Michael Jackson In 3D Tonight On The Grammys

Jim here. Even though it is in anaglyph, I will give this event its due as it is Michael Jackson after all. Tonight on the Grammy Awards (CBS), Michael Jackson will be remembered by stars and fans alike with the airing of his EARTH SONG in 3D.

You can pick up 3D glasses for the show at Target stores today. There are only 15 million of them available however so if you intend on getting a pair, do it early.

To be clear, this is NOT modern 3D folks. This is a similar type of experience that was presented at the Super Bowl last year with the MONSTERS VS. ALIENS commercial. I was NOT impressed by the effort and quite frankly sends a confusing message as to what modern 3D is about. However this is not about a movie per se, but rather to remember a great musician - so I am all for that.

3D Shorts: ViewSonic's LED 3D; World Cup In 3D; And Bringing 3D Life To Michael Jackson?

Jim here. Got three brief stories that have been accumulating and it is time to get them out there!

- Viewsonic is looking forward to launching LED based as well as a professional series of 3D screens in 2010.
...I have not seen their VX2265wm FuHzion in action, but the specs are similar to the 120Hz Samsung that I use.

- The FIFA World Cup will see about 50% of all of it's games broadcast in stereoscopic 3D. The World Cup is being held in South Africa next summer and it is thought that Sony will be participating in the S3D events as it is a major sponsor of the games. Sony is a leader of S3D technology development.
...We reported on discussions around the World Cup (and the London Olympics) being shot in S3D back in March of 2008. Looking forward to this!

- Michael Jackson could be brought back to life through full body 3D scans that were done of the King of Pop back in 1996. Of course this was before he had major cosmetic surgery and he was 37 at the time - the prime of his life.
- I have wondered about the feasibility of a well known actor/entertainer scanning his full body in 3D so that his/her estate could continue to capitalize on their likeness. No need to wonder anymore I suppose.

Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT Concert May Not Be In 3D - But Could Be 3D On Disc! Interview: Todd Cogan, Producer

Jim here. Just got off the phone with Todd Cogan, 3D Producer and Stereographer of Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT concert movie that opens tonight at midnight at various locations and wide tomorrow. Todd has a very impressive background in 3D to say the least (one that I am very envious of) and has done extensive work with PACE (Vince) and Lightstorm (Jim Cameron).

What an exciting movie and what an exciting concert it would have been. While Todd could not confirm or deny that there will be screenings of THIS IS IT in 3D, he did say that Sony has all the stereoscopic 3D assets in hand to make it so. Perhaps this is something that they will do in the future for a re-release of the concert film - 'cause this thing is going to open BIG.

They used a 33' by 88' LED screen to show the 3D elements to the would be audience during their rehearsals at The Forum and The Staples Center - he believes that this is the world's first LED screen of this size to be used for 3D.

Had the 3D elements been used intact, there would have been several 4 to 5 minute segments all in 3D. As it turns out, these bits were edited to make the whole piece stand together in a cohesive fashion - hence no 3D as people would be taking their glasses off and on again and again (I suppose they could have converted the whole thing to 3D afterward - no issue there, except for time). I was sad to hear that, but again - these assets still exist and could be used in the future.

Sony will decide on how to release the concert on disc - there is a chance that these 3D elements will be an added feature on these.

There were two main 3D segments: EARTH SONG - focused on conservation (had a race horse scene) and the intro to THRILLER. The latter had a 100' graveyard set built! There was also a haunted mansion.

One of the big things that Michael Jackson insisted on throughout the show was in his own words: "The butterflies will be in your face right"? Apparently he was very interested in bringing the audience into the show through 3D and was a firm believer in the technology. You got to hand it to the King of Pop - he was on top of the tech. He had butterflies, birds, dandelions, bats from a crypt, etc all appearing in coordination with the music and action in a fantastical concert experience. He wanted them floating right out over the audience.

The movie is just under 2 hours long apparently and will be released mainly on 35mm film (to suit the worldwide audience I would imagine). On a technical side, Todd and PACE used a beamsplitter (just like as it sounds - splits light entering the camera for stereo), F23, steadicam, and mainly lived of their 50' techno. There were a lot of effects in a short period of time. In fact, Todd was anticipated making tweaks as the shows progressed due to that time constraint. The team was only a week and a half away from delivering the finished work when Jackson passed away. Michael did however get to see all of this work and had approved it - that was good to hear.

It was great talking to someone so passionate about 3D and who has his hands dirty with so many different projects. He has a couple of secret current projects he is working on that he could not talk about, but you could hear in his voice that he is excited. Can't wait to see the concert and enjoy what millions of others will - and break some concert movie records at the same time!! Hopefully we will see the 3D elements of this concert at some point! Thanks for the chat Todd.

Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT Trailer

Jim here. The new trailer for the late Michael Jackson's concert that never happened movie spectacle is here... and looks great. THIS IS IT is a compilation of clips from over 100 hours of various stage and behind the scenes edited together to give us a glimpse of some of Jackson's final days - and his excitement of giving back to his fans. Shame he never got to accomplish this goal.

The movie will have a limited run of 2 weeks starting October 28.

The concert movie will have scenes in stereoscopic 3D and you can also view the HD trailer right here.

THIS IS IT: Michael Jackson's Concert Movie Gets A Date With 3D

Jim here. Michael Jackson's concert movie is a go and slated for this October 30 - Halloween weekend. Here is what we know so far:

According to the LATimes, Kenny Ortega (HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL) is being courted to direct the movie as he was Jackson's creative partner for the concert series. Whoever directs will be the lead on sifting through all the concert rehearsal / behind the scenes (BTS) footage and selecting the scenes to include for the King of Pop's fans.

Portions of the movie will indeed be in 3D. In conversations I have had with Vince Pace, there were 3D shots taken of Jackson and others with the FUSION cameras that were intended to be used for a huge display that would have graced his THIS IS IT stage in London. They were shooting for 10 days so the footage could be instrumental for this movie - at least the 3D portions of it.

Pace was contacted to do the work on the project in the middle of May and both Vince and Jim Cameron felt it was a perfect fit.

Says Vince: "It was an exciting project and we were proud to be a part of it. Michael Jackson was always ahead of the pack and his embrace of 3D proved that he was still innovating. Both Jim and I were anxious to see the results of the collaboration of everyone involved."

So now we know that those 3D shots will be in the concert movie. I am a sucker for BTS footage so I will be most intrigued with the informal shots. Sony paid $60m for the rights so it will be done right I am sure.

3D Shorts - "Thriller"; "Up" Opens Cannes; "Dragon" Team Working Hard; and iZ3D Compares 3D Formats

>>Update on Michael Jackson's THRILLER 3D movie:
Anschutz Corporation is financing the 3D movie version of the record breaking song and video for release after Jackson's upcoming 50 show concert tour. It is said to be based on roughly the same material as the upcoming Broadway musical of the same name.
- Sorry. Can't get excited about this project yet. Need to know it's gonna work and who is running the show.

>>Pixar's UP to open Cannes Film Festival:
Cannes organizers made the announcement today that UP will be the first animation and the first 3D movie to ever open the prestigious festival. "We are very proud," Thierry Fremaux of CFF told AFP, "to welcome Pixar studios, it's brilliant world, its talented directors and producers." UP is due in our theaters May 29th. Personally, I think it has a great chance at taking home the Palme d'Or for best film this year.
- This is indeed an honor. Congratulations to the UP team over at DWA!!

>>Dreamworks Animation are using TWO directors to get HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON done on time:
Dreamworks Animation is using both Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois as directors to get this movie done on a greatly accelerated schedule. Says a DWA staffer: "We know we're going to be working a lot of overtime on the picture, but nobody's uptight about it, everybody's happy to be working. The story's coming along, nobody is worried about that. We know the picture's going to get done. We've done it before, many times ..."
Further conjecture from the TAG blog: "Walking around, I saw more scenes of Shrek IV being worked on than Dragon, (Shrek in slapstick action with supporting players) yet the ogre lumbers into your local cinema a couple of months after Dragon. This could mean story is further along on Shrek than Dragon, or it might mean Shrek has more moving parts and needs a longer production schedule, or it might mean ... not much at all."
- We knew that they had two directors on for quite some time now (about a year - they also were writers) but this paints the scene a bit better. Obviously the Shrek franchise gets top attention over there as it is a guaranteed money maker. HTTYD is due in theaters March 26, 2010.

>>iZ3D to provide Game Developer Conference attendees a unique visual 3D comparison:
iZ3D is going full out to show typical users the difference between standard 2D, the famous red and cyan anaglyph 3D, and a state-of-the-art Stereoscopic 3D (S-3D) display. iZ3D will be providing this demonstration at the San Francisco conference March 23-27, 2009 in Booth 6020.
"3D visual technology has come a long way from the days of the red and blue anaglyph 3D effect that tricked your eyes into the illusion of depth through the use of color. 2D technology is the current norm and presents users a flat graphics experience that is great for word processing applications, but not for an immersive graphical experience such as gaming, " stated Tom Striegler, CEO of iZ3D Inc.
“The easiest way to explain the visual difference an iZ3D monitor provides is to play a game on a 2D monitor where you experience only a two dimensional game. On an iZ3D monitor, the graphics that were originally created in a 3D modeling program come to life, you duck items flying at you and experience movement such as flying or falling,” commented David Chechelashvili, iZ3D VP, Marketing.
-Awesome! If you are at the conference - definitely check this out and compare formats to see what everyone has been talking about...
iZ3D is a sponsor of MarketSaw.

New 3D Thriller Coming... Make That Michael Jackson's "Thriller"?

Jim here. Apparently the BBC got Randy Phillips, CEO of AEG Live, stating that after Michael Jackson gives his 10 live performances in London (announced today), he may very well be making a 3D movie based on THRILLER, his award winning music video of 1983.

I can't imagine what they have planned for it. Sure the video in it's day was entertaining but I don't know about having Jackson in the lead. His worldwide fans almost assure it would be a gigantic hit however. So money talks.

Horror musical? Anybody's guess. I know one thing - it won't be the same without Vincent Price's voice.