks for the heads up EBostock! :-)

First Affordable 3D Beam-Splitter Rig For Red One Cameras Introduced

Jim here. If you read MarketSaw you know I love 3D equipment that is made with students in mind and I think this fits the bill for students and professionals alike.

The 3D-BS Pro Rig is priced from $3,895.

Emphasis below is mine:

3D Film Factory has released the first production-ready, cost-effective 3D camera system – the 3D-BS Pro Rig. This 3D beam-splitter rig was specifically designed for use with the Red One cameras, as well as, other larger, broadcast quality cameras. Its durable, precise configuration was developed with the guidance of veteran stereographers and award-winning filmmakers to provide a viable, affordable alternative to high-priced 3D rigs costing ten times as much.

“Up until now, there’s only a few high-end facilities offering 3D rigs for Red One cameras and they’re very expensive”, said company president Karl Kozak. “So we set out to create a quality 3D Red system most filmmakers could afford. We’re interested in proliferating 3D production by making it accessible. The result was the 3D-BS Pro Rig, a great 3D rig for the Reds, that shoots incredible 3D at a fraction of the cost.”

The company’s new 3D-BS (beam-splitter) Pro Rig allows users to manually adjust both the camera convergence settings (1° to 5°) and the inter-ocular (camera-to-camera) distances from 0” to 6”. It’s constructed of black anodized aluminum that’s virtually indestructible, with a weight of approximately 32 lbs. Its durable frame adjusts to fit almost any pair of large-sized, broadcast quality cameras, including but not limited to; Red One, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, Silicon Imaging and JVC.

At the center of the 3D rig is a piece of optically engineered, impurity-free, 50/50 beam-splitter glass, that’s been optimized for a 45° angle. It’s fully encased in a light-dampening, rugged plastic mirror box, that’s completely detachable and secure. The housing and glass positioning are easily modifiable to accommodate almost any large-size camera model and/or lens. Finally, the entire 3D rig readily attaches to most professional tripod heads with the use of a simple supplied adapter.

The result is an inexpensive, robust 3D rig that makes 3D shooting both simple and precise. When combined with a real-time 3D viewing system, a dual camera sync device and genlock, cinematographers can capture extraordinary 3D images for a fraction of the cost of all other systems.

“It’s really that easy to start shooting 3D images, you just need a few good tools and some training”, said Kozak. “Of course, to achieve superior 3D, you’ll need a stereographer. We use one on all of our 3D productions, because the cinematographer can’t do it all. As a result, we hire out professional stereographers for 3D training and 3D productions worldwide.”

In addition to the Red One camera, the 3D-BS (beam-splitter) Pro Rig is compatible with the following cameras; Sony’s CineAlta HD Cams, F950, F900, F35, HDW650, HDW790, DSR450, DVW970, Panasonics HDX900, HPX2000, HPX500, HPX3000, and the Varicam HDC27H, Ikegami’s HDK-79EXIII, HDK-727P, HDS-V10, HDK-79EC, HDN-X10, Silicon Imaging’s Si-2K, and many others.

Additionally, the 3D Film Factory offers a complete line of 3D rigs, including the 3D-BS (beam-splitter) Indie Rig, intended for smaller, professional grade camcorders, as well as, an assortment of inexpensive 3D-SS (side-by-side) Rigs. These dual cameras systems are less complex, but equally necessary for most 3D production situations.

To learn more about the 3D-BS Pro Rig or the full line of 3D rigs, visit the company’s website @ www.3DFilmFactory.com

About 3D Film Factory
Based in San Diego, California, the 3D Film Factory is both full service 3D production house and a 3D equipment manufacturer. More specifically, the company specializes in the design and marketing of production-ready, affordable 3D camera systems, while lending its expertise in a variety of 3D production, from ‘stereographers for hire’, to hands-on 3D training, to complete 3D productions through post.

Jim Dorey on THE WRAP: Comments Welcomed

Hey guys - Jim here. I wanted to introduce a new blog to you that I have been invited to contribute to called THE WRAP. You may have heard of it already as it is quite a widely read Hollywood focused blog that pulls no punches.

I will be writing exclusively about, ummm hmmm... ahhh - oh yes, 3D movies and tech. :-)

Have a look at my first piece and by all means please leave a comment over there!

MarketSaw continues on of course! Getting bigger and better too - working on MarketSaw v2.0...