Instagram Teaser of Teaser Trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Tim here, and it looks like we got a 15-second teaser of the Teaser Trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies from the official Instagram account of The Hobbit Movie. Check it out below.

The new teaser trailer for #TheHobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will be unveiled tomorrow at 12pm PT / 3pm ET! http://t.co/CpJnmXfPbV
— The Hobbit (@TheHobbitMovie) July 27, 2014

And later, the full 1080 version hit YouTube:

The teaser trailer will hit tomorrow (Monday, July 28, 2014) around 3PM EDT / 12PM PDT.

3D Geek Alert: Stereo Future of Web Sites

MarketSaw 3D

*Please note that it’s best to view this in the most up to date version of your preferred web browser.

Hey all, Tim here with a theoretical and factual look at the future of web technologies. I’m a self-taught web designer, and just this year made my first leaps into using HTML5 and CSS3, among a few other things. What I’ve learned is that these improved web technologies pave way for a future on the web that is more dynamic on all devices and computers. The new enhancements of HTML5 and CSS3 integrate z-space controls for web designers that can lead to a stereoscopic world wide web.

First, lets looks at what HTML5 and CSS3 does. For those unfamiliar with HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) or CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), the simple definitions are as follows:

HTML: a language for describing web pages. CSS: defines how to display (the look and formatting) HTML elements written in markup language.

To read further about them check out the Wikipedia pages for HTML and/or CSS. HTML5 and CSS3 are enhancements on these standard web tools. As you can gather the 5 in HTML5 stands for the Fifth Revision of HTML, and the 3 in CSS3 stands for the Third Revision of CSS.

With HTML5 the need for Flash Video is no longer necessary, and video can be embedded seamlessly. This also means that mobile devices and computers both can display the video natively. HTML5 video can be customized with CSS3 to display controls designed specifically for that website, or to drop a reflection of that video below it. Major video sharing websites like Vimeo or YouTube now display their videos in HTML5 and allow users to embed those videos by providing the HTML5 code. YouTube is now able to provide stereoscopic videos with their Stereo HTML5 Video Player. Thus stereo 3D video is no problem on the web now. All that’s needed is a 3D capably display.

Then there’s CSS3. I’ve found several cool examples on how CSS3 has allowed web designers more control of their sites to style them in new visual ways. One really cool example is this site BeerCamp, where instead of scrolling visitors can travel forward and backward in z-space. That’s one example, and on this page we have another up above: the spinning MarketSaw and HTML5 logos (if they aren't working properly update your web browser). Being able to place web objects in z-space is integral to taking it forward towards being displayed stereoscopically.

Ray Zone’s official website can be viewed in stereo using anaglyph glasses because he made the background and the images anaglyph images. That’s a means for displaying a website in stereo before CSS3. Now however, all it will take is coding markup for the site to display the other eye images if it reads the display as being capable of displaying stereo 3D. It might be the next iteration of HTML & CSS, but it will be HTML and CSS that manages it. However, it's still a short distance off.

It will take some complex mathematical algorithms for the web page to look at a visitor's display and determine whether it's 3D capable. That complex algorithm is something web developers will need to hide as part of the browser, and leave it out of web designers hands. All web designer's are going to need is to provide images and web-based media in two files (left and right eye) so that the browser can display the second eye if it's a 3D-capable screen. The browser will need to be able to display only one eye in the event of a 2D display. Once this is possible, then we'll be seeing stereoscopic 3D websites pop up all over the world.

There's a future for the web in stereoscopic 3D! It may not be available tomorrow, but it will be coming soon. The web is about to get a whole lot bigger.

Official 3D Trailer For RISE OF THE GUARDIANS!

Hey guys - If you have a 3D setup at home or work with Internet access then check out this official 3D trailer for Dreamworks Animation's RISE OF THE GUARDIANS.

It's the same trailer as the 2D one released earlier, and you can adjust the settings of the trailer to reflect the kind of 3D you wish to enjoy (like side by side, interlaced, various anaglyphs, HTML Stereo View, etc) or you can switch off the 3D if you don't have the means to watch it.

You CAN also use the 'no glasses' method where you cross your eyes to converge the side by side images, but this may not be for you.

As I have said before, this movie looks like it has record breaking potential and surely an abundance of family entertainment in a quality production.

The quality of this video is perfect as it came directly from Dreamworks Animation to me via Phil McNally. Enjoy!

Out Of Beta: YouTube Converts 2D HD Video to Anaglyph 3D

Hey all, Tim here. That's right you heard me right; YouTube will now convert your 1080p HD 2D video to 3D. I read a LA Times article about it and sought to test it out for myself.

First, lets look at how YouTube converts the video. "Using a number of video characteristics such as color, spatial layout and motion for estimating a depth map for each from of a monoscopic video sequence. From that depth map and the original frame, a stereo 3D left and right pair is created -- 3D magic."

Almost sounds too good to be true. Time to put it to the test. I have a couple of HD videos on my YouTube that I've always wondered if they would have looked better had I shot them in 3D. Well, now's my chance to see. Please put on your anaglyph glasses (sorry it has to be anaglyph) and give this a try. If you don't see the 3D symbol right away, click on the gear wheel for resolution and select 1080p. You now see the "3D" indicator beside the gear wheel, and if you click on it it will make the video 3D.

I have noticed there are pros and cons to allowing YouTube to do conversions. The biggest con is that the filmmaker has no control over the conversion. This is something that all of us know James Cameron is admittedly against. I tend to agree, the filmmaker should have a say in the 3D conversion. Let me list the Pros vs the Cons below:

Pros	Cons
2D video now 3D	Filmmaker has no control over conversion
3D plays behind screen window	Downgrade in resolution from 1080p to 720p
Lens flares convert well	Shots can become pixelated (noticed in other videos)
Conversion is quick (although this could lend to the cons)	Alters frame size during conversion
Multiple methods to view 3D	Not all shots translate well to 3D
	Not all edits translate well to 3D
	Most people can only watch in anaglyph on computers, which distorts colors
	Once you convert one video on channel all other videos also converted

Overall I wish I shot this video natively in 3D because then it would have been the best possible version in 3D. However, I didn't. As a result I have shots and cuts that were never meant to be seen in 3D. In the end the cons outweigh the pros at the moment. Yet, YouTube just took this out of Beta.

It's an early start for YouTube, and they are paving way for others to follow in their footsteps. I can't wait to see where this service goes in the future. It will also be nice to hear customer feedback.

3D Geek Alert: YouTube Developing Selectable 3D Video Formats

Jim here. I have had a few readers send this in to me so I thought I should put it up for you. I will preface this by saying I am not all that keen on anaglyph 3D, but this is really cool so here you are.

A skunkworks project (in this case taking only 20% of a developer's time) for delivering multiple different types of 3D video is underway. The developer's username is YouTube Pete and he has posted to the forums about his progress. This is pretty standard for Google - love their energy.

Here is an example video for you - check it out (you can make your eyes go lazy to blend in the two angles into one):



NOTE THAT YOU CAN CHANGE THE 3D FORMAT WITH THE DROPDOWN BOX HERE. The selections include Red/Cyan, Amber/Blue, Green/Magenta, Parellel, Cross-eyed, Mirror Split, Left and Right.

Thanks to everyone that sent this in to me. It's a cool thing - at least while we are waiting on a modern, stereoscopic 3D home video standard. Enjoy!